Monster In The Tempest

Monsters have been part of human history since humans exist. Some argue that the monster in "The Tempest" is a clear product of the time Shakespeare decided to write this book. Although it is true that the inspiration along with the way of thinking is strongly affected by the time the story was wrote, it is also important to highlight that the monsters created in this story are very similar to what Stephen T. Asma narrates in his essays "Alexander fights Monsters in India" and "Monsters and the moral imagination". The reason of this maybe that even though Shakespeare and Stephen T. Asma do not share the same years they do share the same concerns, they are both attracted to explain why monsters affect us so much as humans. Both of them try to …show more content…
It is quite dificult to define this with a method different than reader –reponse method because the monster in this novel depends on what the psychology of the reader dictates. For example in the case of many readers they would agree that Caliban is the monster because he attempted to rape Miranda and also because of his physical characteristics. On the other hands some readers may disagree, and instead consider Caliban as a victim of the situation because after all Prospero is guilty of invading Calibans island. On the other hand some could argue that Antonio was the real Monster because he took away the status and power that belonged to Prospero also he intended to do the same with Alonso. But at the end all the evidence points that mostly every character in this play had a bit of monster, every play and novel created tends to reflect reality, and the way of acting of the times it was created as well as the way of thinking of the writer. It bassically shows that every single character had less or more of monster and as well litlle or more of hero, as clear example …show more content…
But deeper in the play Shakespere leaves the reader wondering what was the real reason of the behavior of Caliban, and over all what was the real reason to create a monster in the play. Caliban has been treated as slave and also humiliated for his physical appearance this creates a mechanisim of autodefense that dictates for him react in negative ways almost every time. But shakespeare also relates this to the typical monsters of real life (all human in a certain point of their life), this exposed in some of the essays wrote by Stephen T. Asma named “Monsters and the Moral Imagination” and “Alexander Fights Monsters in India.” In the first essay Stephen T. Asma talks about how monsters are created by the human mind as a way to be prepared for any harmful situation, he gives many scenarios where monsters have helped people to react maybe a little bit less scared and supress their fears in order to save their lifes. Even though in “The Tempest” shakespeare does not create a monster thet fully meets the requirment to be dangerous and scary, Caliban fills the role of a monster but in a less scary and more funny way. The perception that shakespeare presents to the reader is that every person has a little bit of monster and a little bit of hero. this is best explained in the second essay wrote by Asma “Alexander Fights Monsters in India.” Asma presents the need