relief for his ability to speak, notwithstanding what he describes as Caliban’s inhuman
appearance (ll.ii.64). Caliban’s ability to speak, then, moves him in the eyes of Trinculo and
Stephano from a mere monster to someone deserving some measure of kindness.
In addition, according to Habib, Caliban’s ability to speak reinforces the importance of
Prospero’s books to his own power. Repeatedly, Caliban reminds Stephano to “Burn but his
books” in order to overpower and depose Prospero as ruler of the island (lll.ii.95). Because
Prospero has taught Caliban the power of words, Caliban is able to recognize the centrality of
words to Prospero’s power and realize that Prospero’s power can only be overcome by
destroying the source of Prospero’s magic words. The third way Habib states that Caliban
uses speech to undermine Prospero's power is through cursing. As Caliban says to Prospero
in Act 1, “You taught me language, and my profit o n 't / Is I know how to curse” (I.ii.366-67).
The fact that Caliban has been taught to speak by Prospero and then uses that ability to speak
in order to curse Prospero places both of them in a sort of rhetorical equality. In fact, Habib
insists that Caliban’s moral position is superior, since, unlike Prospero’s curses, Caliban’s
curses do not actually cause bodily harm. “The efficacy of this cunning recursive strategy is
proven in the fact that Prospero’s only response . . . is to silence him with the threat of force”
(Habib 242).
Habib and other postcolonial scholars thus transform Caliban’s ability to speak from a
benevolent gift of a kind master to a subversive tool used to undermine unjust imperial rule.
The traditional reading that tends to reinforce the view of slavery prevalent in late-19th and
early-20th century American popular culture, where slavery is a largely benign institution that
actually did some good to African-American slaves, is soundly rejected by postcolonial
scholars. Instead, slaves are understood as oppressed, brutalized, and willing to take drastic
measures to be free. In Act 3, Scene 2, Caliban persuades Stephano and Trinculo to depose
Prospero and take his place as ruler of the island, stating his wish to become their slave. While
the traditional reading would see this as evidence that Caliban prefers slavery to freedom,
postcolonial scholars see Caliban’s actions as proof that he has internalized the imperial value
system encountered during his enslavement. According to postcolonial readings of The
Tempest, Caliban is enslaved and his homeland taken by a powerful individual who exploits
him and demands free labor in return for the avoidance of bodily harm, much the same as
Native Americans and African Americans were exploited by New World settlers.
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