Ariel In Bender's Tempest example essay topic

Shakespeare's and Bender's Ariel In both William Shakespeare's Tempest and Jack Bender's Tempest, many of the same characters were used in similar ways. For example, the protagonist in both films was Prospero or also known as Prosper, and the antagonist in both films was Caliban or better known as Gator Man in Jack Bender's Tempest. Another character that had similar characteristics in the two films was Ariel. The two characters both played the role of a servant, however, there are some distinguishable differences in the two Ariels. Because of these differences, the way the audience views the film is changed.

One of the main differences between the two Ariels was the physical appearance. In Shakespeare's writing, the sex of Ariel was never revealed. Nevertheless, Jack Bender clearly portrayed Ariel as being a male. While reading the original Tempest, I assumed that Ariel was a female. Shakespeare described Ariel as a magical character who loved to sing. The feminine description that was used caused me to believe that Ariel was a female.

It was not until after I started viewing the film that I realized Ariel could also be a male. Jack Bender also made the Ariel in his film an African American. Because this film was set during the Civil War Period, more emphasis was placed on the racial minority. This proved that although many people considered black people to be inferior to white people, this was not necessarily true. Ariel was not at all inferior to Prosper because without Ariel, Prosper would not have been able to prevail.

Instead of being invisible as in Shakespeare's Tempest, Ariel in Bender's Tempest had different disguises. Prosper used his magic to turn Ariel into an old man and into a blackbird. While disguised as a blackbird, Ariel was able to observe the actions of the army. He wanted desperately to join the Union Army and finally, Prosper granted Ariel his wish. By portraying Ariel as a black man, Bender allowed the audience to recognize different reasons as to why Ariel wished to be free. Not only did Ariel want to help himself, but he also wanted to be free so that he could help other men fight for their freedom.

For this reason, Ariel seemed much more humble and not as selfish in Jack Bender's film. Both William Shakespeare and Jack Bender used Ariel as a main character in their films. In many ways the two characters were alike. Both characters had been enslaved for a long period of time and they both wished to be freed. However, it was the physical appearances of Bender's Ariel that made the two characters different.

By setting the story during the Civil War, and by making the character African American, Jack Bender allows the audience to better sympathize with Ariel.