Servitude vs Loyalty through Manipulation and Power
Prospero and king Minos are examples of how people use their positions to manipulate people into doing what they want. Prospero’s need for control over Ariel is more about his need to seek revenge against those who cast him and his daughter into exile from their home. King Minos’ manipulation is different in that he deceived Daedalus into believing that he was his friend to manipulate Daedalus into building the labyrinth to hide the shame of his wife’s infidelity. Prospero and king Minos used Ariel and Daedalus desire to be free to get what they wanted by using their loyalty and weakness against them.
Ariel had been cursed by the evil witch Sycorax and imprisoned to live in a pine tree because
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he would not serve Sycorax. Unlike Daedalus who deserved to be punished because he killed his Nephew out of jealousy, “Now his nephew and pupil, Talus, exhibited great talent, having invented both the saw and the compass, and Dædalus, fearing lest he might overshadow his own fame, secretly killed him by throwing him down from the citadel of Pallas-Athene,” there is no evidence that Ariel was being punished for a serious crime.
Ariel seems to have exchanged the Prospero (the lesser evil) over being confined to a tree in the hope Prospero would keep his promise to give him his freedom. Prospero and his daughter were accustomed to living a life of luxury and having people wait on them, had to learn how to become self-sufficient while on the island. Having control through manipulating Ariel may have given Prospero a sense of ownership over the island. Prospero could use Ariel’s magic to exact revenge upon the people who sent him into exile away from his home. In seeking revenge upon those individuals, it also may have given him a sense of control over the situation allowing him to control and bring fear and misery to those on the ship. Prospero’s use of manipulation to get Ariel to do as he asked was evident in Act 1 Scene II, when he manipulated Ariel by reminding him of how he saved Ariel from the pine tree, “Dost thou forget From what a torment I did free thee?” Reminding Ariel how he saved him, made Ariel feel guilty for reminding Prospero …show more content…
of his promise to set him free,“ Pardon, master; I will be correspondent to command And do my spiriting gently..” To show that he is thankful to Prospero, Ariel gladly serves Prospero with the hope he will eventually obtain his freedom. Unlike Prospero, king Minos pretends to be Daedalus’ friend. He preyed upon Daedalus great reputation as a sculptor and fear of being put to death by allowing him to seek asylum on his island of Crete, “condemned to death; he was received by king Minos in a manner worthy of his great reputation.” King Mino’s pretentious friendship only served to protect him and would eventually show Daedalus his true nature of greed and control. In his refusal to sacrifice a certain bull for Poseidon, King Minos shows that his desires and wants meant more to him than facing the curse of Poseidon.
In refusing to do as Poseidon asked, king Minos made him angry. To embarrass and punish him, Poseidon cursed king Minos’ through his wife, causing her to fall in love with a bull and have a child that was half man and half bull. His wife had become infatuated with the bull and this brought such shame upon king Minos that he took advantage of Daedalus’ skill as a sculptor to build a cover for the bull so he could hide his shame. “Dædalus constructed for the king the world-renowned labyrinth, which was an immense building, full of intricate passages, intersecting each other in such a manner, that even Dædalus himself is said, upon one occasion, to have nearly lost his way in it; and it was in this building the king placed the Minotaur, a monster with the head and shoulders of a bull and the body of a man.” In the guise of being Daedalus’ friend, king Minos had him convinced that he would be safe from death and Daedalus settled on the island of Crete built the labyrinth for king Minos. For Daedalus ending up on the island of Crete seemed to be a place of refuge for him. Eventually, Daedalus got weary and tired of living in isolation and wanted to move on with his life. In his need to control his world, King Minos would not allow this and realizing that he was a prisoner, Daedalus began to plan his and his son Icarus’
escape. “After He therefore resolved to make his escape, and for this purpose ingeniously contrived wings for himself and his young son Icarus, whom he diligently trained how to use them. Having awaited a favourable opportunity, father and son commenced their flight, and were well on their way when Icarus, pleased with the novel sensation, forgot altogether his father's oft-repeated injunction not to approach too near the sun. The consequence was that the wax, by means of which his wings were attached, melted, and he fell into the sea and was drowned.” Daedalus buried his son and flew to the island of Sicily where king Cocalus welcomed him to live in peace. King Minos’ need for revenge fueled by his anger robbed him of peace and led to king Minos’ death. Prospero’s revenge left the moment he fulfilled his promise to Ariel and gave him the courage to forgive those who had hurt him. Keeping his word to Ariel gave Prospero the freedom to soar high inside of his own soul just as Ariel could soar on the wings of the wind. In Act 5 Scene I, Prospero fulfills his promise to free Ariel, “My Ariel, chick, That is thy charge: then to the elements Be free, and fare thou well! Please you, draw near.” Prospero became aware that using manipulation and power to control those around him kept him from being forgiving toward those who had hurt him. That control took away any hope of peace he would ever have and it made him miserable. Even though Prospero manipulated Ariel, he still held onto hope and saw the good in Prospero and was still willing to help him. King Minos whose pride caused him to become blinded by his own desire to cover his shame cost him everything he held dear to his heart and most importantly his life in the end. Daedalus found peace on the island of Sicily.
