It is said that “Prejudice is a learned characteristic, you are not born prejudiced; they taught you that." Within Shakespeare's "Merchant of Venice" and in past society, religious prejudice and ethnic-based prejudice were social beliefs, and people knowingly made these choices to be discriminatory. People were told taught that certain groups and races are superior, while other groups are beneath the “superior” race. "Merchant of Venice" added a prejudice against people of the Jewish faith and who have a dark complexion and provided information on this. that these ethnicities have experienced.This is seen through Shakespeare's portrayal of the characters of Morocco and Shylock and how the statements and reactions of other characters in the play have been made biased towards both of these characters. These social beliefs in the past society they continued in people's minds, even though they might not be fully aware, but they influenced thoughts and feelings until they evolved into stereotypes and facts. As these social beliefs continued in the subconscious, the opinions and beliefs of modern society were influenced by them, the discrimination that some ethnicities had previously faced, is still very relevant now. It is now clear that religious and racial prejudice is a problem that deteriorates one's views and gives people an inability to recognize and embrace differences in others, this is seen in the show through actions and comments specifically aimed at the characters of Morocco and Shylock . which was created through social beliefs and continues unconsciously in modern society based on these religious and ethnic prejudices. We say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Anti-Semitism is defined as “hostility or prejudice against Jews.” Throughout the play, the main character, Shylock, experiences this type of hostility, but this type of prejudice existed long before the play was written. The prejudice created against Jews was created during Biblical times and within the Bible there are conversations that put Jews in the wrong light and make them seem like a more inconsistent ethnicity. For you have suffered from your fellow countrymen the same things that they suffered from the Jews, who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and drove us out, and you displease God and oppose all mankind by preventing us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved – so to always fill the measure of their sins. But finally the wrath has fallen upon them! This quote from the Bible paints the Jews as evil and says that these people will remain cursed for many more lives to come. It claims that the Jewish people are the reason for the death of Jesus and many prophets, as well as celebrating the punishments and immense anguish they will face in the centuries to come. The language used proved that the person who wrote this is Christian, or thinks that Christians are more superior to Jews, and believes that Christians have “God on their side.” Christians have long prolonged the cruelty that the Jewish people faced and are considered adversaries of all humanity. These types of Bible passages and writings have contributed greatly to the way Jews are viewed not only in past society but also in modern society. These texts created social beliefs that were adapted by writers such as Shakespeare, who created the character of Shylock to represent what Jews faced on a regular basis. In the play, Antonio states: “Hello,Gentile Jew. The Jew will become a Christian; become kind. Antonio is making a comment towards Shylock in which he tries to say that Shylock cannot be nice because he is Jewish. It is evident that only Christians can be kind while Jews can only be rude and never kind. This social belief has had a huge impact on people, that Antonio is unable to recognize the fact that Shylock is not entirely evil and that he can be friendly if he wants, comparable to any other human being. Being a specific race/ethnicity does not make someone more exceptional and throughout the play the idea is that Christianity is the superior ethnicity. Christians believe that they are entitled to something more and that they should be accorded a higher status than the way other religions treat them. An example of this is shown in the exchange between the Duke of Venice and Shylock: Make room and let him stand before us. - Shylock, the world thinks, and so do I, that you do nothing but conduct this manner of mischief. Until the last hour of the action, and then, it is thought, you will show your mercy and your remorse stranger than your strange seeming cruelty; And where you now exact the penalty, which is a pound of this poor merchant's flesh, you will not only lose the confiscation but, touched with human kindness and love, you will pardon one half of the capital. From this quote it can be deciphered that the Duke of Venice expects Shylock to show remorse or mercy for Antonio because he is a deserving Christian, but Shylock has never been shown the sympathy and compassion that he “should” show to Antonio. Hence, this social belief has had a great impact on the mentality of many religions, making some ethnicities feel more powerful while other ethnicities feel helpless and anemic. These remarks directed at Shylock present the way society functioned and its mentality towards the Jewish people as a whole. The commonality during this time showed a prejudice against Jews based on a social belief, and the character of Shylock experienced this ethnic prejudice more than any character in the play because he is a Jew. He consistently remained true to his beliefs and opinions, but was still made the antagonist of the play due to his identity. Therefore, social beliefs have an effect on one's actions and opinions, whether they are subconscious or conscious, and made people not perceive and accept the diversity of another group, such as Shylock who was treated unfairly many times during show. “Racism is taught in our society, it is not automatic. It is a learned behavior towards people with different physical characteristics." Within the play, the character Morocco suffered racial prejudice based on his complexion and a social belief that existed before the play was written. In the 1600s, before the work was written, people of darker complexions were considered slaves, which added to the prejudice that these people are below the “preferable” race. There are statements in the Bible that contributed to this racial bigotry in society in the past. It is argued that not only was the slavery of blacks the fulfillment of this biblical curse, but so was the black color of their skin. Therefore many whites have been led to assume that blacks are inferior and that God intended them to be the servants of whites. Many blacks became bitter about the treatment they received as a result of this religious interpretation. Since people have a darker complexion, they are destined to be the attendants of people with a lighter complexion because it is said that this is what “God intended them to be”. ThePortia's conversations and dialogues about Morocco and darker-skinned people demonstrated that she saw herself as the “bigger” person/race. Evidence of this is found when Portia states, "A gentle release. Draw the curtains, go. Let all his complexion choose me so." She considers herself superior to the complexion of the Moroccan people and believes that she is too extraordinary to marry someone of dark complexion. Another example of this would be when Portia states, “If he had the condition of a saint and the complexion of a devil, I would rather he should sour me than marry me.” In this quote, Portia made a comment about Morocco's appearance claiming that even if he is a good person but has a dark appearance, similar to that of the devil, then she would rather have him listen to her confession, her thoughts on the color of her skin rather than marry her. This quote demonstrated that people like Portia, who are very intelligent and wise, can still show prejudice towards another group based on a social belief that has compromised many people's intellect. Thus, it can be established that Morocco suffered racial prejudice due to a social belief created about races having a darker complexion before the show took place, which had influenced the mentality of many people during this period. “Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it destiny.” As we have seen throughout the work, the characters made the conscious choice to have prejudices against religions and races based on social beliefs that had altered the judgment of some groups towards others. But how has it continued to the present day? This happened through our subconscious, as we developed over the centuries, some views changed, but as times passed the social beliefs of the past society found themselves in the subconscious within us. One can see himself showing rude behavior towards someone without any reason, this happens because of the way our subconscious works. In our modern society, much of the discrimination faced by characters like Morocco and Shylock is still a reality. There are stories of anti-Semitism and racism towards groups that have created more religious and ethnic prejudices. For example, centuries of anti-Semitism still exist today with several cases in Europe where Jews have been attacked or some sort of hate crime specifically targeting this group of people has occurred. That is, how people are considered more beautiful than others because they have physical characteristics such as having a lighter complexion. In modern society, social problems such as differences in pay and wealth between certain groups or ethnicities where they receive better privileges and have higher status, while others do not get the same luxury, are a reality. We have seen stories from the 15th and 16th centuries that have been adapted to our modern culture and have had an impact on the way we think as people. So when we see all the evidence of how our modern society works, it is clear that these opinions and beliefs that continued as conscious social beliefs in the past have now been unconsciously adapted to our present, influencing our understanding and positions about groups and people. ethnicities. Has there really been a change in the way our society works or is everything always based on what the majority was in the past? This question creates controversy among many people who have different opinions and notions. But if one examines how religious and ethnic-based prejudices existed in past society and in modern society, it is clear that the play.