One of the issues that I saw while reading The Tempest would be the issue of colonization and how it impacts the lives of the already existing occupiers of a land. In The Tempest, Prospero along with many others arrived at this island because of some previous crash that occurred to the past duke of Milan. Prospero mentions how the people there offered their kindness to them however, this proves problematic in the fact that they made civilians into their slaves. Since they were Dukes, they felt they held some form of power over the others even if they were not originally from there. The slave of Prospero is Caliban and the way that he is treated by him, Miranda, and seen as by others makes you sympathize with him. That was his home and then these Dukes come and take it away from him.
This colonization is nothing new in our own history. Just last week, while some were celebrating the day of Christopher Columbus, many also spent the day protesting it. According to “The Hill” protestors in Colorado spent the day on their way to the capitol of the state demanding that the holiday should be abolished. Because of the reality of its history and blatant racism, they feel it’s best to rename it Indigenous People’s Day. By celebrating him, they are celebrating someone who caused great harm to the natives that had already been occupying the land. The local natives say how they feel embarrassed about such holiday being embraced. While they welcome outsiders, the same was not reciprocated back then. (Daughtery, Protesters at Colorado State Capitol call for Columbus Day to be abolished).
The same has happened to the island of Caliban and all the others that were there before Prospero. The way Caliban is treated by insults and humiliation by others is a representation of how of a person they see him. He was compared to a fish so they may not even see him as person either. Caliban trying to free himself as a slave from Prospero shows a new route from colonization. In the states, they more-so pushed out natives rather than completely forcing them all into becoming slaves but that is what happened in The Tempest. It does challenge the thinking of Shakespeare by pointing out how problematic colonization is and how cruel it is to enslave locals in their lands. The article pushes for a change from a preexisting concept in the play that is engraved in our own lives.
Kaitlin Mondello
Excellent and timely comparison, Yacelyn! The colonial legacy that Shakespeare captures in The Tempest is still present, as you argue well here.