Tempest Act 1

As I was reading the Tempest, I noticed a couple overall themes presented through one of the main characters, Prospero. Prospero wants a lot of power, and he uses manipulation to gain his control. For example, his daughter Miranda barely knows him. All she knows about him is that he is her father. Taking advantage of that fact, Prospero persuades Miranda to think false thoughts about him. He tells Miranda this heroic story of how he "saved" her, and all these great things about him. Miranda, not knowing any differently, believes him because he is her father and she is supposed to trust him. However, something I found interesting was how throughout the conversation with Miranda, Prospero is constantly making sure that Miranda is listening intently to everything that he is saying. He wants to make sure that every single facts gets into her little brain so that he can gain her loyalty. The fact that Miranda is his daughter unfortunately does not stop Prospero's thirst for overpowing control. He also uses manipulation with Caliban. Prospero violently threatens Caliban with his powers, so that Caliban will follow his every command. Having no other choice, Caliban agrees to obey him because he knows what Prospero is capable of. Prospero also uses his power over Ariel by telling him about how Ariel used to be tortured. Prospero convinces Ariel that he saved him himself, and that all the credit goes to him. He tells him, "It was mine art, When I arrived and heard thee, that made gape The pine and let thee out." Convinced that Prospero is his "hero", Ariel agrees to do everything that Prospero says. Already, Prospero has three characters under his own control.


This method that Prospero uses to gain control over the people is similar to the totalitarian government in 1984. The government uses the same tactics in convincing their citizens that their past was miserable and horrible, and that if it wasn't for them, the Party, they would not be as well off as they are today. Prospero convinces Miranda and Ariel that they had horrible pasts, and that he saved them. I can only imagine what Prospero is going to do with all this power.