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The Tempest Quote Analysis

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The Tempest, a play written by William Shakespeare, disapproves of colonization by showing resistance, opposition, and hatred towards those who trusted they had power and control over those who were considered to be inferior. Caliban resists the overwhelming and evil power of those similar to Prospero’s (and Prospero himself). He challenges Prospero’s control and disrespects him as an overall person. Caliban struggles to accept the fact that Prospero, along with people close to him, have made him a prisoner in his own home. Justifiably, he curses and torments Prospero every chance he gets. “All the charms / Of Sycorax, toads, beetles, bats, light on you / For I am all the subjects that you have / Which first was mine own king; and here you stay me / In this hard rock, whiles you do keep from me / The rest o’ the island” (Shakespeare 1.2.406–411). …show more content…

He knows how Prospero pretty much took his mother away from him, enslaved him in his homeland, and lied about what kind of personality Caliban has. Prospero also treats Caliban inhumanely and cruelly — which is most likely due to the fact that Prospero is a bit lazy and has two people doing all his hard work (Ariel and Caliban). Along with Shakespeare’s “final” play (The Tempest) itself, numerous other sources also support the evidence that was previously mentioned. Caliban consistently appears to be a Native American throughout the play, which is why many believe that is why Prospero treated him so wrongly up until the very end of The Tempest. “The weak insinuation of African colonization nevertheless makes more sense than to link the island to the New World, along with the corresponding insistence that Caliban is Native American” (Pesta 275). Duke Pesta, a popular writer, writes an essay titled “Acknowledging Things of Darkness: Postcolonial Criticism of The

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433 Words | 2 Pages

Like English viewed Indians, Prospero viewed Caliban’s race as being “inferior” and savage, for he is a native and different from what he believes is civil. Prospero takes him under his control and teaches him the ways of what he thinks is civilized, teaching him language and chores, and eventually making him his slave. Like Douglass and slaves, he would be punished often by Prospero’s spirits for any offense such as a wrong response to just a small mistake or look. Caliban’s status/class went from being the “king” of the island that his mother left him to being a slave, just like the Indians were manipulated by the English while they plotted on how to take their land away. Caliban however can think for himself, yet others view him as inferior because of his race, thinking he has no intellect.

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723 Words | 3 Pages

Prospero constantly claims that Caliban is incapable of doing anything right and is only capable of committing malicious acts. In the text, Shakespeare states, “Which any print of goodness wilt not take, being capable of all ill.” This statement further emphasizes Prospero’s revulsion towards Caliban. They have both endured neglection and verbal abuse throughout their lifetimes, which has led them to commit wrongful acts of violence upon

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292 Words | 2 Pages

This week we discussed ‘“The Tempest” in the Wilderness: A Tale of Two Frontiers’ by Ronald Takaki. In this article, the author discusses the differences between savagery and civilization. The main argument in this argument is shown in the form of examples of how the Indians and Irish were simply harmless at first when discovering the New World, but quickly made into monsters by the English men. I’m sure we’ve all learned in history of John Smith’s description of how the Powhatans cared for the sick and dying English men.

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1205 Words | 5 Pages

they now are in my power”. Unlike Shakespeare, Atwood adapts Caliban from The Tempest and represents his character through the collective of the prisoners. Opposed to ‘monstrous’ Caliban, she depicts the prisoners as marginalised, “He refused to call them inmates”. As a human rights activist, Atwood alters the portrayal of Caliban-empowering minority groups. Prospero and Caliban’s relationship critically influences Atwood as she re-imagines the play within a prison, “Felix heads off to Fletcher Correctional”.

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1444 Words | 6 Pages

Prospero’s Magic, the Age of Death and the 1610 Anthropocene When Prospero -- the hero in William Shakespeare’s last play The Tempest -- buries his magical books near a cliff of an uninhabited island, he sings out the first song of the “Anthropocene” at the edge of the great globe. As the Duke of Milan, he and his daughter are exiled to the isolated island for 12 years, during which process he uses his magic to enslave the natives on the island, including “ a savage and deformed slave” -- Caliban (Shakespeare 3). One may argue that the master-slave relationship shows Shakespeare’s postcolonial reflection while others may think that this viewpoint takes too far from Shakespeare’s original intention. Steve Mentz, in his essay “Enter Anthropocene, c.1610,” interprets The Tempest through lenses of the 1610

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922 Words | 4 Pages

Let us consider our initial meeting with him. Caliban is the only native living on the island now inhabited by Prospero and Miranda. Caliban is described as hag-born, whelp, not honored with human shape, demi-devil, poor credulous monster, hag-seed, strange fish. Caliban tells Prospero in scene two that when thou camest first, thou strokedst me and madest 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 show'd thee all the qualities o' the isle the fresh springs, brine-pits, barren place and fertile. Caliban is reminding Prospero that he learnt everything about the island from him, suggesting also that Caliban was a native on the island and also that Prospero had no knowledge on how to survive on the island.

