Sarah Shourds
English 09
Hamilton Salsich
January 27 2009
Siamese Twins:
An Essay on Confinement and Servitude in "The Tempest"
Siamese twins don't have the same fingerprint. The may look the same, but in reality they have completely different minds. In the story The Tempest, there are two very similar characters- Caliban, a "hag-born" thing, and Ariel, a spirit that works for Prospero. Both characters deal with their own twist on confinement and servitude, and Shakespeare portrays it very nicely.
TS In The Tempest, Ariel, a spirit that acts as a servant for Prospero, [SV Split] and is confined in many different ways. SD Living on such an enclosed island, Ariel has been embedded with thoughts of leaving, and also has served for numerous people. CM He has lived on the island for many years, acting as a slave to both Prospero and Sycorax, and obeying every command. CM The one time Ariel disobeyed Sycorax, he was sentenced to "painfully remain [in the pine tree for] [a] dozen years." SD Ariel is confined when it comes to his free will. CM Ariel must take part in every command Prospero demands; otherwise he will be thrown in an oak tree and will die painful death. CM Ariel has been working, and paying his due to his master, and either way, he doesn't get a break. CM If Ariel doesn't achieve his tasks, then he has greater consequences, and if he does, he's stuck in the middle of hard labor. CS Ariel has lived an atrocious [FAST] life, and has fought through the tough times with bravery, and will face more and more servitude and confinement throughout his pitiful [FAST] path in life.
The Tempest has another character in the play that relates a lot to Ariel- Caliban. Throughout his life he has experienced boundless (FAST) confinement and servitude. Being bred by Sycorax, Caliban is some sort of unknown creature, or as many call him the "freckled whelp". It's hard for Caliban to unleash his inner self, because he is always cooped up in some sort of serving towards Prospero. Prospero has confined Caliban, and it’s unfair. Living on the island first, Caliban got aggravated that Prospero was treating him with such a bad attitude [Participle Opener Phrase]. He had served for Prospero for many years in spite of his mother, and he doesn't think it's truly fair. Looking at things now, it looks like Caliban's servitude won't get him anywhere near his own freedom.
Both Caliban and Ariel have similar issues but are solved in different ways, like Siamese twins and their fingerprints. Both have the same problem, but different results. Ariel was confined in a pine tree for a dozen years, and has served as a spirit for both Prospero and Sycorax, and if he doesn't do what he is told, he will be confined in an oak tree for another twelve years. Whereas Caliban is confined now with Prospero, and has served for Prospero ever since his mother has died, and if he doesn't abide by Prospero's orders, he will be killed. It will be interesting how these two characters react to each other in the upcoming events.
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Graphic Organizer:Ariel and Caliban’s confinement and servitude
SD: Ariel is mentally and physically confined on island
-He is trapped on this island with no way out
-Must obey to orders from mastersSD: Pays servitude to Prospero and Sycorax
-Consequences very large from Prospero
-"Painfully remain [in the pine tree for] [a] dozen years."
SD: Caliban is trapped on island, like Ariel
-Both physically and mentally
-Both slaves, and have been for an unwillingly long time
SD: Caught up in reputation
-Lives with peoples hurtful words everyday
-Made fun upon by looks, and by his uproots, "devil father" and "dam"
3 comments:
Sarah,
Super job on your essay! I really liked the use of the writing tools such as your FAST words and S-V splits. I was a little confused in the beginning when you started out talking about siamese twins. Maybe you could elaborate more on that in the beginning like you do in the concluding paragraph. I also see some minor, insignificant mistakes that could be fixed such as some spelling errors and a lack of quotations where they should be. Just a little bit of polishing and your essay will sparkle even more!
Sarah, I really like how well you described Caliban's predicament. You go in detail about why he acts the way he does and it helps the reader understand everything a little better. A suggestion would be to add a title and a subtitle to let the reader know what this essay is about from the beginning. Also "The Tempest" should be punctuated in some way to portray that it is the title of a play. Good luck polishing!
Sarah-
I really liked your essay. Your closing paragraph was great, and your quotes blended nicely into your writing. You may want to add another sentence after your first one to transition between the siamese twins and Ariel and Caliban. I also noticed a few errors that you could fix easily by reading through the essay. Great job!
-Lydia
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