1. Who is Caliban?
Description The only sources you should draw upon are lecture notes, assigned readings,
and, of course, the play itself. MUST USE REQUIRED TEXTS: *Ronald Takaki. A Different
Mirror: A History of Multicultural America. Boston: Back Bay Books, 2008. NO RESEARCH.
Use the reading. Additional files and videos below.
http://shakespeare.mit.edu/tempest/full.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhjUrYqwPvs
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/23/opinion/what-does-america-stand-for-we-asked-
teenagers.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=image&module=opinion-c-
col-right-region®ion=opinion-c-col-right-region&WT.nav=opinion-c-col-right-region
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eV4qCBV_aTc&feature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0f-uix4NSDU&feature=youtu.be We have explored
Shakespeare’s The Tempest from a variety of vantage points: from the play itself, to the
factors influencing Shakespeare’s treatment of Caliban, from the context of the debate
concerning civilization and nature, to the role the New World played in European
imagination. Some scholars argue that the play takes place in Bermuda and reflects how the
English would treat the non-English during colonization. Others argue that the play has
nothing to do with the “New World;” that it is about human fears of the unknown and that
its context bears no relevance to its meaning. Ronald Takaki argues that Caliban is more
specifically an English creation and that Caliban could represent how the English saw non-
English people and uses specific examples. Understanding all of these elements, answer the
following prompt, using a thesis-driven and well-supported argument. Who Is Caliban?
Successful essays will have AT LEAST THREE examples from the play and Ronald Takaki’s
textbook.#Caliban
