Barabas's Nose
Just as it is a symbol of innate prejudice among the Maltese Christians, Barabas's nose is an important image throughout the play. Characters frequently refer to Barabas's "enormous" nose as a way of denigrating him and associating his outward appearance with his Judaism. This image also becomes associated with untrustworthiness, trickery, and deception.
Transactions
Transactional language abounds in the play, as one of its chief concerns is money and the prospect of financial gain. Characters refer to a number of "purchases" throughout, some of which are literal transactions and others more figurative, such as when Abigail says, "But now experience, purchased with grief, / Has made me see the difference of things" (3.3). This language of buying and selling emphasizes the play's focus on transactional understandings of humanity.
Circumcision
There are a number of references to circumcision over the course of the play, with characters frequently describing one another as either circumcised or uncircumcised. This is an important way for the Jewish and Christian characters to distinguish between one another, as Jewish men were circumcised and Christian men were usually uncircumcised. This imagery comes to stand in for the hatred the two religious groups express toward one another, despite the fact that circumcision is a relatively arbitrary practice.
Curses and Revenge
On multiple occasions, Barabas vows to "curse" someone or some group as a means of revenge, including his own daughter, Abigail, after her conversion to Christianity. Barabas's assumption that he can curse or destroy entire towns emphasizes his inflated perception of himself and foreshadows his eventual end, when he boils to death in a giant cauldron while continuing to curse the Christians who wrought his ruin.
