The Merchant of Venice and Long Way Down - The Problem with Revenge

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The following is taken from Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds:

THE RULES:

NO. 1: CRYING

Don't.
No matter what.
Don't.


NO. 2: SNITCHING

Don't.
No matter what.
Don't.


NO. 3: REVENGE

If someone you love
gets killed,

find the person
who killed

them and
kill them. 
(Reynolds, 31-33)


Written in verse, Long Way Down tells of a young boy, Will, who wrestles with the decision of whether or not to seek revenge for the murder of his older brother. In a series of ingeniously crafted staccato-style poems, Reynolds tackles a scenario many young people in violent neighborhoods find themselves in and starts an important conversation about the dangers of revenge. When faced with a situation like Will's, most of the adolescents in these communities stick to The Rules, even though they don't know who wrote them or when they were written or where they came from; they only know to follow them like everyone else and seek revenge. When everyone always seeks revenge, it leads to a never-ending cycle of violence which in turn leads to the constant shedding of blood and tears.

I could not help but think of this book when we were reading The Merchant of Venice. To me, it seems that the Christians and the Jews are trapped in a similar cycle of violence as the one portrayed in Long Way Down, though we only see one example of an attempt on someone's life in the play. Still, it seems that Shylock's wrath is only a product of the merciless mistreatment of his people. If someone on either side were to have stopped meeting hate with more hate, perhaps Venice could have become an actual example of peaceful cohabitation. If the Christians showed some compassion toward Shylock, I doubt he would have wanted to kill one of them. If Shylock were to have shown Antonio mercy, perhaps the Christians would have shown him some. Instead, the Christians continue their discrimination against Jews, Shylock chooses wrath, and the Christians retaliate with unnecessarily cruel punishment. I bet, after the events of the play's conclusion, Shylock or other Jewish people in Venice might create some other sort of plan to lay their vengeance upon the Christians, therefore following The Rules and furthering the cycle of violence.

Maybe the Beatles had it right. Maybe... all you need is love.

I won't spoil Long Way Down since I am recommending that everyone read this beautiful book. (I have one copy that I'll loan to anyone! Seriously, ask me to borrow it! I want you to read this book!!) For the time being, I'll just say that Reynolds points out several issues with the cycle of violence in a very creative and somewhat-surreal way.

You know what, just read it.

Seriously.

Read it.

Also, here's my citation:

Reynolds, Jason. Long Way Down. Atheneum, 2017.

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