Physical and mental blindness are seen throughout this play. They play a part in each character's daily lives and are the obstacle that prevents happiness. Old Gobbo, who is Launcelot's blind and feeble father, expresses physical and mental blindness when he approaches Launcelot and surprisingly asks him, "Master young man, you, I pray you, which is the way to Master Jew's?" (Pg. 21, lines 29-30) for he was looking for his son, Launcelot. Surprisingly Old Gobbo did not know that he was speaking to his son. Old Gobbo is nearly blind, w

Another example of men treating women as property would be Shylock and Jessica. Shylock also does not see Jessica as another person. He calls his daughter "[his] flesh and [his] blood" (Pg. 44, line 33). Shylock's life revolved around money, not his daughter. He was neglecting the love that he should be giving to his daughter. Now that Jessica had ran away, and him not having any friends, he does not feel any loss except for his "two thousand ducats in [the chest], and other precious, precious jewels" (Pg. 46, lines 78-79) that Jessica stole when she eloped. Shylock was blind to not notice any unhappiness with Jessica. If he did, the elopement most likely would not have occurred secretly. Shylock was blind to not notice his daughter's unhappiness with the relationship between him and her as well as the unfulfilling religion that Jessica was forced to believe in.

hich is the physical part of the blindness, which was one of the reasons why he unable to recognize Launcelot's features. He is also mentally blind because a father should recognize his own son's voice. Launcelot briefly jokes with his father before confessing "[he is] Launcelot - [his] boy that was, [his] son that is, [his] child that shall be," (Pg. 22, lines 78-79) but Old Gobbo still "cannot think [he is his] son" (Pg. 22, line 80). Launcelot convinces himself that "if [his father] had [his] eyes, [he] might fail of knowing [him]" because "it is a wise father that knows his own child" (Pg. 22, lines 70-71). It is a shame that a father cannot recognize his own flesh and blood. This blindness concerns the relationship of a father and their child.

How people were in the past has changed to what we are today. Blindness is not the cause of discrimination as much anymore. We can think that the people acted foolish throughout the whole play because they did not notice the obvious. For example of how the two princes made a fool of themselves and were punished for their idiotic choices of choosing the correct casket. Physical and mental blindness were the cause of unhappiness. Sometimes people purposely acted blind because they were brainwashed to believe that if the majority of people believed it, then it was right. We do not see that blindness much in our world today. Shakespeare showed us in his plays that blindness was normal and that blindness was the cause of his characters' situations. Blindness made Shakespeare's time harsh and unfair. Now we see what goes on and problems similar to the characters in the play will not repeat itself. We now see what they cannot see.

I am please to know that I do not have to go through what the women went through during that time. Being unable to do what I please without being suspected of foul doing just because of my gender. Portia plays a character that breaks out of the barrier of a cookie-cutter expectations of women. What I mean is that Portia did not hide behind the usual women roles but instead she had the guts to attend the trial as a man risking public humiliation if she was caught. People were so blind, it seems unreal to believe it because how could some of the characters be so blind mentally and physically? I do not see any of the same blindness in this time. However, I do feel that it is still present, but it does not have as much as the effect it had back in the Renaissance Age.

The law in Venice was capable of changing a person's religion by force. This shows how people did not care for others except for what they thought was right. Blinded by their stubborn ways, they feel that different ways are bad. For example, the Jewish Shylock has such a negative reputation in this society that in the end of the trial between him and Antonio, who is the merchant of Venice, Antonio says "that, for this favor, [Shylock] presently become a Christian." (Pg. 79, lines 399-400) In response to Antoni

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2625
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page double spaced)