A longing for revenge can hold people captive in their own minds, influencing thoughts and speech. The Tempest, by William Shakespeare, is a play that follows the story of Prospero, the rightful Duke of Milan, after he is overpowered by his own brother and left to die with his daughter in a cramped sailboat. He seeks vengeance against many; however, he is not alone in his pursuit of revenge. His servant, Caliban, yearns for revenge toward Prospero for commanding him to be his slave. As Prospero seeks revenge on Antonio and Caliban, he does not realize Caliban’s own craving for revenge against him.
Ariel’s use of subtext communicated to Prospero that his power and consumption with vengeance was causing him to become inhumane. Prospero experiences an epiphany when Ariel says, “[m]ine would, sir, were I human” (V i, Shakespeare). Ariel points out to Prospero that his power is so strong and the revenge consuming him is making him into an evil person. Once Prospero has this moment of realization, he turns his behavior around by first denouncing his magic. Prospero shows how he is done using magic when he says, “[b]ut this rough magic I here abjure; and, when I have required…And deeper than did ever plummet sound I’ll drown my book” (V i, Shakespeare). This illuminating episode and reveal of Prospero’s true character is used by Shakespeare as the casement to emphasize the inner meaning of the work. Shakespeare’s intended meaning of the work as a whole was that things such as hatred or revenge should never overcome and alter your true identity. Prospero exemplifies that revenge is a dangerous tool and can consume the one who uses it. Prospero’s epiphany allows him to find the human part of himself again and he has a realization that he should no longer be a
Have you ever thought about the reason behind the way a person acts. Quotes in this paper are from William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and Virgil Suarez’s “En El Jardin De Los Espejos Quebrados”. This paper will contain a comparison between Caliban’s character in The Tempest, and “En El Jardin De Los Espejos Quebrados”. The poem “En El Jardin De Los Espejos Quebrados”, and The Tempest, shine different lights on Caliban’s character, by going in depth about his appearance, thoughts, feelings, and actions.
Before considering the purpose of Prospero's experiment, we should note how central to all his magic Ariel is. And Ariel is not human but a magical spirit who has been released from natural bondage (being riven up in a tree) by Prospero's book learning. The earlier inhabitants of the island, Sycorax and Caliban, had no sense of how to use Ariel, and so they simply imprisoned him in the world which governs them, raw nature. Prospero's power depends, in large part, on Ariel's release and willing service. In that sense, Ariel can be seen as some imaginative power which makes the effects of the theatre (like lightning in the masts of the boat) possible. One of the great attractions of this view of the play as a celeb...
According to A. Waller Hastings Ariel didn’t have to face her consequences. The movie ends with Ariel’s father trading his life to the sea witch in order to save her. “Once again Disney’s heroine survives to find happiness thanks solely to the heroism and sacrifice of male characters” (O’Brien). Because of this, Ariel doesn’t grow or mature. Instead, everyone lives happily ever after thanks to the men in Ariel’s life (Hastings). Now, there’s nothing wrong with living happily ever after. However, this perpetuates an unrealistic expectation of life for impressionable viewers that abide by Mulvey’s theories on narcissism and how viewers may relate themselves to the object on the screen (Storey, 110). The image of a helpless damsel in distress being saved by men with no further consequences to her life is harmful because it may give viewers a distorted view of reality. The damsel in distress stereotype erases all of Ariel’s prior independence due to the fact that she has to be
In William Shakespeare's The Tempest, Prospero lives with his daughter Miranda on a deserted island. On the surface, he appears to be a benevolent leader doing his best to protect and care for the inhabitants of the island, especially for Miranda. On closer inspection, however, Prospero plays God, controlling and creating each individual to fit the mold he desires. He takes advantage of his authority over the people and situations he encounters while wearing a facade of integrity and compassion to disguise his wily intentions and to retain love and respect.
The first I have already alluded to, namely, the danger of using of his powers purely for vengeance. Prospero, like Shakespeare, is a master illusionist, and he is tempted to channel his personal frustrations into his art, to exact vengeance against wrongs done in Milan through the power of his art (perhaps, as some have argued, as Shakespeare is doing for unknown personal reasons against women in Hamlet and Lear). But he learns from Ariel that to do this is to deny the moral value of the art, whose major purpose is to reconcile us to ourselves and our community, not to even a personal score.
