Homework:
What qualities does Prospero, the ousted Duke of Milan, share with Christopher Columbus, the father of our country? Use the text from the play, Takaki and another scholarly source to write a 100-250 word response. Post here by Tuesday, October 12, 2010, 11 AM.
What qualities does Prospero, the ousted Duke of Milan, share with Christopher Columbus, the father of our country? Use the text from the play, Takaki and another scholarly source to write a 100-250 word response. Post here by Tuesday, October 12, 2010, 11 AM.
posted by Professor Wanda's Posse at 4:18 PM
3 Comments:
Linh Tran
Professor Sabir
English 1A
11 October 2010
Prospero v. Christopher Columbus
One can draw many parallels between the character Prospero from Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” with Christopher Columbus. In the play, Prospero, the Duke of Milan, is stranded on an unfamiliar island and receives help from Caliban, the rightful owner of the island, to start a new life. Prospero, in turn, is kind to Caliban, though he is always aware that Caliban is very much inferior to him, until he tries to rape his precious daughter. After which, he uses his magic to enslave Caliban under the earth and forces the trusting youth to submit to his every command. He then proclaims himself ruler of Caliban’s island, rationalizing that he alone possessed the correct qualities for such a role. Prospero becomes incredibly cruel towards Caliban, verbally and physically abusing him. He threatens Caliban, “tonight thou shalt have cramps…that shall pen thy breath up…[and] thou shalt be pinched as thick as honeycomb, each pinch more stinging than bees that made ‘em (Act I, Scene II, Lines 327-332).”
In the grand scale of history, Christopher Columbus, whether consciously or unknowingly, started a chain reaction that very strongly mirrored the events in “The Tempest”. Hailed as the founder of the New World, his “discovery” led to an insatiable European land conquest spanning from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. Takaki observed, “What was happening on stage [in The Tempest] was a metaphor for English expansion into America (pg. 31).” The colonizers blatantly took over tribal lands that the natives have occupied for generations. As they convinced themselves of their own superiority, the newcomers cited “manifest destiny” to justify their blatant theft of the native people’s land. The whites were ruthless in their territorial conquest, forcing thousands of natives into reservations to satisfy their desire for land.
Frena Zamudio
Professor Sabir
English 1A
11 October 2010
Prospero and Christopher Columbus
There are quite a few similarities between Prospero from Shakespeare’s play ‘The Tempest’ and Christopher Columbus, the father of our country. The most obvious one was about them taking over people's land and make it as theirs, they use their power to force their will. In the play, Prospero was the duke of Milan who was forced to go in a boat with his daughter, Miranda. Gonzalo helped him in his escape, he spent 12 years stranded on an unfamiliar island, got helped by one of his servants, Caliban, who said to be the owner of the island. Prospero has always been nice to Caliban even though he had a feeling that Caiban was faking everything, he even tried to rape Miranda, after that, Prospero used his magic to bind him and asked to follow his commands all the time. Prospero took over his land, and soon became cruel to Caliban, both physically and verbally abusing him with threats to his life. In history, Christopher Columbus is known as the creator of the New World, his information led to European land conquest from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean. Different colonizers then took over lands as if no one ever owned them, tribal and native people had to change things up, especially about their culture and traditions in order to have somewhat part or say of what originally their land. White people were the superior, so whatever they say was right , even if it really was not.
Linh Tran Professor Sabir English 1A 11 October 2010 Prospero v. Christopher Columbus One can draw many parallels between the character Prospero from Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” with Christopher Columbus. In the play, Prospero, the Duke of Milan, is stranded on an unfamiliar island and receives help from Caliban, the rightful owner of the island, to start a new life. Prospero, in turn, is kind to Caliban, though he is always aware that Caliban is very much inferior to him, until he tries to rape his precious daughter. After which, he uses his magic to enslave Caliban under the earth and forces the trusting youth to submit to his every command. He then proclaims himself ruler of Caliban’s island, rationalizing that he alone possessed the correct qualities for such a role. Prospero becomes incredibly cruel towards Caliban, verbally and physically abusing him. He threatens Caliban, “tonight thou shalt have cramps…that shall pen thy breath up…[and] thou shalt be pinched as thick as honeycomb, each pinch more stinging than bees that made ‘em (Act I, Scene II, Lines 327-332).” In the grand scale of history, Christopher Columbus, whether consciously or unknowingly, started a chain reaction that very strongly mirrored the events in “The Tempest”. Hailed as the founder of the New World, his “discovery” led to an insatiable European land conquest spanning from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. Takaki observed, “What was happening on stage [in The Tempest] was a metaphor for English expansion into America (pg. 31).” The colonizers blatantly took over tribal lands that the natives have occupied for generations. As they convinced themselves of their own superiority, the newcomers cited “manifest destiny” to justify their blatant theft of the native people’s land. The whites were ruthless in their territorial conquest, forcing thousands of natives into reservations to satisfy their desire for land.
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