A Tempest Written by Aime Cesaire
A Tempest, written by Aime Cesaire, is an adaptation to William Shakespeare’s The Tempest. The plot remains the same between the two stories. Both tell the story of an angry ex-Duke of Milan, named Prospero. Prospero was exiled to an island by his brother because Prospero spent a lot of time “studying” magical spells. The story begins with Prospero creating a violent storm to bring his brothers ship ashore. The difference between the two plays is the character focus. The Tempest looks at Prosperos relationship with his brother while A Tempest looks at two characters Caliban and Ariel.
A Tempest takes place on a Caribbean island and focuses on Prospero’s slaves, Ariel and Caliban. Both slaves give the reader a look on their never ending quest for freedom and a glimpse of Prosperos rein over the island. Ariel is a loyal slave and fulfills everyone of Prospero’s wishes while Caliban does not. Caliban constantly tries to displease Prospero in any way he can. Caliban does this because he believes the island belongs to him. Prospero took the island from Caliban’s mother and then forced Caliban into slavery. In Act 1 Scene 2 an argument breaks out between Caliban and Prospero about birthright to the island and his identity.
During Act 1 Scene 2 Caliban requests that he is called “X”. He says being called X is like “a man without a name. Or, to be more precise, a man who’s name has been stolen…every time you summon me it reminds me…that you’ve stolen everything from me, even my identity!” (20) In this Act Caliban expresses his desire to be indpendent and Prosperos rule over him takes away from Caliban’s identity. When Caliban say’s that Propero has “stolen everything from me”(20) he refers back to his birthright to the island and how it really belongs to him. When Prospero summons Caliban it again reminds him that he has no identity and is just a slave. Although with Caliban's request to be referred to as “X” it gives Caliban a point of rebellion. Cesaire gives the reader an idea that a name gives empowerment or disempowerment.
In this Act Caliban also remarks on history “You talk about history…well that’s history, and everyone knows it!”(20) Again Caliban thinks back to his birthright of the island and how unfair/wrong it is that it’s not his. Prospero raised Caliban after his mothers death and then treated him as a slave. Prospero made Caliban feel loved and then turned his back on him. This gives Caliban another reason to loathe Prospero and lash out against him.
Looking at Cesaire’s rendition of The Tempest from a deconstructionist point of view the reader can find references to African American history. Ariel and Caliban are black slaves. Ariel is referred to as more peaceful while Caliban is more aggressive and violent. In Act 1 Scene 2 when Caliban request to be called “X” there is multiplicity in this request. The author could be making a connection to Malcom X which shows that Cesaire is inferring that America is still trying to resolve the consequences of colonization. The author could also be simply stating Caliban wishes to have no identity. The reader has to look into African American history to make conclusions within the text. From a deconstructionist point of view the author, Aime Cesaire, makes references to the corruption of European colonialism. The author compares colonialists to Prospero and those who were colonized to Caliban and Ariel.