Reading response analysis and interpretation

Non-Western Societies

Tempest and of Cannibals

The idea that Europeans brought enlightenment to the savage colonies has always fascinated modern writers so much so that many of them employed their imagination to create pictures of 'barbaric' individuals who inhabited these colonies. Shakespeare and Montaigne in their attempts to recreate those savage communities gave us the powerful characters of Caliban and Cannibal. Focusing on this obsession of writers with the image of a savage non-western man, Bartra (1994) writes: "The identity of the "civilized" has always been flanked by the image of the Other, yet the common image of the Other as a wild and barbaric figure, as opposed to Western man, has been considered a reflection - albeit distorted - of non-Western peoples, a eurocentric expression of colonial expansion from which evolved an exotic and racist version of those whom the conquistadors and colonizers had discovered and subdued." [p. 3]

While Shakespeare borrowed heavily from Montaigne's essay, Of Cannibals, as far as the core concept was concerned but his reason for creating a non-western character was entirely different from that of Montaigne. Montaigne was more interested in exploring the untainted, pure and almost heavenly side of the inhabitant of an unadulterated society. On the other, Shakespeare believed that savagery is not connected with enlightenment or lack of it, it is essentially an inner trait that anyone can possess regardless of his social circumstances. The essential difference of belief is evident from the characters that the two writers created.

Montaigne's sole reason for writing Of Cannibals was to highlight and accentuate the importance of a wild non-western man. He believed that someone who had not been exposed to the realities of the modern world was essentially an uncontaminated soul that represents the heavenly ideals of purity. Discussing the nature of Montaigne's fascination with non-western societies, O'Toole writes: "[Montaigne] presents a highly idealized characterization of the natives of the New World. He perceives these "cannibals," as he calls them, to be men who live in the way Nature intends them to live, unadorned and unfettered by modern civilization. Montaigne goes so far as to claim to have found in these cannibals the "golden age," spoken of so often by philosophers and poets as merely an unattainable dream. He boldly asserts that in the character of these people, all of "the true, most useful, and natural virtues and properties are alive and vigorous." [2]

Shakespeare however had no such idealized views of the savage natives. Unlike Montaigne, Shakespeare was more fascinated with psychological impact of European influence on the savage man. He firmly maintained that there was no such thing as a Noble savage and through his character, Caliban, he successfully unearthed the negative side of a so-called pure soul. The non-western man of Shakespeare is no saint and neither is he a beast. Shakespeare maintains a completely objective stance on the subject of savagery and therefore presents both sides of non-western society through characters like Caliban and Ariel. The main point was to attack Montaigne's romantic view of the savage and this results in the creation of Caliban. Bartra (1994) writes: "Caliban represents a wildness that threatens Christian civilization from the inside, and, unlike Montaigne's cannibal, Caliban is a dangerous and menacing figure from whom one must be protected, on the one hand, and who must be redeemed, on the other." (p. 176)