Prejudice, a disease in society Prejudice is an attitude that places a negative generalization on individuals or associations due to their cultural, religious, racial and ethnic background. While this trait is frowned upon, it still exists widely in the community today. “The Merchant of Venice” is about a young Venetian named Bassanio, whose desire is to woo a beautiful and wealthy heiress named Portia who resides in Belmont. However, there are many obstacles in his way that he must overcome to succeed. William Shakespeare illustrates the constant prejudice that occurs throughout the story, and its negative impacts, through the use of characterization. Shakespeare shows that racism is evident through the use of characterization. Shylock expresses his hatred towards Antonio while talking to Bassanio. In addition to that, Antonio is also discriminatory towards Shylock, which causes a feud between the two. “I hate him because he is Christian; But above all, for this reason, with low simplicity, he lends money for free, and lowers the interest rate here in Venice” (Act 1, III, lines 39-42). “You call me an unbeliever, a merciless dog, and you have spat on my Jewish gabardine” (Act 1, III, lines 108-109). Through characterization, this portrays that Shylock and Antonio exhibit values ​​of racism and prejudice as they do not know each other, but yet they insult each other due to their different religion and race. Readers may observe that prejudice and racism can cause tensions between people, and the consequences can be exceptionally harmful if adopted on a larger scale. Through characterization, Shakespeare illustrates that there is a prejudice between different characters... middle of paper... .tate and Lorenzo. Ultimately, it is clear that prejudice is present and is opposed to justice. Readers may outline that, if bias is present, unjustifiable and vile choices will be made to the opposing faction, which, if done repeatedly, can lead to social problems later. Therefore, through the literary device of characterization, it can be seen that William Shakespeare illustrates the presence of prejudice that occurs everywhere. the story. Through the text above, one can realize that there are many negative impacts of being prejudiced, which can lead to making irrational decisions, such as the outcome of the court case between Shylock and Antonio. Readers may note that the combination of prejudice and racism is very present in today's community, and if left unchecked, the results can be disastrous, such as the outbreak of a civil war..