The Tempest Essay -- Shakespeare

Every one has lost something. One of my earliest memories is a car ride through the desert of Arizona. We had just stopped at a gas station, and after we had gotten back on the road I realized that I had left behind a small coquette I had gotten at McDonalds earlier that day. Even at s evening old age old I knew that I would forget about the toy in a day or two, simply for some reason I could not help but ardently entreat my parents to return for it. It was and after I had lost the toy that I realized how very much I wanted it. Shakespeares showcases have lost something as easily their freedom. The idea of a puppet master is not an uncommon one in classic literature. In Shakespeares Macbeth we sense the subtle manipulations of the triad witches in their treatment of Macbeth, and in The Final Problem by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle we imbibe Sherlock Holmes struggle to free himself from the the works of criminal mastermind throng Moriarty. We even see it in childrens literature th rough The grand Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. Yet The Tempest is unique as the mastermind has lost his own freedom as well. It is like seeing the puppets dance, looking behind the curtain, and seeing only more strings. Through development The Tempest you come to understand that almost any character, even if that character is seemingly in control of their own destiny, is trapped by something or someone, and it is only as they struggle to heal their freedom that each item-by-item realizes how much it was taken for granted.The most obvious loss of freedom is felt up by the ruling troupe consisting of Alonso, Sebastian, Antonio, and Gonzalo. Their first goal is to return to Naples, but that voyage is halted by Prosperos storm and their subsequent wreck on the island (1.2.205... ...e to regain control of both Milan and Naples. But in the end The ruling party is spared, Antonio regains his son while Prospero regains his kingdom, Ariel is freed, and even Caliban takes some small ownership in his actions, Ay, that I will and Ill be wise hereafter / And seek for grace. What a thrice-double ass / Was I, to take this drunkard for a god / And worship this wearisome fool (5.1.332-335) It is that sense of rediscovery that Shakespeare leaves us with, the sense that the characters have struggled against fate without even knowing it and are just now realizing what they have gained as a result. The future is uncertain and relationships are still being recreated, but every character leaves the island with a deeper appreciation of the importance of freedom.Works CitedShakespeare, William. The Tempest. Paperback. New York new-made Library, 2008. Print.