How Does Casaire Present Prospero's Attitude Towards Caliban

In the play, The Tempest, by William Shakespeare, Caliban is an important character. Caliban is a character who plays as a victim to be pitied, as well as a villain to watch out for. In this essay, I will show clearly how Caliban is a victim and villain by exploring his relationship with Prospero, Miranda, and the island.

Caliban’s character in A Tempest is more outspoken and vocal about Prospero’s maltreatment of him. In Act I, Caliban’s entrance into the play is depicted very differently between The Tempest and A Tempest. In The Tempest Caliban succumbs to Prospero’s wishes much more willingly than in A Tempest. In The Tempest, Caliban’s first lines are answering to Prospero: “There’s wood enough within” (1.2.315). He follows Prospero’s orders willingly and does as he is told. In the context of the civil rights movement, this can be interpreted as he accepts the social injustice without much defiance, because it is the social norm. However, in A Tempest, his first line in the play is “Uhuru!” (pg 11). Caliban directly disobeys Prospero here, as “Uhuru” means “freedom” in his native language (Swahili). This change is very significant, especially in the time of the civil rights movement. I think that Cesaire makes this change as a statement for the need for self-advocacy and defiance of discrimination and segregation in the 1960s. It encourages minorities to accept Caliban’s role in the real world take a stand against the social injustices that plagued the

Caliban’s strong emotional attachment to the island in The Tempest motivates him to actively respect nature. During Caliban 's first interaction with Prospero in the play, he states, “This Island’s mine, by Sycorax my mother.” This assertion of dominion by Caliban sparks a desire for him to protect the nature on the island. As a result, he values nature like it is an extension of himself and strives to maintain harmony with it. Caliban follows this up by reminding Prospero, “And then I loved thee and show 'd thee all the

On one level, it seems that Caliban is an evil character but on another level, Shakespeare tries to depict Caliban as a part of Prospero's character. This is shown when Prospero accepts responsibility for Caliban. Prospero understands that Caliban is the baser side of himself, even the baser side of humanity's baser instincts. Caliban shows many

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

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

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

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 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)

Caliban in The Tempest ‘The Tempest’ is the magical story of the ship-wrecked inhabitants of an island. It deals with many serious themes such as; nature/nurture, power, magic and treachery but ‘the seriousness is never allowed to cause disquiet in the audience’. Many of these themes are still relevant today. The Tempest is, in effect, ‘a fairytale complete with magical occurrences, suspension of the laws of nature and a happy ending’. Caliban is an interesting an important character in ‘The Tempest’.

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

As stated by Deborah Willis in her article Shakespeare's Tempest and the Discourse of Colonialism, “Prospero dominates this play in a way few Shakespearean characters do in others” (279), though with that being said the play does not favor him nor does it endorse his treatment and abuse of the Islands natives, but simply accepts it as is. Prospero does this through his overall power seen continually throughout the play, and it is this idea of power that divides the colonizer from the colonized or in this case Prospero from Caliban and Ariel. Furthermore, an example of this abused use of power can be seen in act 1 scene 2, when Prospero reminds Ariel of the kindness he has shown, “Dost thou forget/From what a torment I did free thee?” (1.2.299-300) in saying this Prospero reminds Ariel that he owes his freedom to Prospero and therefore his servitude. Furthermore, the relationship struggle for dominance between Prospero and Caliban is highly apparent in Act 3 Scene 2, when Caliban the original ruler of the island, explains that Prospero is an intruder and has betrayed his trust and initial welcome by enslaving him, in order to rule the Island himself, “I say by sorcery he got this isle;/From me he got it. If thy greatness will, /Revenge it on him, for I know thou dar'st,/But this thing dare not.” (3.2.59-62).

The first example of the tone in the relationship between Caliban and Prospero can be seen through their names. Caliban, as we know is an uncivilized “half monster” born

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

Within The Tempest, characters such as Prospero and Caliban share an intimate connection. Without some kind of malevolent force motivating the action of the play, none of the major characters would come into contact with each other. A violent storm, formed by Prospero's magic, subjects the foreign characters to the might of his mysterious power. Issues of control become a central part of The Tempest. One way in which this is highlighted is through the relationship between Prospero and Caliban, his bestial servant. Their relationship does not utilize the conventional imagery of those who hold power versus those who do not. Rather, Caliban comes to symbolize a physical