Summary: Postcolonialism Pervasion In The Tempest By Shakespeare

Superiority and inferiority have been always the issue; ever since man was created. History tells us how western man has been trying to be superior over the other man by imposing his own rules, culture, politics and language. It is the desire for perfection through power that makes man discriminate the ‘other’ man to make him feel inferior. however, the western man believes that the ‘other’ man is barbarian, dangerous, lacking knowledge and civilized culture which is, basically, the key that western man used to justify his own domination over the ‘other’ man.

Edward Said in his book Orientalism insists that the “Orientalism is a style of thought based upon an ontological and epistemological distinction made between 'the Orient' and (most of the time) 'the Occident.' Said believes that the western seeks to study the nature and the values of the ‘Other’ not only for the sake of knowledge, but to fulfill their imperialism and domination over the ‘Other’. Western always seek to expand their knowledge as well as their dominance over the ‘Other’ and prove their superiority as a better race than the ‘Other’.

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In this short paper, l will argue how post-colonialism pervades the play The Tempest by Shakespeare, specifically through the characters of Prospero, Caliban and Ariel? Also, to answer the question; how Prospero has the hegemony over Caliban and, Ariel; in referring to the ‘Self’ and ‘Other’.? What are the factors and techniques that helped Prospero to dominate the Island and its indigenous?

Deborah Willis mentions in her article that Immanuel Wallerstein believes “the colonial enterprise may be seen to operate in three domains, the 'core,' 'semi-periphery,' and 'periphery.

' It is always has been the subject matter to western to expand their power and dominance over the world. Taking a good example of the west, England starts to enlarge its royal rule and dominance from within itself “core”; continuing it expansion to contain more areas around “semi-periphery” like Ireland, yet, non-stopping its desire to control more areas “periphery” around the world. Said states in his book Orientalism that “The Orient is an integral part of European material civilization and culture” l think Orient refers not only to the Middle Eastern, it can be referred to anyone who is other than Western. Said believe that western reinforce their civilization through colonizing the ‘Other’ and use their resources to outgrow their hegemony. Western colonized most of country around the world; taking advantage of the colonized wealth to sustain its power and strengthen its politics, culture and identity around the world.

Christopher Columbus who was stray his way to find new shortcut route to connect Europe to the Indies. He stumbled upon America where the colonialization of the white man follows. Western colonized the new world (north and south America) after their discovery. Their treatment toward the ‘Other’ (native Americans) was oppressive and tyrannical. They think themselves the “Self” are civilized, have high culture and better human, meanwhile, they considered the “Other” barbarians, non-human, lacking knowledge and high culture, therefore, they were either needed to be enslaved or killed, on the top of that, they started impose their culture, politics, rules and language over the “Other”. Like Christopher Columbus, Shakespeare portraits in his play The Tempest the character of Prospero who is been usurped from his dukedom by his brother Antonio and exiled with his daughter to the middle of the ocean by both Alonso, king of Naples,

and Antonio. Prospero’s ship finds it way into the island where he decides to live. First indigenous of the island Prospero meet is Caliban who welcomes Prospero and his daughter as it shown in Caliban’s sentence “And showed thee all the qualities o’ th’ isle,The fresh springs, brine pits, barren place and fertile. Caliban’s lines indicate the relationship between the colonizer Prospero and the colonized (Caliban) at the beginning is good. Also, it indicates that Caliban informs Prospero all the details and secrets of the island which help Prospero to control it; by known the weaknesses and strengths of the indigenous of the island.

Caliban is the only indigenous on the island with physical appearance who inhabits it. he seeks to establish progeny, he tries to rape Miranda in order to fulfill his idea of progeny, as well as an indication his resistance to the dominance of the colonizer, “O ho, O ho! Would’t had been done!/ Thou didst prevent me; I had peopled else/ This isle with Calibans” he intends to produce progeny of Calibans and establish his own kingdom on the Island as well as to have hegemony on the island. Also, he states, 'This island's mine, by Sycorax my mother, / Which thou tak'st from me.I am all the subjects that you have.He claims the island belongs to him not to anyone else. He is furious to be controlled and exploited by the colonizer Prospero; who dehumanizes and humiliates him during the course of the play.

Prospero is powerful enough to enslave Caliban, he has all the knowledge of magic, on the top of that, he knows all the secrets and details of the island. Also, he uses Ariel who is superpower airy spirit to control the Island and its indigenous. He looks down at Caliban, the “Other”, he thinks that Caliban is savage, barbarian, lacking knowledge, and uncivilized, meanwhile, the “Self” Prospero believes, he has the knowledge, high culture and civilized. Prospero as a powerful colonizer, he starts to impose his culture and language upon Caliban who states “You taught me language, and my profit on’t Is, I know how to curse. The red plague rid° you For learning me your language!” Caliban learns Prospero’s language by force, he uses the language against Prospero as an indication of his resistance toward Prospero’s colonialization. Caliban says “And seek for grace. What a thrice-double ass/ Was I to take this drunkard for a god/ And worship this dull fool!” he uses the language to cures and humiliate Prospero, he uses it to express his protestation against Prospero. He uses all these abusive words to show that Prospero is not welcomed on the island.

