What Does Caliban Symbolize In The Tempest

In Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Caliban is enslaved by Prospero and Miranda. He is taught the language in order to communicate. In a slight act of defiance, Caliban curses at Prospero and Miranda in the language they have taught him. He believes this is a way for him to benefit from his new knowledge. Caliban’s cursing is a symbol of resistance as it symbolizes the Native Americans opposition to European colonization. Prospero and Miranda were exiled from their homeland and forced to flee. Caliban is the only being on the island they find themselves in. Similar to how the Native Americans treated the colonists when they first arrived to the Americans, Caliban is kind and respectful to Prospero. He teaches Prospero about the island and Prospero

The greatest form of resistance was the physical resistance of fleeing from the Europeans as they ransacked the natives’ homes. Many of the Native Americans fled to the mountains. Las Casas says that the “local people see the mountains as a refuge and flight as a solution to their plight” (119). The mountains were viewed as an escape from the horror that was occurring. It is mentioned several times that the mountains were where the natives chose to run to. However, fleeing did not lead to successful solution. Even when the natives dodged the initial attacks, the Spaniards went after them and almost always captured them. No one was safe from the immanent torture. In the end, the mountains did not provide any sense of protection. Las Casas also speaks about the mental resistance of the Native Americans. The Europeans had initially claimed that their goal in the Americas was to convert as many people to Christianity as possible. Unfortunately, the religious goal of the explorations was overshadowed by the greed of the Spaniards. Instead of spreading the word of God, the Spaniards spread the blood of the natives. In one of the accounts, Las Casas speaks of a cacique by the name of Hatuey. When the Spaniards arrived in Cuba, Hatuey fled but was later captured and staked. Before Hatuey died, a Franciscan friar spoke to him about God