Caliban And Prospero Research Paper

Last but not least, Caliban had an unstable relationship with Prospero. Miranda wasn’t the only one that treated Caliban as a slave, Prospero did as well. “..What,ho! Slave! Caliban!”(1.2.375). Caliban would be called names, and numerous times he is treated as a slave, but Prospero felt no guilt to how he treats him. As mentioned before, Caliban is a villain as well, which means he is also evil to Prospero. “All the infections that the sun sucks up/ From bogs, fens, flats, on Prosper fall and make him/By inchmeal a disease!”(2.2.5). Caliban hoped that all the diseases that are in swamps and marches infect Prospero, in every inch of his body so he could become a walking disease. Not only did he wish for him to be infected, but he also wanted to severely hurt him. “I’ll yield him thee asleep, where thou mayst knock a nail into his head”(2.3.67-8) He tells Stephano that he will take him to where Prospero sleeps, so he could pound a nail into his head. After they were to put a nail into his head, he wanted to continue to do evil things to him. “Beat him enough. After a little time, I’ll beat him too”(3.2.92-3) As it shows in this quotation, Caliban wanted to beat Prospero.

Prospero enslaves Caliban and Ariel, seizing the island for him and Miranda, just like Alonso and Antonio had done to him. The rightful ruler of the island is Caliban, and although Caliban at one time tried to rape Miranda, Prospero repeatedly punishes him for this one event that occurred much before this play takes place. Prospero initially “helps” Caliban by educating him and in exchange, Caliban taught Prospero and Miranda how to survive on the island. Prospero uses the act of attempted-rape to justify his seizure of the island. This take-over should have been enough punishment but Prospero enslaves Caliban, threatening to hurt him if he does not do his bidding. By endlessly punishing Caliban, Prospero inadvertently shows his malicious side. Although Prospero freed Ariel from the tree he was bound inside, Prospero blackmails Ariel and essentially enslaves him too. Prospero repeatedly tells Ariel that he will set him free but, it seems as if that is an empty

Originally, he was a fair duke that showed love to everyone he met; however, his love of magic gets him exiled by his own brother. Once on the island of his banishment, Prospero develops monstrous characteristics of greed and domination. He imposes his beliefs upon initial inhabitants by teaching them his own language so that they could communicate with him (Tempest. I.ii.352-364). Prosper felt he had the superior form of communication and higher level of intellect, so the previous occupants should have to learn his language. He also forced his self-proclaimed authority on this creature who was the birth-right land-owner. This creature, Caliban, is upset and claims, “This island’s mine by Sycorax my mother, / Which thou tak’st from me” (Tempest. I.ii.331-332). Just as Prospero’s kingdom was taken from himself, he retaliated by taking Caliban’s kingdom from him. To do this, Prospero enslaved Caliban as well as another he finds on the island through use of his magic and forces them to do his menial tasks. It is through his exploiting and dominating actions that Prospero is seen as a monster. He cultivated his supremacy over everyone to a malicious extent that he was a malevolent monster disguised as a

In the scene when Prospero and Caliban are fighting, Prospero accuses Caliban of trying to rape his daughter, Miranda. Prospero says, “Thou most lying slave,/Whom stripes may move, not kindness! I have used thee,/Filth as thou art, with humane care, and lodged thee/In mine own cell, till thou dist seek to violate/The honor of my child”(1.2.348-351). Caliban responds. “O ho! Oh ho! Wouldn’t had been done!/Thou didst prevent me; I had peopled else/This isle with Calibans”(1.2.352-354). Prospero had taken Caliban into his home until one night finding him attempting to rape his daughter. Caliban is telling Prospero that if he had not stopped him from raping Miranda, he would have continued with the act. He does not have any sense of remorse as he tells Prospero that he would have impregnated Miranda, filling the island with many children. In today’s society, rape is a serious offense that is punishable by many years in jail. When Caliban was caught trying to rape Miranda, Prospero simply forced him to leave the house. This moment can be an example of how women are punished far worse than men for their crimes. Sycorax was banished and left to die because of her witchcraft, whereas Prospero tried to rape a young girl and

The first and most glaring inconsistency with this familiar comparison lies in the character of Caliban himself. Caliban seems to be either so ignorant as not to know basic right from wrong or so base that he does not care. Prospero charges him with attempting

After being accused of falsely holding the title of king, Ferdinand draws his sword which Prospero sees as a crime and leads to Ferdinand’s labor. This gives a legal precedent which rationalize what he does and when he uses it against his own kinsman it feels that it is less racially motivated and more to further Prospero’s plan. Kunat is expanding his argument by saying that Caliban was taught language was near family before he tried to rape Miranda. Throughout the play it seems that Prospero is just trying to manipulate people. The only issue I see with this is everyone else around the island.