Said states that the argument, when reduced to its simplest form, was clear, “it was precise, it was easy to grasp. There are Westerners, and there are Orientals. The former dominates; the latter must be dominated, which usually means having their land occupied, their internal affairs rigidly controlled, their blood and treasure put at the disposal of one or another Western power”. Said insists that the Western, the ‘Self’, think they must dominate the ‘Other’ and impose their rules and culture to exchange it with the Other’s treasures, welfare and enslave them to to achieve their goals. In the play The Tempest, Prospero a foreigner and intruder to the Island; controls every detail of it as well as enslave its indigenous. Caliban is not the only one who is been enslaved, Ariel is the other indigenous who has been subjugated by Prospero. Ariel is the airy spirit, who is rescued by Prospero from the tree in which he is imprisoned by Sycorax. Ariel promised Prospero to serve him as gratitude for his saver. During the course of the play, Prospero insists to remind Ariel of his freedom from the prison; Prospero says “If thou more murmur’st, I will rend an oak/ And peg thee in his knotty entrails till/ Thou hast howled away twelve winters”.Prospero reminds Ariel every time Ariel pleads him for freedom or every time he tries to disobey him. “Remember” is the key word that Prospero uses against Ariel to dominate him and his skills of white magic.

Colonial troops have been recruited by many colonizer powers through history, taking good example Great Britain and French to refer to the western colonizers. Great Britain recruited soldiers from most of their colonies, they recruited over 1 million Indian soldiers to fight for them; in process of expanding the British empire around the world. Like Great Britain, France recruited troops from their colonies to fight for them as well as using them as laborers. Despite the fact that the colonial troops are oppressed by the colonizer, they have been used to defend and serve their oppressor inside and outside the colony. In the paly, the colonizer Prospero uses Ariel to spy for him, he is considered Prospero’s ears and eyes in the island. Prospero sends Ariel to accomplish a mission the middle of the ocean. Ariel informs Prospero, “To every article./ I boarded the king's ship; now on the beak,/ Now in the waist, the deck, in every cabin,/ I flamed amazement: sometime I'ld divide,/ And burn in many places; on the topmast,/ Seem to besiege and make his bold waves tremble,Yea, his dread trident shake”. Like the westerns, sending their colonial troops outside the colony, Prospero sends Ariel to the middle of the ocean to create the tempest in order to sink Alonso’s ship and take his revenge back. Like Caliban has been used, Prosper exploits Ariel to show his superiority over his enemies.

According to Said, the west depicts the ‘Other’ weak but also dangerous. To eliminate the threat of the ‘Other’, they need to have hegemony over them. To Said, the European culture gained in strength and identity by “setting itself off against the Orient as a sort of surrogate and even underground self”.The ‘Other’ is depicted by the west not only as a source of danger, but also uncivilized, uncultured and lesser human and they need to be civilized and reformed; a good justification for their colonialization upon the ‘Other’. In the play The Tempest, Caliban can be taken as a good example of how the west picture the ‘Other’. Most of the characters of the play; call him with most abusive terms during the paly “servant monster”, “Mooncalf”, “half a fish and half a monster”, “savage”, “weak monster”, off course, the characters in the play; represents the white western society. Caliban’s disfigurement helps to reflect the way that western despise and discriminate the ‘Other’. It shows how the west consider themselves a better human and superior to the ‘Other’ who is disformed and inferior comparing to the them. Caliban represents the ‘Other’ who is “weak monster”, has been oppressed by the colonizer Prospero. In order to get rid of Prospero, he has to conspires with Stephano. Caliban states “I’ll show thee every fertile inch o’ th’ island; and I will kiss thy foot. I prithee, be my god” and Stephano replies “Come on then. Down, and swear!”. Caliban is shown in those line as inferior “weak monster”, also, pathetic; who needs help of the western man Stephano. Caliban is the depiction by western writer Shakespeare, who portraits his character ,Caliban, as weak and dependent, in the way, it reflects the dependency of the ‘Other’ on the powerful independent west.

The play The Tempest is certainly a good example for post-colonialism due to the relationship between its characters as master and slave one. The images of discrimination and exploitation of the powerful characters who represent the west and inferior characters who represent the ‘Other’ is another indication to post-colonialism. Human tend to be superior over each other, regardless, the color, ethnicity, believe and their geographical location. Under his circumstances, Caliban lacks the power and knowledge as well as the experience. But, if all these were provided to Caliban, he would colonize and enslave someone who is lesser power than he is.