The Tempest II: Brave New World

Murder features prominently is Shakespeare's The Tempest;  Antonio (Prospero's traitorous brother) attempted to kill Prospero and his daughter Miranda by setting them adrift;   Caliban, the island's native, plots with the shipwrecked drunkards Stephano (the butler) and Trinculo (the jester) to murder Prospero in his sleep and take control of the island; Antonio persuades Sebastian (the King's brother) to murder the sleeping King Alonso and his advisor, Gonzalo, so Sebastian can become the King of Naples.

Prospero has before him, those who have caused him harm and those who continue to plot these extreme crimes. Yet he has a daughter who falls in love and marries; how is he to treat these evil doers? What is the balance of justice and punishment to be delivered as his daughter goes forth into the brave new world with her new husband Ferdinand? 

Prospero is clearly all powerful; his magic places all where he wants them. 

Emma

Jane Austen's Emma is usually described as a novel of manners; it is a manual of behaviour so as to belong and succeed in polite society. Emma, the protagonist, is a young woman who initially gives advice on how to make a good match for marriage and yet ironically learns about herself, leading her to be happily matched somewhat unexpectedly. Property, ancestry and education are the essential tokens on display and for exchange in achieving the goal of a prosperous and happy marriage in a world of codified etiquette. 

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon

Curious Dog does has many points to comment upon.

 

Chistopher is different but not strange

Haddon presents Christopher as the hero of the story.

He is different. He assembles differently. Typically, he might be labelled as having an intellectual disability. Such people are often judged as ‘strange’. Haddon challenges this persepctive.

 

Haddon goes to great length to show that Christopher is merely different, and assembles and experiences the world in novel ways. For Christopher, a logical, factual, diagrammatic world is what he experiences and works with. And his way of understanding does take him to the point of his quest, to find out who killed the dog, a crime for which he was blamed.

 

This detective quest, unfortunately reveals for him some unsavoury facts about his past family life, revealing his mother’s abandonment of him, and an affair with the neighbour which was deeply resented by Christopher’s father.

 

Consider other characters who might be seen as ‘strange’....

 

Textual Conversations 

Sylvia Plath / Ted Hughes: Poets

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Plath was an intense, extraordinarily talented human who was hyper-sensitive to the world, to the universe in which she lived. She, like most poets, had to do battle with her muse which was like a multi-laned highway of sensory awareness and perception going in all kinds of directions that included ritual, biology, forces of nature and the supernatural, charged with the forces of life and death. These elements and more intersected in her being and she took on the herculean task, through her talent of perception, of taming them into the expression of poetry.

To add, she was acutely aware of her past, what it had and had not given her, explained by her complex relationship with her father. Hughes, was something of a bystander, a witness to this unique flame of life called Sylvia Plath but was often blamed for her demise. The ability to so completely juxtapose such intense yet delicate sensibilities, reversing, modifying, invoking then causing to disappear high voltage, bitter-sweet perceptions, was her unique talent.

The orchestra which she conducted had instruments in it which she invented and only she knew how to play.

But it came at an awful price.

Shakespeare's Othello

Othello is a Moor - from Africa, and visibly different. He is man who is seen - but ironically cannot see. He fails to detect a counterfeit handkerchief that causes him to fall into a jealous rage; he fails to see the deceptions of Iago; he fails to see the true virtue and loyalty of both Cassio and especially of Desdemona.

It is often commented that the play is about racism. That is true to some extent but it is not the main theme. It is worth noting that Iago's ploy to discredit Othello, labelling him as a black lascivious man who has seduced Desdemona with witchcraft fails by the end of Act I. Othello is recognised socially as honourable and worthy of both the marriage and his status as a General, called upon to defend Venice against invasion.

Considering the racist angle fails for Iago, he then devises more ingenious plots to destroy Othello; he does this by driving him mad with jealousy based on false accusation and false evidence of Desdemona's fidelity. Iago's skill is in manipulating motivations and emotions. He destroys the reputation of those who are loyal to Othello - Cassio. Iago's dark talent is to recognise psychological weakness.

From Act II on we watch Iago 'spin his web'. He exploits a friendly relationship between Cassio and Desdemona.

Discovery in Shakespeare's The Tempest

There are many discoveries in Shakespeare's The Tempest.

Prospero, the usurped King, is marooned on an a desolate island with his daughter Miranda. He has the opportunity to finally take revenge on the wrong doers who plotted against him, taking his throne and setting him and his daughter adrift many years ago. Most importantly, the storm that sends his enemies towards him is a storm that Prospero has magically conjured.

The play itself works from the discovery of the island. The shipwreck carrying Alonso, Antonio and his party are taken away from their usual world to a sometimes dangerous and lonely place. Here the interplay of the imagined world and the real world takes place as Prospero decides what to do with his enemies.

We see many examples of wicked human behaviour, the wrecked team plotting against each other with dangerous subterfuge; we also see Caliban, who represents the bestial in man, drunk and always behaving badly. As such we see much evidence to suggest that harsh punishment is the only way to deliver justice and to create order in an unruly world. For the plotters they finally discover remorse for their actions; for Caliban he has nothing but regret for having discovered knowledge through language. He rather had stayed ignorant than to know of 'better' ways.

Prospero's daughter Miranda, seeing her first potential man partner ever, Ferdinand, discovers love, and also learns about her noble past. We also see the lovers playing chess at the play's conclusion, a reminder that love is a game that has rules; there is more to love than just passion and powerful emotions. As such, Miranda makes may discoveries which are unexpected.

Prospero however decides to pardon rather than punish Alonso and Antonio, the plotters, motivated by his consideration of the future world to be inherited by his soon to be married daughter Miranda. Prospero discovers virtue over vengeance.

A storm is an unpredictable thing, unleashing unpleasant chaos upon humanity. The Tempest is a storm, both metaphorical and real - it is the moment of fury, Prospero storm and his fury, a decisive moment of revenge for Prospero. The question is, how will he act towards those who have harmed him and who are now in his reach? How will he met out justice, if at all, in a world where plotting, murder and base desire are forever present, but a world into which those he loves will inherit and live in and hopefully….prosper? ( yes - it's a pun on the character's name !)

The play reminds us that life is not always smooth sailing, and that discovery can be both pleasant and unpleasant, with the consequences of responsible action.

The Handmaiden's Tale by Margaret Atwood

The Handmaidens Tale (1996) by author Margaret Atwood is an intense and powerful novel. One quickly notices that it resembles other dystopic novels such as Orwell's 1984 and Huxley's Brave New World in that THT is concerned with authority, its abuse and the human condition.

THT is significantly different, however, as the oppressive social schema it presents is based on the notion of reproduction and the role of women. Some are slaves; others are privileged but whatever the case you must fit in and obey the order prescribed to serve the need to populate.

The novel is seen through the eyes of a young female biological slave Offred as she reflects on her options, swimming through a dangerous world.