il witch, Sycorax, ruled it. She ruled the island with evil magic and terror. When Prospero arrives to the island he frees a delicate spirit from a pine tree. Sycorax had put a spell on the spirit to forever be in the tree. When Prospero uses his magic to free the spirit, Ariel, the spirit becomes forever in debt to Prospero. Ariel becomes Prospero’s helper and friend. Prospero also enslaves Caliban, a half monster born of Sycorax. Prospero teaches Caliban how to speak and treats him kindly despite the fact that he is a “monster”. Caliban falls from grace though when he attempts to rape Miranda. Life on the island consists of these characters, until the ship of the royal party, including Prospero’s brother Antonio arrives. The royal party’s boat is hit by a storm, which is all the doing of Prospero’s magic. He brings them to the island to confront them and perhaps redeem them. This play primarily focuses on the interaction between the characters, and what happens when each is put on trial and faces their own guilt and sin. But there are so many complex issues in this play, one of which is the relationship between Caliban the monster slave and Prospero the enlightened civilized man.The first example of the tone in the relationship between Caliban and Prospero can be seen through their names. Caliban, as we know is an uncivilized “half monster” born of evil and sin. This is how most colonizers viewed people of Africa and Asia. They called them sinful, uncivilized, and brutish. The name Caliban is an anagram of the word cannibal. Cannibals are what the people of Africa and Asia (indigenous according to colonizers) were called. Therefore the name Caliban connotes that he is a stereotype of this group, an uncivilized cannibal. At the same time one cannot overlook the name Prospero. It sounds very close to the word Prosperous. This is how colonizers viewed themselves as pro...
