The Tempest - William Shakespeare Essay - 950 Words

Although William Shakespeare’s The Tempest is often categorized as his late romance, its plots reflect the major social movement of that time—the Europeans settling in the New World. As the Europeans eagerly set out to find the New World, they left behind hopeful citizens pondering over what they would find. In The Tempest, through the characters, we can infer that the Europeans’ intentions ranged from creating the perfect government to interacting with the inhabitants. They discovered that their idea of the perfect government in which everyone is equal failed to exist. Nonetheless, they were correct in their anticipation that the New World would already be settled—by savage ‘Native Americans’. They eventually integrated the Native†¦show more content†¦The men wear half their heads shaven, the other half long†¦some are of disposition fearful, some bold, most wary. All Savage†¦For their apparel, they are some time covered wit h the skins of wild [beasts]†¦There is yet in Virginia no place discovered to be so Savage in which Savages have not a religion†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The Europeans viewed the Native Americans as inferior beings. At first, the Native Americans were inclined to incorporate the Europeans as an intermediary: â€Å"Americans sought to incorporate the newcomers into their universe.† (Kupperman 175) They also concluded that the Europeans would be of great use to trade with. As time progressed, both the Native Americans and the Europeans strived to merge the other into their own hierarchy. (Kupperman 174) However, this attempt at incorporating the other soon proved to be futile. In The Tempest, Caliban is always plotting to overthrow Prospero (conversation with Trinculo and Stephano). This is paralleled in the Europeans’ constant, underlying worry that the natives would revolt against them: â€Å"Both the Roanoke and Jamestown colonists reported that conspiracies against them we re planned.† (Kupperman 175) The Native Americans knew their territory, and gradually developed tactics to fend off attackers. The Native Americans were highly skilled warriors, yet lacked the technology that the Europeans had. (Barbour) In addition, the Europeans had resistance to diseaseShow MoreRelatedEssay on William Shakespeare: The Tempest561 Words   |  3 PagesWilliam Shakespeare: The Tempest How is fate used by Shakespeare, in the Tempest, to change and control the range of characters, using Prospero’s power and his magic? In Literature, Destiny or Fate is a source of irony in literature; where the characters may act without realising the destiny that the audience or reader is aware of. This is very much true to that of the plot in the Tempest. 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