The Tempest: Comparing The Cultures In The Tempest And Ours Essay, Research Paper

The Tempest: Comparing The Cultures in The Tempest and Ours

& # 8220 ; All work forces are created equal & # 8221 ; is one of the declarations that American

civilization is built on. This declaration means that all work forces no affair of race,

faith, or credo are peers in the eyes of society, every bit good as the jurisprudence. This

was non ever true in history, particularly non in Shakespeare & # 8217 ; s twenty-four hours and age.

During this clip, society had degrees of categorization where work forces were considered

& # 8220 ; superior & # 8221 ; to other work forces. Shakespeare gives us a gustatory sensation of this hierarchal

civilization through his drama The Tempest. He shows us how & # 8220 ; superior & # 8221 ; work forces perceived

themselves in contrast to lesser existences due to their race, fiscal position, and

gender. We besides are shown those who had ground to experience superior yet treated

others every bit and with the regard due to them.

The Tempest reflects Shakespeare & # 8217 ; s society through the relationship

between characters, particularly between Prospero and Caliban. Caliban, who was

the old male monarch of the island, is taught how to be & # 8220 ; civilized & # 8221 ; by Prospero and

his girl Miranda. Then he is forced to be their retainer. Caliban explains

& # 8220 ; Thou strok & # 8217 ; st me and do much of me ; wouldst give me Water with berries in? T ;

and learn me how to call the bigger visible radiation, how the less, That burn by twenty-four hours and

dark ; and so I lov & # 8217 ; vitamin D thee, And show & # 8217 ; d thee all the qualities o & # 8217 ; th & # 8217 ; isle, & # 8230 ;

For I am all the topics you have, which foremost was mine ain king. & # 8221 ; ( I, ii,334-

354 ) . We see he is treated as a lesser being because he is non of the same race

as Prospero and Miranda. Prospero describes him as & # 8220 ; A freckled whelp hag-born –

non honor & # 8217 ; vitamin D with a human shape. & # 8221 ; ( I, ii,282-283 ) Clearly, the people of different

races were treated as inferior human existences in Shakespeare & # 8217 ; s clip. In this

civilization, because person is different, they are less of a human than you.

Fiscal position besides plays a major function in societal categorizations.

During the clip of The Tempest, Dukes and Earls, who were among the Lords, were

considered to be superior even to other members of their ain race. The Lords

had retainers and common mans who worked for them. Shakspere shows us an illustration

of this with the relationship between his characters of Sebastian and Antonio

and of the Boatswain and the crewmans. Sebastian cries at the crewmans & # 8220 ; A syphilis O & # 8217 ;

your pharynx, you bawling, profane, incharitable Canis familiaris! & # 8221 ; ( I, i,40-41 ) , connoting

that they are inferior and are at that place to function him. Antonio besides shows he

believes himself superior by saying to the Boatswain & # 8220 ; Hang, mongrel! Hang, you

whoresom, insolent, noise-maker. We are less afraid to be drowned than 1000

art. & # 8221 ; ( I, i,43-45 ) These work forces were of the same tegument colour, hair texture, and oculus

colour, but were treated inferior due to their fiscal position and & # 8220 ; inferior & # 8221 ;

blood line.

Womans had besides fallen victim to this hierarchial society. During this

epoch adult females were considered to be objects and were treated as belongings.

Shakspere presents this in the intervention of Claribel, girl of Alonso, and

Miranda by their male parents. Claribel was married of to the King of Tunis, an

African state, simply for the addition of Alonso, the Duke of Milan, and his Godheads.

Their feelings are clear in Sebastian & # 8217 ; s words & # 8220 ; Twas a sweet matrimony, and we

prosper good in our return. & # 8221 ; ( II, i,69 ) . And for Miranda, Prospero show how he

considers his merely girl as he states & # 8220 ; Then, as my gift, and thine ain

acquisition Worthily purcas & # 8217 ; vitamin D, take my

daughter…” ( IV, i,13-14 ) She is evidently

considered his belongings. Womans did non hold rights at this clip and were simply

used as pawns in trade with other work forces of stature to derive whatever it was they

wished.

Not all work forces in the place to see themselves superior thought

themselves to be. Even though some work forces had the fiscal position or baronial blood,

they treated others every bit and truly thought them equal. Ferdinand,

although being the Prince of Naples, treats Miranda, who he thinks a mere amah,

as an equal homo being meriting nil less than his fondness and kindness.

This is proved true in his conversation with Miranda where he tells her & # 8220 ; O, if a

virgin, And your fondness non gone Forth, I & # 8217 ; ll do you the Queen of

Naples. & # 8221 ; ( I, ii,450-452 ) . He loves her and would hold her as his married woman and Queen

even though he thinks her a mere amah. Gonzalo besides shows us his bosom when he

sees Ariel enter with the Boatswain and crewmans. He refers to them as & # 8220 ; here is

more of us & # 8221 ; ( V, i,15 ) screening he considers the Boatswain and crewmans his equal.

In these two characters, Shakespeare is stating that non all work forces are narcissistic

and perceive themselves above others.

From being treated inferior, people start to believe themselves inferior.

From being unjustly treated, Caliban thinks himself inferior to Prospero & # 8217 ; s race.

When Stepheno and Triniculo arrived on the island, Caliban considered them

superior existences even though they were mere retainers themselves. They besides

thought themselves superior to Caliban because he was of a different race even

though Caliban does turn out to hold a greater mind than both Stepheno and

Triniculo. We see their sense of high quality by how they refer to Caliban

& # 8220 ; Servant-Monster, drink to me & # 8221 ; ( III, ii,3 ) . Caliban besides shows us his credence

of this intervention in his response & # 8220 ; How do thy honor? Let me cream thy

shoe & # 8230 ; & # 8221 ; ( III, ii,22-23 ) and & # 8220 ; Thou shalt be Godhead of it, and I & # 8217 ; ll function

thee & # 8221 ; ( III, ii,56 ) . We see by this that Caliban genuinely believes himself inferior

even though his ain mind surpasses that of Stepheno and Triniculo. In

today & # 8217 ; s society, intervention of lower status is against the jurisprudence and purportedly non-

existent openly in society. We all know, nevertheless, that this hierarchial head

set still lurks around every corner in today & # 8217 ; s civilization. It may non travel every bit far as

coercing person to be your servant, but it lives in the signifier of favoritism

and segregation. Because of many old ages of inferior intervention, many people feel

they either can non win or that it will be more hard for them than

those of the & # 8220 ; right & # 8221 ; race or fiscal bracket. It is non that the people today

feel inferior, its that they feel they will non acquire a just opportunity. It & # 8217 ; s

normally believed that the people of & # 8220 ; inferior & # 8221 ; races or pecuniary position will

get picked over for occupations or other prejudiced Acts of the Apostless will be performed against

them.

The two civilizations are rather different, but they besides have some rebuff

similarities. Our civilization is over three-hundred old ages older than that of

Shakespeare, which should do our society more mature in its actions and

attitude. We should hold learned that all work forces genuinely are equal and should be

treated consequently. But all three-hundred old ages has taught us was how to be

more discreet in our actions and feelings by giving them pretty names or maintaining

them out of the public oculus. These two civilizations may look really different but

really are a batch closer than most of society would hold us believe.