To make sense of what lines 345-349 are implying are Caliban is tried to rape Miranda when he suggested: “O ho, O ho! Wouldn’t had been done! Thou didst prevent me; I had peopled else This isle with Caliban’s” (347-49). What happened immediately before this passage takes place when Prospero discusses how he out of politics; however, he gave more devotion to his studies, ignoring is obligations as the duke he is.

Prospero, the self-appointed king of the island upon which everyone eventually becomes shipwrecked, immediately oppresses Caliban and claims him as his slave, even though Caliban was the original inhabitant of the island. Prospero and his daughter are technically guests in Caliban's home. Caliban is the son of the devil and Sycorax, a witch. Prospero uses Caliban's unsavory origin as an excuse to enslave him. He claims that he is a bad seed, and he deserves a life of servitude. He never actually justifies the situation with a logical explanation, so he must use whatever information he can think of as a poor excuse to exploit Caliban for his own self-propagation. Prospero is even bold enough to suggest that by enslaving Caliban, he is actually extending charity towards him. He feels that

So it turns out Caliban isn’t the monster, and he is simply a product of his environment. Caliban stood against Prospero because he was treating his horribly. I don’t know about you but it sound like a pretty human thing to do, it’s in human nature to stand against people who have not only stolen from you, but also treated you as a slave. “For this, be sure, thou shalt have cramps, Side-stitches that shall pen thy breath up.”

Prospero is seen as honorable in his actions towards Caliban, while today it is seen as illegal, as one can not have an intolerance for others beliefs or opinions that differs from one's own let alone enslave due to those

Prospero's relationship with Caliban differs from that of Prospero and Ariel's. Prospero does not view Caliban as a being who could be his equal. He is blinded by his prejudice against Caliban's appearance and manners. Caliban is portrayed in a negative light. He can be seen as the depiction of the victims of colonial expansion. Although Prospero seeks this righteousness, he both mistreats and insults Caliban, who ultimately attempts to kill Prospero.  In comparison to Ariel who acts only when commanded by Prospero, Caliban is wild. He refuses to be colonized and tamed. This can be taken as a reference by Shakespeare towards those who were

When Trinculo and Stephano came to the island, Caliban thought that he could escape Prospero and kill him. Caliban is struggling for freedom from everyone because he only sees himself as a follower not a ruler. People always call him “monster” and words that are seen to be very harsh, but Caliban knowing everything

In the course of their scheming, Caliban advises Stephano and Trinculo to “Remember/ First to possess his books; for without them/ He’s but a sot, as I am; nor Hath one spirit to command: They all do hate him/ As rootedly as I” (3.2: 95-99). Caliban is claiming that Prospero’s power over him is not due to fundamentally superior intellectual capacity, but rather to privileged circumstances which have allowed him to acquire his books on sorcery. The fact that Caliban is under Prospero’s powers would logically give him first-hand information regarding these powers, and because honesty about this information could potentially further his goal of overthrowing Prospero while dishonesty could undermine it, he has no motivation to lie in this instance. For these reasons it seems logical to trust Caliban’s evaluation of Prospero here. This evaluation supports the argument that “slave” and “free” are separate social classifications rather than separate natures, since one’s circumstances are a product of chance and the framework of the social system one was born into rather than fundamental nature.

Caliban is treated as a slave of Prospero’s who is constantly tortured with Prospero’s magic. He contends that, “This island’s mine by Sycorax, my mother, which thou tak’st from me,” (1.2.396-397) implying that Prospero had no rightful claim to the island. This was an oft used point against colonialism of the time, however it is swiftfully countered by Caliban’s own words of the good that Prospero brought to Caliban. Caliban claims Prospero, “Strok’st me and made much of me, wouldst give me water with berries in’t, and teach me how to name the bigger light and how the less, that burn by day and night. And then I loved thee, and showed thee all the qualities o’ th’ isle,” (1.2.398-403). What Shakespeare is conveying here is the classic reasoning of Europeans as the saviors of native people. With Prospero bringing comfort to Caliban in the beginning and saving him from the witch Sycorax, Caliban should feel lucky Prospero came to this island. Any punishment brought upon Caliban is deserved in the eyes of Prospero, Shakespeare, and the audience Shakespeare is writing

He was later unrightfully punished for that by Prospero. The act of punishment placed by Prospero by making him his slave was his way of taking back on what Caliban did to his daughter. Caliban although did not take back for the actions that Prospero took. Caliban is still the rightful owner of the Island and does not deserve to be now locked up as a slave and servant to Prospero, but instead of taking back on Prospero and seeking for revenge he shows that he is mature and willing to move on. Negative or bad acts on certain people can have major impacts, but thriving to get back at that with the act of revenge can have a lot more harmful impacts. It is usually the ones who move on without taking any additional actions are the ones to walk away the happiest. The ones who then look for those ways to get back at someone are the ones to walk away with the impression of being selfish and unwilling to