Confronting Colonialism in A Tempest
A Tempest by Aime Cesaire is an attempt to confront and rewrite the idea of colonialism as presented in Shakespeare’s The Tempest. He is successful at this attempt by changing the point of view of the story. Cesaire transforms the characters and transposes the scenes to reveal Shakespeare’s Prospero as the exploitative European power and Caliban and Ariel as the exploited natives. Cesaire’s A Tempest is an effective response to Shakespeare’s The Tempest because he interprets it from the perspective of the colonized and raises a conflict with Shakespeare as an icon of the literary canon.
In The Tempest by William Shakespeare one might argue that colonialism is a reoccurring theme throughout the play because of the slave-master relationship between Ariel and Caliban and Prospero. It is also noticeable through the major and minor changes in status among the temporary inhabitants of the island like Trinculo and Stephano (Brower 463). These relationships support the theme that power is not reciprocal and that in a society someone will be exploited.
Shakespeare first introduces the idea of colonialism when he allows Prospero to be ruler over Caliban, the native inhabitant of the island. This is a direct link to the colonization by the Europeans in the late 1400’s. Caliban reveals this idea of colonization in Act I Scene 2 when he says, “ This island’s mine by Sycorax, my mother, /Which thou tak’st from me…For I am all the subjects that you have, /Which first was my own king; and here you sty me/In this hard rock, while you do keep from me /The rest o’ th’ island” (Shakespeare 37). Shakespeare’s diction in this dialogue as well as in Prospero’s response that fol...
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Becker, Zachery. “Aime Cesaire’s A Tempest”. (1999) 18 April.2001<publishit.com>
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Cesaire, Aime. A Tempest. Trans. Richard Miller. USA: UBU Repertory Theater Publications, 1992.
Hawkes, Terence. That Shakespearean Rag: essays on a critical process. New York: Methuen and Company, 1986.
Mullenix, Elizabeth Reitz. “The Tempest.” Illinois Shakespeare Festival. (1996) 18 April2001. <http://www.orat.ilstu.edu/shakespeare/index.html>
“Negritude.” Encyclopedia Britannica. (1999): 27 April.2001 http://www.britannica.com/eb/article?idxref=283623
Shakespeare, William. The Tempest. London: Washington Square Press, 1994.
An ethical dilemma that is currently happening in the medical field regards pain management. Doctors and other medical professionals are faced with this ethical decision on whether to prescribe strong pain medication to patients who claim to be experiencing pain, or to not in skepticism that the patient is lying to get opioids and other strong medications. “Opioids are drugs that act on the nervous system to relieve pain. Continued use and abuse can lead to physical dependence and withdrawal symptoms,” (Drug Free World Online). Opioids are often prescribed to patients experiencing excruciating pain, but doctors are faced with prescribing these drugs as an ethical issue because only a patient can measure the pain they are in, it is simply impossible
...specially the island that they are inhabiting. Prospero can’t see that he has stolen any type of chance that he could be the ruler of the island. Soon enough, Caliban understands that Prospero sees him as someone to be ruled. Caliban eventually realizes that he has been cheated of ever becoming the ruler. As the consequence of his realization, Caliban turns harsh and savage-like, which only confirms Prospero’s view of him. Shakespeare brings out the harsh reality of what characters believe to be “the right way” in The Tempest. With Caliban, Shakespeare showed his audience how degrading it can be to be the person who will always be considered the “savage” even though they hadn’t had a chance to show their true potential.With Prospero, Shakespeare showed the readers that he was wronged in the beginning of the play, but his quest to prove them wrong, he wronged others.
When you look at mick in the beginning of the book you would probably see he’s an athlete. He was 175 pounds of mostly muscle and he was about 16 years old. Later in his story he became a 220 pound 17 year old boy made of pure muscle. You might mistake him for a bodybuilder. He really only has one good friend, named Drew. They view each other as friends, but they also get a friendly competition with each other when they play. Everybody else just see him as a high school running back for a really big and powerful highschool.
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Hallucinogens or psychedelics are mind-altering drugs, which affect the mind’s perceptions, causing bizarre, unpredictable behavior, and severe, sensory disturbances that may place users at risk of serious injuries or death. Hallucinogens powerfully affect the brain, distorting the way our five senses work and changes our impressions of time and space. People who use these drugs a lot may have a hard time concentrating, communicating, or telling the difference between reality and illusion. Hallucinogens cause people to experience - you guessed it - hallucinations, imagined experiences that seem real. The word "hallucinate" comes from Latin words meaning, "to wander in the mind."
