Merchant of Venice

good reasons why you think shylock should not take a pound of flesh?

I would like detailed answers and it for a debate thank you!

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Shylock is already stereotyped as a stingy and cruel Jew. Taking a pound of flesh would only intensify the anti-Semitism that Christians feel towards Jews. As well Shylock would end up murdering Antonio which would mean certain punishment for him. We also must ask if Shylock could handle such a thing? His own pain and rage spurs him on but actually doing it might profoundly affect him, not in a good way.

Shylock, as a Jew, would be going by the Old Testament rules: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Nevertheless, he lives in a world of people who should be more charitable and he should do the right thing, which is to invalidate a contract which made no sense to start with. It was a "devil's bargain" at best, and the loser thought, when he made the bargain, that he would not lose anyhow. It is unreasonable because taking a pound of flesh would kill the loser which means that Shylock would be a murderer, and he would not be dealt with nicely in the society in which this story takes place.