In Cesaire’s reinterpretation, he establishes that Caliban had an identity prior to the one that was given to him by Prospero by having Caliban rename himself which ultimately allows Cesaire to develop the history of Caliban which is lost in the original play. Through the lense of Shakespeare, it would have been fair to assume that Caliban has had his name for the entirety of his life. However, Cesaire disputes this in his own rendition of the play. In a confrontation with Prospero, Caliban states, “Call me X. That would be best. Like a man without a name. Or, to be more precise, a man whose name has been stolen. You talk about history…well, that’s history, and everyone knows it! Every time you summon me it reminds me of a basic fact, the fact …show more content…
Thus, Cesaire is able to ultimately expand upon Caliban and depict him as a realistic character because he understands the role of the slave and the master. In Cesaire’s version, instead of leaving the island, Prospero makes the decision that he will remain on the island after having received a speech from Caliban about how he has despised Prospero for all the wrongs he has done him. During this, Caliban states, “You can pick up and leave. You can go back to Europe. But the hell you will! I’m sure you won’t leave. You make me laugh with your “mission”! Your “vocation”! Your vocation is to hassle me. And that’s why you’ll stay, just like those guys who founded the colonies and now can’t live anywhere else. You’re just an old addict, that’s what you are!” (Cesaire 65). In this statement, Caliban asserts that Prospero wants to control him simply because Prospero is under the impression that he is somehow bettering Caliban from a primal and savage state. This is the “mission” and “vocation” that Caliban refers to in these lines. He then goes on to ridicule Prospero and tell him that the only thing that Prospero has ever done for him is disturb him on his island. Caliban never wanted to be a part of Prospero’s mission and he makes that clear. Through this, Caliban instills doubt in Prospero and his authority. Thus, Prospero decides to reside on the island because he is still delusional about his role in Caliban’s life and believes that he is saving Caliban from the savage state. In the ending, Prospero’s decision to remain on the island is significant because it is proof that Caliban has made the master doubt the very power structure that he had built. Caliban threatened the integrity of Prospero’s authority. This is because Caliban