The Negative Effect of the European influences on Caliban's Life
Caliban’s life is a work of nature without any nurture before the arrive of Prospero, and the shipwreck. Through out the play, Caliban’s life only got worse until the end. The Europeans influences of Caliban had negatively influenced his life. Prospero had enslaved, and overly punished Caliban for attempting to violate Miranda. Trinculo and Stepheno caused Caliban to lose his dignity. The spirits of Prospero had caused Caliban to lose his self-confidence and resulted in him following Trinculo and Stepheno. With the above examples of mistreatments of Caliban by the Europeans, therefore the influences of the Europeans had cause Caliban to ruin his life.
Caliban’s life could be different and maybe better without the influences from the European people. Caliban used to be friend and follower of Prospero, by showing him around the island and picking berries for him. Caliban had no education at all except the knowledge of every corner on the island. It is human nature for all animals to release sexual energy at a certain age of their life. Caliban, who has no education on discipline performed human nature when he tried to rape Miranda. “In mine own cell, till thou didst seek to violate/The honour of my child.” Prospero punished him greatly for that. Caliban used to serve Prospero because he was helping Prospero to get around in the island, but after the rape attempt, he became Prospero’s slave. “Abhorred slave……prison”. Prospero believed that Caliban can never be trained to be good, and he is capable of anything evil. This statement is obvious not true, as it is proved later in the play. Because of the assumption of Caliban, he treated him...
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...ide and praise Stepheno and Trinculo. “I’ll show thee every fertile inch o' th' island./And I will kiss thy foot. I prithee, be my god.” The low self-confidence of Caliban is caused by the torturing of the spirits of Prospero, and therefore the influences of Prospero and Europeans had caused Caliban’s life to shift in a negative way.
Caliban’s life was organic when he was created on the island. When the Europeans like Prospero, Trinculo and Stepheno encountered Caliban, they changed his life negatively. The punishment of Prospero on Caliban had changed Caliban’s perception on what is right and wrong. Trinculo and Stepheno had completely taken away Caliban’s dignity. The spirits of Prospero had destroyed Caliban’s self-confidence. With the reason stated, in conclusion therefore the Europeans that had come to the island had negatively influenced Caliban’s life.
Early on in the play, the text strongly indicates that the relationship between Prospero and Caliban is far from loving o...
In the poem Caliban says that he is “damaged by history” and “the man in the darkness”. This quote from the poem shows an example of characters in the play saying Caliban is rude. Caliban is a character hurt from events in his past, so he acts rude, and lashes out at people.
Prospero tries to justify enslaving Caliban, but all he really does is place Caliban into a category of bestial and uncivilized and as a result enslaves him. Even Miranda, Prospero’s daughter, speaks in a way that categorizes Caliban as an uneducated and uncivilized savage. “I pitied thee, Took pains to make thee speak, taught thee each hour [.] When thou didst not, savage, know thine own meaning [. ]” (1.2.356-359) Miranda doesn’t stop there; she continues labeling Caliban, “But thy vile race, though thou didst learn, had that in’t which good natures could not abide to be with; therefore wast though deservedly confined into this rock [. ]”
The Tempest reflects Shakespeare's society through the relationship between characters, especially between Prospero and Caliban. Caliban, who was the previous king of the island, is taught how to be "civilized" by Prospero and his daughter Miranda. Then he is forced to be their servant. Caliban explains "Thou strok'st me and make much of me; wo...
Another way that the treatment of Caliban by Prospero is similar to the treatment of Native Americans by the Europeans is the adaptation of the language. When the Europeans came to the New World they forced the Native Americans to learn their languages and live according to the European culture. People who had spoken one language all their lives, now had to learn another. They had to live by customs they have never heard of even before. In the Tempest, Prospero does this also. When Prospero came to the island he forced Caliban to learn the language that he spoke. Caliban had to adapt to a style of living that he had never experienced before. Caliban had to change completely to adapt to the life forced upon him.