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756 Words | 4 Pages

1- What makes Miranda a central character in the play? What process must she undergo? What virtues does she possess that make success likely? Miranda is a hero “The Tempest.”

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1011 Words | 5 Pages

Texting and driving is a fatal flaw that has caused hundreds of thousands of peoples their lives. NHTSA leads the national effort to save lives by creating campaigns to visualize the reality of this dangerous behavior. An ad that will be forever sketched into my mind because it illustrates the harsh actuality of texting and driving. This ad depicts a woman lying in a two-way street, face down. The street is empty only showing the women lying there.

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(1.2.191-193) reinforces Cesaire’s post-colonial perspective and his endorsement of negritude. Caliban finds himself continuously ill-treated; he has it the worst of all of Prospero’s slaves. The conditions of hard-labour that were subjected to black people by white supercilious people during colonization are mentioned by Cesaire were Prospero “forgives” Ferdinand and excuses him from his afore imposed state of slavery on the basis that they are of the same race and rank and the manual labour that was intended for Ferdinand is passed on to Caliban. Caliban is naïve and gullible, he trusts Stephano and Trinculo upon meeting them for the first time in spite of the ordeal he undergoes with Prospero. Caliban’s woes are echoed throughout the play and draws sympathy from the reader, whereas in “The Tempest” Shakespeare makes it difficult for the audience to consider Caliban as anything further then the perpetrator

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467 Words | 2 Pages

Teens are having trouble passing their driving test because they do not get proper training. Poor instruction causes these young drivers to be involved in accidents on the road, which is why driving schools need to be aware of the various bad habits of driving. Educating new drivers on the proper way to drive will provide a safer environment on the road. Using a mobile device while driving is a huge dilemma causing thousands of deaths and accidents per year. Texting, changing the song, and looking at the time are all examples of this careless habit.

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1220 Words | 5 Pages

Both characters are considered as rebellious savages that are controlled, Caliban by Prospero and John by the World State. The Tempest can be interpreted as a play about colonialism because when Prospero arrived at the island, he imposed his own rules and put Caliban under slavery, just as Europeans when they took possession of the lands of Americans and enslaved them. From this point of view, Prospero and the World State are very similar because they both use their power to control over people and to preserve their own stability (Prospero using his magic and the World State using soma).

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881 Words | 4 Pages

The Tempest can be seen as a play about reconciliation, forgiveness, and mercy. However, while it is clear that the theme of forgiveness is at the heart of the drama, it is unclear to what extent mercy is given. An examination of Caliban and Ariel and their representations of Prospero’s struggle illustrates that there is little, if any, true forgiveness and reconciliation in The Tempest. Prospero’s actions from the beginning of the play seem to contradict his ultimate aim to forgive those of have wronged him. Prospero seizes the opportunity for revenge with the help of his magic and good fortune.

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1470 Words | 6 Pages

As the play begins, it seems as if the massive tempest is simply a random occurrence, catching the mariners and nobility by chance. However, as the act continues, Shakespeare reveals that the tempest was actually the work of Prospero and his ghostly servant Ariel, who stirred up the seas and set fire to the masts (1.2, 193-194). This establishes Prospero as the executor of a mess of ‘coincidences’ ranging from Ferdinand stumbling upon his daughter Miranda to King Alonso and his party walking directly into the former duke’s cell. Though Prospero may have the same control over the English language as the other characters, Caliban points to his specific source of power. He says, “… for without [his books] /

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1555 Words | 7 Pages

The Tempest can often be seen as a play about colonialism primarily because Prospero came to the island that belonged to Sycorax, Caliban's mother. Prospero subdued her, ruled the land and placed himself as its new ruler. He had full control over everything on the island. Caliban actually loved Prospero at first and was fine with an autonomy but not slavery as he lamented: This island’s mine by Sycorax my mother, Which thou tak’st from me.

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1123 Words | 5 Pages

Shakespeare’s The Tempest is often considered fiction and finds content in expressing characteristics of both the main character, Prospero and differences in the power dynamics affecting his characters. Shakespeare often uses groups of characters to emphasize the complexity of their surroundings and effects on their behavior. The overall repetition of complications faced or caused in relation to Prospero and play an enormous role in the plot, helping to develop both the his feelings and the emotional ties of others regarding him. Shakespeare also varies the diction to place emphasis on the power dynamic and relationships observed between thespians.

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