Di Muzio 1

Alessandro Di Muzio
Mrs. Julie Johnson
World Literature
14 May 2015
Question #1 for Shakespeare Behind Bars
Caliban, character in The Tempest, is considered a living monster because he is savage and
never learnt how to behave according to human customs and tradition. He does not listen to
reasons, he just follows his instinct. He cannot be considered a man anymore, because he lost
everything he had prior in common with men. He is instead an animal within the body of a man.

Monsters exist, and they live within us. Most people though, learn how to contain them and not
to show them. But there are also people, who because of problems in the childhood or during
their lives, never really learnt. What happens when a monster come out? Usually they bring to
the surface our worst side and aspects. We change behavior, we dont listen to our mind
anymore. The body is possessed by the instinct, and so we lose our thoughts, that differentiate
us from animals.
When people is run by the instinct, bad things happen: hatred can turn into homicide, or serious
injury, every feeling takes more dramatic connotations, with consequences often dangerous.

People like the cast of Shakespeare Behind Bars are those who never learnt when children how
to hide their inside monsters and thats also why they ended up in jail.
For instance, Sammie was raped when he was in first grade, and knowing that the man who did
it was still roaming and not in the prison, angered him. He brought this feeling within him for the
rest of his life, even if eventually he learnt how to live with.

Di Muzio 2
The monster inside of him was embracing hatred, and it sought revenge to the society who left
him alone when he needed help. His monster led him to cheat with his wife first, and then to a
murder, reason why he was convicted for 30 years.

The world is for civilized people, not for savages who cannot be differentiated with animals.
When we evolved from the monkey, we also developed a brain with its thoughts and sense who
led us for millennia. We dont have to waste what we have, but instead make it a perk of yours.