Trust Is Easily Earned (The Tempest by William Shakespeare Literary Analysis)

We don't trust people because we actually trust them we trust them because of the way they make us feel we are around them. Shakespeare explored these feelings through the character Caliban. In William Shakespeare's comedic play, The Tempest, The character Caliban has an unusual background which directly results in him trusting Trinculo and Stephano, to prove the negative effects of colonization. 

In The Tempest, Prospero colonizes Caliban's island and forces him to be his slave. Caliban was one of the only natives left on the island. He was treated extremely poorly by the colonizers. "What I command, I'll rack thee with old cramps fill all thy bones with aches, make the roar that beasts shall tremble at thy din" (1.2.444-446). Prospero was extremely harsh and cruel to Caliban because of his native background. This made Caliban feel very lonesome and worthless. He was a burden to the colonizers. He wanted everything to go back to how it was before Prospero came and when his mother was in charge of the island.  This feeling of wanting things to go back to normal leads him to rape Miranda in an attempt to create more people like him. This would have eased the feeling of worthlessness and loneliness created by Prospero colonizing his land. Fortunately for Miranda, his attempt did not succeed. But this caused Caliban to be treated even worse. These strong feelings from isolation were eating away at him causing him to be miserable. 

As an effect of this Caliban trusted the first person who treated him with kindness. He was so desperate to be loved he gave the first person who did not think of him as an ugly useless monster his full trust. Trinculo and Stephano did not try to steal anything of Caliban's and earned his trust extremely quickly. The colonization made Caliban feel lonely and isolated from the rest of the island. These feelings made him vulnerable which lead to him trusting anyone who did not treat him as an outsider. Trinculo and Stephano did not know that he was a native when they meet him. They were also too drunk to care about his ugly awful appearance. This made Caliban feel needed and wanted, unlike Prospero who made him feel like a burden his whole life. Caliban's native background is why he trusted Trinculo and Stephano. 

Caliban wants his island back and he is willing to do anything to get back what he feels is rightfully his. Caliban believes that if he kills the colonizer Prospero then he will get his birthright of land back. Prospero stole what was most important to him, his home, colonized his land, and made him be his servant. Therefore, he concocted a plan to kill Prospero and take back what he believes is his birthright. Caliban wants his home back and he is desperate. This burning desperation for things to go back to normal and get revenge on Prospero leads him to, trust the first people he meets who doesn't view him as an outsider. He needed things to go back to before Prospero who made him feel abandoned and miserable. These feelings made him upset and angry at Prospero. Although it mostly forced him to suffer through being forsaken and isolated from the rest of the island. People will do pretty insane things to get themselves away from those emotions. Eventually, when Caliban meets Stephano and Trinculo, Stephano was drunk. He offered Caliban wine, most likely Caliban has never had wine before because Prospero sees him as a useless native with a miserable outlook. Since Stephano is drunk Caliban mistakes him for God. "I'll show thee every fertile inch of the island and will kiss thy foot. I prithee, be my God" (2.3.154-156). On account of Caliban believing Stephano is a God he wants his help killing Prospero.  He only trusts him with this because he has been treated poorly his whole life by colonizers and they showed him kindness. Overall he mistakes Stephano as a God who can help him kill Prospero, and trusts them. 

Therefore, Caliban trusts Stephano and Trinculo to help him kill Prospero because of his background. If Prospero did not colonize his land then Caliban would not desire to murder him. If Caliban was treated better by Prospero then he would not have immediately trusted the first person who treated him with affection. Shakespeare demonstrates the negative impacts of colonialism in the tempest through Caliban's background and the effects on his relationships.

Works cited

Shakespeare, William. The Tempest. Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2016.