The Tempest Research Paper

Culture and society have a strong effect on the individual, including decisions, relationships, and responsibilities. Often, one can lose their own identity in the midst of societal roles and stereotypes. Seeing human nature as it truly is, without external influences, is nearly impossible in realistic scenarios. Modern literature and cinema accomplish this seemingly impossible task, separating the individual from society and other influential forces, through storms or catastrophic events. In Shakespeare’s, The Tempest, the storm is the disaster which strands the characters on the Island on their way from a wedding. There are many modern examples where disasters, natural or caused by humans are used to strip the individual down to its most

This storm serves a few different purposes in both the plot and the development of the characters. Prospero creates the storm because he is trying to punish and those who had done him wrong. His brother, Antonio, betrayed him and stole his dukedom and was assisted by other. In this case, the storm is not natural, but one Prospero created. Prospero did not kill them all in the storm, but rather had them, through Ariel, make it safely to the Island, becoming separated in small groups. In this scenario, they are being taken from any social hierarchy and each character is seen truly as they are at some point over the course of the play. One’s true identity fully makes itself present, whether that is through the attempt to acquire power of the fact that power has been stripped away, and therefore recognizes their wrong

What was often revealed about the character's true self was the greed and desire for power. Without any elected leader or source of authority on the island, people begin to seek more power for themselves. This is evident through the plans to kill those in positions of higher power. When Ariel puts all but Antonio and Sebastian to sleep, they see the benefits of killing those who had fallen asleep. Antonio convinces Sebastian that they could rule Naples if they kill Alonso. They are about to kill Gonzalo and Alonso, but Ariel awakes them. Another example is when Caliban first meets Trinculo when he is carrying wood, mistaking him for a spirit sent by Prospero to torment him. Soon Stephano meets them and the three start drinking together. After a while, Caliban proposes that they kill Prospero and make Stephano king of the Island. The three agree to the plot and set off to kill Prospero. In the presence of Prospero, although resistant, recognizes him as a figure of superiority and authority. Without any form of punishment for their actions on the island, chaos occurred.

In modern cinema and literature, catastrophes or disasters are used to set up or start the plot. This has a very similar effect to the disaster used in The Tempest. This same way of exposing character’s true identity can be seen in many popular culture movies. A television show also uses a disastrous event to set up the scene on which