Throughout the course of history, Jews have been relentlessly persecuted. The English are not an exception, since their history shows that the general English attitude towards Jews during the Elizabethan Era is anti-Semitic. This negative bias towards Jews is apparently clear in Elizabethan literature, including William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. Shylock, the Jewish antagonist in Shakespeare's play, is stereotypically portrayed as a villain in accordance to popular prejudice. Thus, Shylock is labeled as a villain because he is a Jew. This misconception of Jews as being villainous in nature persisted well into the 20th century until the recent mass genocide of Jews in Hitler's Nazi Germany. This appalling incident is the marking point that sensitized the modern reader to Jewish sufferings. Thus, in the eyes of the modern reader, Shylock's characterization as a villain due to his religious convictions is refuted. Still, it is not only sympathy that deems Shylock as a hero but also the injustice he suffers in the hands of the Christian society which includes his converted daughter Jessica.
             Shylock's character is defended from its villainous interpretation upon two factors: "the sociological, which exonerates Shylock on the basis of environmental pressures, and the racial, which assimilates him to the whole appalling history of anti-Semitism" (1). Based on the racial issue, Shylock's character is condemned because he is a Jew. Shylock's role as a villain in the play reflects the general racist prejudices against Jews. Therefore, from his first appearance, Shylock does not have a chance to appeal to the audience. Thus, to the modern reader, Shylock is a victim of injustice which is representative of his race. By understanding the history behind the creation of Shylock, his tribulations can be assimilated to the general Jewish suffering.
             Judaism has ...