Caliban In The Tempest

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

Caliban, immediately introduced as "poisonous slave," "savage," "hag-seed," is a character often likened to the African- American slave. The ease and matter-of-factness with which Prospero and Miranda dismiss him is painfully obvious even before he enters the scene (Act 1, Scene 3). Through no fault of his own, Caliban is dehumanized by the authority of his day and dismissed by the important members of his society. He looks much different from the others on the island, so he is not seen as a true human being; in fact, his only redemption lies in the fact that he is able to learn the language in order to serve the master.

Prospero uses his language to minimize and blame Caliban. Prospero not only refers to Caliban as “filth,” but also accuses him of “lying” and “seek[ing] to violate / [t]he honour of my child” (i.ii. 348- 351). Prospero blames his treatment of Caliban to the actions of Caliban; the quote: “with human care, and lodged thee / [i]n my own cell, till thou didst seek to violate / [t]he honour of my child” illustrates how Prospero blames Caliban for how Prospero treats him (i.ii. 349-351). This is violent because it shifts the blame from Prospero to Caliban essentially blaming the

And Caliban himself is capable of making one of the finest speeches of the play, and of saying, when Prospero has thought better of punishing, and renounced his supernatural power

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

Through discovery, our perception of human nature changes alongside the world we live in. this is shown in Micheal de Montaigne’s essay “of cannibals” and ‘The Tempest’ drama written by William Shakespeare. Both show, when man is left alone in a natural state, humans grow to perfection, compared to the state of a civilized man whom is corrupt and alters human nature to an animalistic form. The tempest portrays human beings in a civilized state, whom the characters do inhuman acts for material gain and Micheal de Montaigne’s “ of Cannibals” represent man in a natural state whom when left untouched grows to an paragon society. Yet, which is better? a man in a natural state or a man in a civilized state.

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

Caliban is a one of the main characters in William Shakespeare’s play The Tempest. Being the sole habitant on the island of Prospero throughout a majority of the play, Caliban is illustrated as a human with monster-like characteristics. Caliban can be also be compared to the demigods of Greek Mythology since Caliban and the demigods are both complex, yet parallel, characters. Numerous times throughout The Tempest, Shakespeare uses the magic behind the island to show Caliban’s powers; likewise, demigod has godlike powers. Similar to demigods, Caliban is a half-human son with assumed powers, demands revenge by manipulating or persuasion, and both have emotional and physical vulnerabilities related to their human side. Rebellion is another feature these two share to an extent.

            Caliban turns hate and dislike into murderous and devious plans.  Caliban had a plan to plot out Prospero's death.  He informs the others that Prospero takes a nap, and that it would be best to kill him in his sleep.  We also learn here that he is similar to Miranda.  Miranda has never seen another man except her father, and Caliban has never seen another woman except his mother.  In some ways this is ironic. (Act 3, scene 2 line 75-89)

Prospero’s reason for his ill treatment of Caliban is that he allegedly attempted to rape Miranda. Prospero states, “I have used thee/Filth as thou art, with human care, and lodged thee/In mine own cell, till thou didst seek to violate/The honour of my child.”, and Caliban replies, “O ho, O ho! would't had been done!/Thou didst prevent me.”. This interaction does not prove the alleged attempted rape, but rather shows how Caliban reacts angrily to Prospero’s provocation. In the play, Caliban reacts as the monster that Prospero and Miranda make of him, but in Namjoshi’s reimagination, we are provided with Caliban’s initial perception of the alleged attempted

Prospero's Judgment of Caliban in Shakespeare's The Tempest “A devil, a born devil, on whose nature

The Tempest is full of many powerful people who climb over each other to get to the top. Arguments of who has the most power on the island vary and there is no one solid answer. Three people stand out the most: Ariel, Prospero, and Caliban. They all have power in different ways and it is disputed if some even have power or only give the illusion of it. Ariel, a ghost spirit, has power because s/he has magic. Prospero is powerful because he controls Ariel and many others. Caliban is physically powerful and could have power from his mother. As power varies, Ariel has the most through magic, but prospero has knowledge and control, and caliban is threatening and physically strong.

When they met, Caliban was uneducated, and did not know how to communicate with Miranda and Prospero. Under the tutelage of both people, Caliban learned to differentiate between day and night. The "greater light" in the passage referring to the sun itself. On another level, however, Prospero taught Caliban the difference between what was good, and what was evil. The fact that Caliban turned out the way that he did, points to a possible reason why Prospero treats Caliban in such a strict fashion. Because Caliban was given the freedom to choose good over evil, Prospero blames himself for Caliban?s desire to rape his daughter. Because he did not teach Caliban well enough, the responsibility of taking care of Caliban fall directly on the person who initiated him into the civilized world--Prospero. At the end of the play, Prospero recognizes his responsibility for Caliban when he says,"...this thing of darkness I/ Acknowledge mine." (V. I. 275-6) Though he tells Ferdinand that Caliban is under his control (just as Stephano and Trinculo are under Alonso), Prospero claims more than leadership of Caliban. In this instance Caliban belongs to Prospero