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Roots Tempest
Roots Tempest
Period 8
10/9/08
Roots and The Tempest
To many peoples throughout the world, freedom is something taken for granted,
but to other groups, having their independence is not a reality. George Bernard Shaw
sums up the feelings of these dominated people by say, “A conquered nation is like a man
with cancer: he can think of nothing else.” In Roots by Alex Haley and William
Shakespeare’s The Tempest, several groups of people or single people find themselves
examples of Shaw’s words. These unfortunate populace in Roots include the Africans and
Native Americans due to the colonies and then the colonies themselves with thanks to the
British. In The Tempest, Prospero is usurped by his brother Antonio with assistance from
King Alonso of Naples, but, later in the play, Prospero takes control of the native Caliban
and a spirit, Ariel. All these characters, nations, and communities are constantly
All the conquered characters in The Tempest express their feelings towards no
longer having their independence during the second scene of act two. When Miranda
makes an inquiry about the origin of the storm, Prospero begins to tell her a very
informative, but long-winded story. Although his daughter appears bored at certain points
during the narrative, readers are able to learn a lot about the history of Prospero and
Miranda. Here, readers discover Prospero’s obsession with getting revenge on those who
attempted to kill him and who are responsible for his lonely residence on the island. From
his story, one can deduce that the magician has spent a lengthy period of time plotting
against Antonio, the usurper, and King Alonso of Naples who assisted in the seizing of
Prospero’s title. During his story, Prospero states, “And by my prescience/ I find my
zenith doth depend upon/ A most auspicious star, whose influence/ If now I court not but
omit, my fortunes/ Will ever after droop” (Iii). These words explain to readers how
Prospero is completely taken over with the thought of revenge. Just like his fixation on
being conquered is analogous to a man with cancer, Prospero suddenly becomes obsessed
During his stay on the enchanted island, Prospero places many other beings into
the same conquered fate he was forced into. Many spirits who play small parts in the
play, such as Juno and Iris, are under constant control of the magician, and a more
powerful and important spirit, Ariel, is also in the hand of Prospero. Throughout the
entire play, Ariel questions Prospero about when he will be released which shows the
thought of having no freedom is never far from Ariel’s mind. After every completion of a
task assigned by Prospero, Ariel attempts to negotiate the duration of his stay under
Prospero’s rule. Another creature under the jurisdiction of Milan’s former ruler was an
inhabitant of the almost deserted island before the arrival of Prospero and Miranda called
Caliban. A cruel and vindictive beast, Caliban and his mother used to own the island, and
he never lets Prospero forget about the terrible dead committed by the magician. In Act I,
scene ii, Caliban delivers a soliloquy about the history of the possession of the island. He
states, “This island's mine, by Sycorax my mother/ Which thou takest from me . . . In this
hard rock, whiles you do keep from me/ The rest o' th' island” (Iii). Whenever Caliban is
seen during a later part of the play, he is sulking and commenting about the unfair control
of Prospero. These two servants of Prospero are, in a way, in a similar position of being
seen on a larger scale by countries and masses of people. The majority of the novel takes
place during the time period that is colonial period which is a time when the British and