Cultural Differences :: essays research papers

I Know I Am But What Are You? Social Differences in The Tempest, Montaigne’s Essays, and In Defense of the Indians                      Paper #2 The Tempest, In Defense of the Indians, and Montaigne’s papers each outline what happens when two altogether different universes impact. As Europe immerses New World soil, the three creators offer their records of the dynamic between the European trespasser and local other. Despite the fact that each work is novel in its subtleties, they all offer a typical bond: Shakespeare, de Las Casas, and Montaigne show the peruser how European colonialists use contrasts in appearance and language to legitimize robbery and subjection.      The Tempest’s Caliban fills in as an instrument to feature the colonialist idea of the other. Caliban is the first occupant of the island; it is his local land. Be that as it may, Caliban is revolting. Prospero claims that he is "not respected with human shape" (p. 17), thus the new European occupants never consider him a potential equivalent they consider him to be their mediocre. This underlying confusion between characters underpins further dehumanization of the local for the rest of the play.      Caliban’s appearance doesn't just add to the Europeans’ poor estimation of him, yet it likewise fills in as the defense of his servitude. When Trinculo says, "Wilt thou lie, being nevertheless a large portion of a fish and a large portion of a monster" (p. 55), he imparts two significant ideas. In the first place, Trinculo strengthens the possibility that Caliban is more creature than man. Next, he expect that Caliban’s outside mirrors Caliban’s inside. Caliban’s physical deformations, as per Trinculo, likewise demonstrate distortion of character. Together, these flaws help Prospero’s legitimization of driving Caliban to "serve in workplaces that benefit us" (p. 18).      A second factor of Caliban’s abuse is language. The capacity to convey that closes man’s confinement from others and prompts progress. When Prospero finds Caliban, the local has no information on Europe, substantially less its tongue. Miranda and Prospero willingly volunteer to teach Caliban in "civilized" language. Miranda says: "I felt sorry for thee, made careful arrangements to make thee talk, instructed thee every hour a certain something or other, When thou didst not, savage, know thine own importance, however wouldst jabber, similar to a thing generally brutish, I supplied thy purposes with words that made them known." (p. 20) Miranda accepts that correspondence demonstrates that one is cultivated. She doesn't for a second consider that Caliban’s "gabble" was undoubtedly his own language, the language he used to with Sycorax.