Shakespeare's The Tempest Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Shakespeare's The Tempest - Essay Example However, in the story, Caliban appears to be knowledgeable but subjugated due to which, all his qualities are suppressed. The character of Caliban points towards closeness to nature, colonialism and slavery. The character of Caliban is described by Shakespeare as a ‘Savage and deformed slave’ that characterizes the upbringing of the creature (Graf 3). Caliban is nurtured by Prospero as a slave who makes use of the creature for his own benefits. He teaches Caliban his language with the help of which, Caliban can tell him about the marvels of the island. Caliban is native to the island and knows better than anyone else about the island. Prospero killed Caliban’s mother and take hold of young Caliban, about which, he says, Prospero taught Caliban how to use language and considering this as a service, he told Prospero about the island and its features that were hidden previously. After gaining knowledge of the details of the island, Prospero enslaves Caliban and considers him as an abhorred creature who knows nothing. For Prospero, Caliban is only a slave who is savage and deformed. He is far from civilization and knows nothing about it. Prospero calls Caliban with many abusive words and he regards him as a slave only created for his service such as he says, Prospero uses his power to keep control on the creature. Prospero makes Caliban to do what he likes and takes away his freedom and liberty. Caliban is allowed only to do what Prospero likes. Caliban is deprived of his right over the island and Prospero after making the island colonized regards it his property and the native of the island, Caliban becomes his slave. Prospero belongs to some other place and in reality, the island does not belong to Prospero but he takes hold of it because of his power. Caliban is the true dweller of the island and acknowledges this fact as he says, Caliban describes the fact that the island is usurped by Prsopero and he is