Prospero enslaved the spirit Ariel or other-worldly figure of sorts. And in-turn Ariel causes a violent storm that causes the shipwreck in the opening scene, due to Prospero's request, thus bringing those back that caused Prospero to lose his dukedom. After which Ariel asked for his freedom having done his deed for Prospero, but Prospero denied his request, saying to Ariel time must be served first. Prospero continues with something of a guilt-instilling speech, reminding Ariel that he had freed him and Ariel becomes submissive once again saying, “all hail, great master, grave sir, hail! I come to answer thy best pleasure; beat to fly, to Swim, to dive into the fire, to ride, on the curled of clouds”(1,2,189-190). This shows Ariel’s language is that of someone being oppressed imprisoned or enslaved and such is the relationship that of a slave and a master. Prospero does not only oppress Ariel but also enslaves Caliban the once ruler of the island simply because Prospero believed his new ideas were much better meaning slavery over freedom, which he did impose on Caliban by saying “Dull thing, I say so; he, that Caliban, Whom now I keep in my service.” (Act. I, Sc. II, Ln. 285-286). Furthermore Prospero makes it even clearer what he thinks of Caliban the native that had helped Prospero to survive on the Island has
This interpretation of the play places more emphasis upon the character of the spirit Ariel, who could also be considered as a native of the island. Prospero frees Ariel from a tree and then enslaves the spirit to do his bidding under the promise of total freedom.
Having been usurped and wrecked on an Island Prospero and his young daughter Miranda have to settle. It is here in Prospero's past that it first clear to see where any confusion about his character may appear. As a learned and powerful man Prospero is able to take direct control of the island, he frees a trapped and tortured spirit (Ariel) and befriends the inhabitants (Caliban). Prospero 'helps' Caliban, he tries to educate him and teaches him to communicate, in exchange Caliban helps Prospero to survive on the Island. But in taking power of the Island Prospero is committing the same act that happened to him as Duke of Milan, now Prospero himself has become the usurper. In this act of goodness Prospero has unknowingly shown his evil side.
The passage below is found in the opening act of one of Shakespeare's most illusive plays of control and manipulation. The word "deception" is defined as "the act of misleading" or "to trick, cheat, lie, and mislead". From this definition, it is obvious that deception is normally perceived to be evil and results in the harm of others mentally and physically. It leads to broken hearts, untold truths, or even unpunished murder. However, in Shakespeare's The Tempest, deception is used as a virtuous art to manipulate an unjust situation and rectify it.
Prospero presents himself as a victim of injustice, however his belief of justice and injustice is somewhat contradicting. He takes advantage of this authority over other people and situations he encounters while using his integrity and compassion to mask his dangerous plans and to retain love and respect. The Tempest in the end suggests that love and compassion are more effective political tools than violence, hatred or even abusive magic.
The nucleus of the plot in Shakespeare's The Tempest revolves around Prospero enacting his revenge on various characters who have wronged him in different ways. Interestingly enough, he uses the spirit of Ariel to deliver the punishments while Prospero delegates the action. Prospero is such a character that can concoct methods of revenge but hesitates to have direct involvement with disillusioning his foes. In essence, Prospero sends Ariel to do his dirty work while hiding his involvement in shipwrecking his brother, Antonio, from his daughter, Miranda.
Sometimes it takes any advantage to attain power. Prospero secures power on the island through his use of magic and manipulation. He is in control of all of the events in the play since he essentially has all of the power. It is also revealed how he maintains his power by exploring the use of his manipulative magic and the hold he has over those around him. By using his magical influence over the natives he has enslaves, Prospero invokes fear in Ariel by stating, “If you complain any more, I’ll split an oak tree and lock you up in it till you’ve howled for twelve years” (Shakespeare 37). He uses his power as a fear tactic to make the native people do his bidding for him. He also uses his magic against those he has shipwrecked on the island. He puts them in a trance to keep him busy until he needs them again, “My magic powers are in full swing, and my enemies are confused and running around in circles. They’re under my control, and I’m keeping them in their crazy fits” (Shakespeare 143). By entrancing the men from the boat, Prospero can keep them under his bid until he sets himself on a course of action. As he states, “.., my enemies have happened to wreck their ship on this island. As I see it, my fate hangs on this lucky event”, he must be precise in how he handles cultivates these people or he will risk the possibility of his plan unraveling before him (Shakespeare 27). The idea behind him having magic is to set him apart
The Tempest was written in 1611 as Shakespeare’s last romantic comedy. This play is focused mainly on the theme of power. Shakespeare portrays an aging magician who has been living in exile with his young daughter on a remote island for the past 12 years. Shakespeare presents forms of power in different ways, but mainly through the characters of Prospero. In The Tempest Shakespeare shows 3 different types of power, which are through love, power over his slave Caliban, and power of magic.