Dutton, R., & Howard, J.E. (2003). A Companion to Shakespeare’s Works.(p. 9) Maiden, MA: Blackwell Pub.
He contradicts himself when he states at the beginning of the chapter that he goes into town to hear some of the gossip but then he goes on to claim that people shouldn’t listen or spread gossip. Thoreau states that “[he] hardly ever failed, when [he] rambled through the village.” This statement was made to try and build Thoreau 's credibility, basically saying that he is doing a better job in life than everyone else in society. But at the very beginning of the chapter Thoreau states that “every day or two [he] strolled into the village to hear some of the gossip.” When Thoreau contradicts himself it lows his credibility instead of building it like he wanted to. He also proves my point on how someone can’t live their whole lives without hearing gossip and that not all gossip is bad. The reason Thoreau goes into town in the first place is to hear some of the news because he lives in the forest. He doesn’t have a clue on what 's going on from the outside of his home in the woods, like what 's going on the war, the weather, or even who was being elected for president. Thoreau had no choice but to take a step back into society and hear some of the gossip that he claims isn’t good for us. This is why I qualify his claim because a person can’t just step away from society completely and not ever hear some of the gossip thats going
Vickers, Brian. Appropriating Shakespeare: Contemporary Critical Quarrels. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. 1993.
Shakespeare, William. The Tempest. The Riverside Shakespeare. Ed. G. Blakemore Evans, et. al. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1974.
The intense stimulant lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) can briefly possess the mind of an individual who ingests it. As a result of its intensity and capability to open the "entryways of recognition," LSD could be violent to the psyche (Baker, 1999). It can seize the user's brain, tenderly uncovering life's dormant truths, or it can turn angry, decreasing the user to a state of complete panic. Obviously, LSD is not to be taken carelessly. This makes dosing an unknowing individual with it, particularly one who isn't familiar with LSD's properties, an especially frightful act. An individual unacquainted with LSD and completely unaware they had been dosed could be brought to the edge of mental breakdown.
In literature as in life, characters are multi-dimensional beings. They possess a wide variety of character traits that make them who they are. In the Tempest written by William Shakespeare, Prospero traits resemble those of the Europeans that came during the exploration of the Americas. Thus, Prospero’s treatment of Caliban is similar to the way Europeans treated the Native Americans.
Vickers, Brian. Appropriating Shakespeare: Contemporary Critical Quarrels. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. 1993.
LSD can be administered a number of ways, the most common: orally through paper, sugar cubes, on a piece of gelatin, or by pill; intravenously; or intramuscularly. A standard dose withnoticeable hallucinogenic effects is about 100-200 ug. The intensity of the trip is proportional to the size of the dose -- it is interesting to note, though, that the duration of the trip seems to stay the same at higher doses (Freedman, 1984). The initial effects begin 20-40 minutes with a sense of euphoria and dizziness. Hallucinations then begin to occur, with the trip peaking for 4-5 hours after about an hour since the drug is taken. LSD is best described as a drug that strikes down barriers. The person who uses LSD is likely to feel detached from his/her ego, and can cross between states of consciousness. The user's perceptions are altered, causing visual and auditory hallucinations. One may notice that the walls of room are "breathing" or that motionless curtains appear to be moving. Senses appear to mix: a user might see music, taste colors, or hear visual stimuli. The LSD experience is often difficult to describe by users -- words lose meaning and ...
The Tempest by Shakespeare and A Tempest by Cesaire both bring attention to the themes that are seen in present day society. A Tempest mostly speaks on behalf of the reference to Malcolm X and the never-ending gain of freedom for both Caliban and Ariel and brings in Eshu, who is a black-devil god. The Tempest speaks of the unity and justice among the different classes of people and discrimination from the beginning. There is a great amount of detail in both stories that is useful. The way society had developed and worked when both stories were published and even written is presented in today’s world, even though it’s not exact references, it still leaves plenty of room for interpretation. Justice, freedom from oppression and discrimination
The Tempest, by Shakespeare, offers the reader a variety of themes. The one theme that stands out the most is that of colonialism. During the time of Shakespeare, many European countries such as Spain, France, and England, were expanding their borders by taking over less developed countries, referred to as colonies. During this time of exploitation, there was skepticism concerning the possible success of the colonies. While some scholars believe that the play is about the Americas, I argue that the play reflects on colonialism in general and how it is destined for failure which is shown through the character’s relationships throughout the play.