The Tempest Research Paper

The Monster and the Prince While reading The Tempest By. Shakespeare, I noticed that the characters Caliban, (the fish- man, slave of Prospero) and Ferdinand (Prince of Naples) are portrayed to be near opposites. They are opposites of one another with their looks, treatment, and behavior. Caliban is an ugly, abused, monster; while Ferdinand is a handsome, loved, prince. These two characters have completely different lives, and outlooks on their lives, and are somehow put together in one place. Both of these men are treated completely different. Ferdinand at first is treated with suspicion, but then is praised and loved. Caliban had his island taken from him by Prospero and has been forced to be his slave for many years. Caliban is treated by trash by Prospero, Miranda, Trinculo and Stephano because he is not like everyone else. …show more content…
Ferdinand is awed for his handsome, charming looks; while Caliban is disliked by everyone for being “Legged like a man, and his fins like arms!” (2.2. 34-35) Caliban looks like a fish, and it scares people, which is not a positive way to meet someone, which causes bad relationships with everyone. Stephano and Trinculo are a good example of this, they don't respect him and always call him Monster. Ferdinand, on the other hand: is rescued from the persecution of Prospero, because of his good looks. Miranda believes that “Nothing ill can dwell in such a temple./ If the ill spirit have so fair a house,/ (1.2. 552-553). Nothing that handsome can be evil, the devil is lucky if he lives in