Caliban Is Wrong Essay

A lot of men, women, and children have gone through much tribulation. Although The Tempest is a comedy, if one digs deeper, they can find tragedy throughout. In the play, a king and many other noblemen are shipwrecked on an island as part of a plot to enact revenge by a powerful wizard. Many characters are used and abused through various methods in this story. However, one specific character is severely wronged. In The Tempest by William Shakespeare, Caliban is the most justified in believing he was wronged because he is immorally denied his basic rights and constantly demeaned which causes him a feeling of indignation during the whole story.

Caliban‘s rights are violated many times in the story which means he is being wronged because

I had peopled else this isle with Caliban” ( 1.2.420-421). Caliban did attempt to assault Miranda, and his attempt reveals the repulsion of Caliban’s natural desires by Prospero. Caliban’s try at Miranda shows his natural desires were held back by Prospero because Caliban would not have a need to commit such an act if he was naturally able to fulfill his urges. People have a right to comply with their temptations if they wish, but Prospero preventing Caliban from doing so would be a violation of his rights. Prospero denying Caliban his rights would be wronging him because rights are what everyone has and needs. Prospero also ignores all of Caliban’s other rights. In fact Caliban tells him “This

His indignation causes many problems for himself. The worst part is that people could very easily not degrade home morally and personally, so the action of insulting him is an active decision which makes it so that he is wronged. Many, many people tell Caliban horrible things. One of these people is Miranda. She adds insult to the injury of Caliban being enslaved by saying “thou deservedly confined into this rock, who hadn’t deserved more than a prison” (1.2.434-436). Miranda is telling Caliban he is not worthy of sympathy and is deserving of punishment. Miranda is just one of the many instances of people demeaning Caliban. Every time a character dehumanizes Caliban he becomes more angry, more desperate, and more indignant. Putting someone in a situation where they are constantly shamed is detrimental to their mental health. Mental health is a key component of life, so by causing Caliban to feel indignant, he is being wronged. Even on their first encounter, Stephano cries out “Mercy, mercy, this is a devil, and no monster” (2.2.100-101). Stephano is degrading Caliban. Even though it may have been for comedic effect. The fact that Stephano says Caliban is a devil shows how people automatically have an unpleasant view of Caliban from the start. Since Caliban is always degraded, he grows more desperate and angry, so he is more likely to make choices that will endanger himself. Then, Stephano’s partner, Trinculo, joins in