Freedom And Control Throughout The Play example essay topic

The Tempest is a play that explores many themes, one of which is the theme of freedom versus control. This theme can be explored by examining the characters of the play. There are countless examples of power and authority through control, along with characters having a strong desire for there freedom. All the characters in the play suffer some sort of incarceration before they are free. I will further explore the theme of freedom versus Control in the Tempest. For a start the characters in The Tempest are all on an island of which they have no control over.

Prospero and Miranda are put there after Antonio takes over the position of Duke Of Milan. This is an example of both characters having lack of control in their lives. Although Prospero gains control over his life while living on the island and he also takes control of many other characters while living on the island. One of these characters is his servant Ariel, who is freed from Sycorax after she was imprisoned in a tree for twelve years. Prospero controls Ariel by threatening to imprison the spirit if she does not obey him. Prospero promises to free Ariel if she carries out his instructions and orders.

Ariel longs for her freedom and control of herself, she agrees to run errands for Prospero. Prospero has also enslaved Caliban even though he states the island is rightfully his. The island was left to him from his mother. In Act One, Caliban tries to explain to Prospero how he showed him all the good on the island and all Caliban gets in return is imprisonment. However, Prospero accuses him of trying to rape Miranda and that is why he is enslaved. In the theme freedom versus control, Caliban is an interesting character to examine because he see's freedom in a differen way.

In Act two, scene two he insists that he must become Stephanie's servant because that will release him from Prospero's demands. His idea of achieving freedom is to switch masters. Another character Prospero has control over is Ferdinand. To test the love between Miranda and Ferdinand, Prospero subjects Ferdinand to harsh treatment. One thing that separates Ferdinand from the rest is he does not care about his lack or control or freedom, nothing matters to him except seeing Miranda.

As long as he can see Miranda once a day from Prison, nothing else matters. This is his form her freedom, being able to see his true love. He is so blinded by love that at Prospero's orders, Ferdinand most carry logs all day and it doesn t even bother him. He is so in love with this beautiful girl, he does not even realize he has lost control of himself. Prospero even has control over his own daughter. In Act four, Scene one, Prospero emphasizes his authority over the two lovers by warning Ferdinand that if his to break her virgin knot before marriage, Miranda will no longer be his.

Not only does he have control of her love life but over every aspect of her everyday life. When Mirada was left on the island, her whole life was left in her father's control. She needs him to survive and take care of her. Prospero loves his daughter very much and feels being in control of her is in her best interest. Miranda does not know any better, she fails to realize that she has no control of her existence. She was raised on the island since she was a small child and thinks it's a typical way of life.

Gonzalo has his own version of what freedom should be. He states it in Act two, Scene one, that he believes that men and women should live together in harmony and be free from government and control. He dreams of a utopian republic in which everyone would have there own type of freedom. It is an interesting aspect of the play to have Gonzalo's view on freedom in exploring the theme of freedom versus control. He thinks that there should be no control in our society, but Antonio and Sebastian mock him for thinking this.

Antonio is a character in The Tempest who has acquired control by taking over Prospero's throne. He proposes a murderous plot to kill Sebastian: he will kill Alonso so that Sebastian can become king, and Sebastian must also kill Gonzalo. A very big mess as we can see, it can all get very confusing at times. By using powers of persuasions, Antonio is a character that has gained control. He is a character who has no conscience and as long as he has his own freedom, he cares not about anyone else. However, although he is probably unaware, Antonio slowly loses his freedom and his lack of control as he and Sebastian, are driven to madness.

Prospero is the only character in the play who manages to maintain control and create a lack of freedom for others till the end of the play. Prospero is generally and good man and uses his control over others in a positive way. Ariel persuades him to have pity on the courtiers. Prospero agrees to give up his magical powers which is a big threat to his control over others.

This proves that Prospero is essentially a good man. The Theme of Freedom versus control in The Tempest is very important. There is a constant interaction between both freedom and control throughout the play. All the characters have some sort of freedom, and yet some type of control over them.

Through the exploration of the characters in the play, it can be determined that Prospero is the main instigator of both freedom and control. Prospero himself, however is not free until the end of the play. Prospero has been restricted from total freedom since he was put on that island. The Tempest is a wonderful play where we can watch characters strive for freedom and control over there own lives. It's something will all strive for in life.