Caliban is treated in a highly demeaning manner since Prospero is a man of magic and has infinite power to control Caliban in every aspect. It is seen early on in the play the amount of control that has been placed over Caliban, to the extent that memories make him cringe and satisfy all of Prospero’s needs. Prospero is obviously the Duke of that island similar to how he was Duke of Milan before being usurped and banished to the island, which is Caliban’s home. In general, the relationship of Prospero and Caliban is a model of early colonization into the New World considering Caliban is it’s only inhabitant. In reality, colonization is the chief reason slavery was implemented which was to maintain laborers in order to prosper in the New World.
Prospero taught Caliban a new language, so they could communicate better. Learning a new language did not make Caliban a better or different person. Eventually, having a language gave him a confidence. Now that he knows their language, he uses language as a tool to go against and curse at them. Having contextualize the quote by Caliban, this paper
In this whimsical play, Prospero, the former Duke of Milan, after being supplanted of his dukedom by his brother, arrives on an island. He frees a spirit named Ariel from a spell and in turn makes the spirit his slave. He also enslaves a native monster named Caliban. These two slaves, Caliban and Ariel, symbolize the theme of nature versus nurture. Caliban is regarded as the representation of the wild; the side that is usually looked down upon. Although from his repulsive behavior, Caliban can be viewed as a detestable beast of nature, it can be reasonably inferred that Shakespeare’s intent was to make Caliban a sympathetic character.
Within his portrayal of Prospero, Shakespeare skilfully displays this character as the embodiment of all characteristics that defined the true colonisers; strength, power, and of course the intense control of all relationships and land he is invested in. Although these characteristics can be seen in all Prospero’s actions and interactions it is those with his subject, Caliban, which present them most clearly.
“Absolute natural evil of Caliban in The Tempest in the case of Caliban, it we accept the absoluteness of his natural evil, we must accept what Charney describes as a necessary (and absolute) ‘discontinuity in his character:. . .” (Bloom 128)
...epresents every person that has been colonized by Europe, and their attempt to civilize the savages. Their method of civilizing and to maintain a firm grip on their savage labourers was language. It was their means to communicate and control the people who they didn’t consider as themselves and a means to discriminate against it. This is reason why Caliban resists and rebels against Prospero and disparage the language he has been taught. To him it is the loss of freedom and the agency through which he is being discriminated against.
Caliban, a once free person who for the most part owned the entire island, was surprised by the sudden betrayal of Prospero after he had, out of generosity, showed Prospero the island. In the play, Caliban is the only human subject of Prospero, but he is treated merely as a slave and servant (I.ii.337-341). People who have power often have subjects to rule or territory to rule on, and the people who don’t have power are the ones suppressed under the rule. Caliban saw Prospero as someone who is trustworthy enough that he will exploit many of the island’s secrets to him. Prospero, gaining full command over Caliban after the island’s features were shown to him, subjugates Caliban, differentiates him from other people, dehumanizes him and makes him worthless except for fetching wood. The desire for power is often sought after by many individuals, but the consequences of having it can lead to betrayal, treachery, and conditions much
Throughout The Tempest, Caliban is seen as being wicked, brutal and being ruled all the time, but is very keen with his senses. Prospero, however contrasts this and is very powerful, intelligent, and is a natural at ruling and having control over others. When Prospero and Miranda first arrived on the island where Caliban is a native they got along quite well, however after Caliban tried to rape Miranda, so things went down hill. This is symbolic of women who lose their virginity. It also shows how women are weak compared to men and how men are stronger and more powerful then women. Because Caliban tried to rape Miranda, Prospero imprisoned Caliban. As Prospero says to Caliban:
Prospero appears to be a ruthless tyrant that strikes fear into Caliban to make him work but further on in the text we learn that this is not the case. Caliban's foul-mouthed insults,
Caliban is evil is the fact that he tried to rape Miranda, Prospero’s daughter as states by Barbara Fuchs in her article Conquering Islands: Contextualizing the Tempest where it says, “Caliban’s attack on Prospero’s daughter once more genders the colonizing impulses” (61). This suggests rape and it is not inhuman and it shows that Miranda is not the first woman who this has happen to. It not right, it’s evil. Caliban’s character in this book is horrible in the things that he does, he starting off has an evil monster that was born from an evil parents and he goes around causing trouble wherever he goes. As a servant, he does evil deed and by himself he is evil.