Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice: Was Shylock a Victim or a Villain?

The persecution of specific races has always been existent, and throughout history, the Jewish religion has suffered most from it. They were convicted of heresy, and often killed because of their beliefs. Such is the kind of racial discrimination toward Shylock, the Jewish character in "The Merchant of Venice." Some believe that the character as a greedy, coldhearted villain, which is not the case. In Shakespeare's play, "The Merchant of Venice," Shylock was a victim …

…the cause of hatred toward the faith. In the holocaust, Jews were killed for the mere fact that they were Jewish. The Nazi's measured people's noses because it was assumed that Jews had long noses, and if they didn't pass, they were sent to camps and/or executed. This stereotype is now inevitable. Too much hatred has developed, because of these horribly discriminatory pieces of work, to change the life-long struggle for the Jewish people.