The Tempest Act 1

The character of Prospero comes off as a very manipulative, selfish being who has a set plan to dictate how his life will be ran. He controls all the outside variables around him to create a perfect ending to his plans, and he is persistent in making things happen to meet his expectations. Prospero doesn’t care who stands in his way, or who gets hurt, as long as in the end he can avenge himself and fulfill his selfish ambitions.

One such Use of manipulation comes from the words and rhetoric straight from Prospero’s mouth. Prospero displays a masterful understanding of how one can control the other without them really knowing what is even happening. For example, When Prospero is in need of Ariel’s assistance, he reminds Ariel of what his previous conditions used to be compared to what they are now by bringing up that he was “her servant at the time, as [he admitted himself]. You were too delicate to carry out her horrible orders, and you refused. In a fit of rage she locked you up in a hollow pine tree, with the help of her powerful assistants, and left you there for twelve years”. Prospero knew the trauma that this had caused Ariel, and he knew that bringing it up again would make Ariel feel in debt to Prospero, that is why he said this. Prospero needed Ariel’s help to gain what he wanted, so he decided to manipulate the feelings that Ariel felt through his rhetoric. This, in the end, proved very helpful to Prospero as it helped his plan go smoothly.

This Idea of manipulation goes hand in hand with what we have been studying in 1984. In 1984, the government, like Prospero, used it words and written material to manipulate the minds and thoughts of its citizens. Through this manipulation, Big Brother was able to construct a society that believed everything they heard and would die for the party at any given chance. The use of words and stories is a very powerful tool that has been used since the dawn of time, and its power is what I believe we will be studying for the rest of this school year.