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Cultural Differences in The Tempest, Montaigne’s Essays, and In Defense of the Indians

The Tempest, In Defense of the Indians, and Montaigne’s essays each illustrate what happens when two very different worlds collide. As Europe begins to saturate New World soil, the three authors offer their accounts of the dynamic between the European invader and native other. Though each work is unique in its details, they all share a common bond: Shakespeare, de Las Casas, and Montaigne show the reader how European colonialists use differences in appearance and language to justify theft and slavery.

The Tempest’s Caliban serves as an instrument to highlight the colonialist notion of the other. Caliban is the original inhabitant of the island; it is his native land. But Caliban is ugly. Prospero claims that he is "not honored with human shape" (p. 17), and so the new European inhabitants never think of him as a potential equal- they see him as their inferior. This initial incongruity between characters supports further dehumanization of the native for the remainder of the play.

Caliban’s appearance does not only contribute to the Europeans’ poor estimation o

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The ability to communicate that ends man’s isolation from others and leads to civilization.

Though the primary focus of Montaigne’s essays and In Defense of the Indians is to vouch for the humanity of the Indians, the works also share a second purpose. Though their portrayals of the Indians are very different, their aim is the same: to promote the humane treatment of the Indians. She does not for a moment consider that Caliban’s "gabble" was most likely his own language, the language he used to with Sycorax. Again, the Europeans ignore the humanity of the Indians.

Montaigne has a very different opinion of the natives. It is not even as if the Europeans choose to ignore indigenous society; they do not entertain the possibility that a society can exist. As chronicles of European action in the New World they proof that Shakespeare was not unique in his belief of the inequality between European and native. Montaigne and de Las Casas argue that differences in culture are not tantamount to inferiority. Caliban is only "…a lying slave, whom stripes may move, not kindness" (p. When Prospero discovers Caliban, the native has no knowledge of Europe, much less its tongue. Though Caliban defends his rights when he says, "this island’s mine by Sycorax my mother which thou tak’st from me" (p. 20)

Miranda believes that communication indicates that one is civilized.

Approximate Word count = 1265
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

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