Bernard 1 Charlotte Bernard C.

Morris, English 220 March 5, 2011 Justice in The Tempest A central theme in Shakespeares The Tempest is revenge. Prospero, the protagonist, is wronged some period before the play begins his brother betrays him and at the end he takes his power back from his brother. The idea that his brother is a villain implies that Prospero is the victim. So there is the idea that Prospero was innocent and his brother is guilty. Deconstruction is a critical theory under the umbrella of post-structural. Not only has Pious been wrong but that he deserves to return to his position as the Duke of Milan. That despite he admitted to not having been actively involved in the position for quite some time. Deconstruction is not merely stating the opposite of what ideas generally believed but it seeks to show that the structure, of placing one thing part from another, above another has built it flaws. An example is right and wrong it clear that a person who is right is placed above some one who is wrong. In the story the structure of the story is that Pious is in the right and his brother is in the wrong. That is why the audience expects the revenge plot and is happy at the end when the chaos of the comedy is righted.

Bernard 2 Deconstruction is a critical theory that developed in reaction to structuralism and it falls under the umbrella of post modernism, Deconstruction seeks to reveal the inherit flaws within a text . According to one source a text deconstructs itself because the flaws are found within the text. The steps to deconstruct a text (hedges 1998) is first establish the structure of the text. This is the main concept that is commonly/generally accepted in the story an example is that batman is a good but/hero. Second establish a relationship between the a binary opposition, example that because bat man is a good guy and he can catches bad guys. So there is a play on the ideas of good and bad, the hero catches the bad guys. is the accepted guys. The point deconstruction is concerned with

the accept idea that batman is the hero not that heros in general catch bad

Then you have to deconstruct the main structure in my example this means bad man is

a type of villain a vigilante. This is not merely stating the opposite. All this information can be found within the text. The next step is to support any claims with information within the story these examples may be ignored as they differ from the assumed statement. In Shakespeares The Tempest the accepted concept is that P is the victim. It is not only supposed to be accepted the audience but the characters in the story accept this and act as if it were true. In linesP states he gave over his duties to his brother not his position as the Duke of Milan. It was a temporary thing while he persuaded other interests. In linesA ask A if he felt guiltyHis brother shows no guilt it underscores it is expected that he should feel guilty or his actions. If there was any doubt who was the criminal versus the victim A plots to kill the king in cold blood to put A on the throne. against P orchestrated Because the King of Naples and Alonzo committed acts

the storm to get all the main players on the island because he believes

that the king should be held responsible for allowing his brothers actions to stand. P does not

Bernard 3 complete because the counsel from Ariel, I don not thing it was primarily because of this I think it also had to do with the fact that he is a good guy and good guys to do kill people even in revenge that would make him too much like his brother killing people to get his way and

because his daughter was wronged too and to compensate she is to be married to the prince. He parallels what they did to him by repeating it with the kings. The king took his daughter and tossed her to the sea and P took the kings son and made him think he had lost him to the sea. Despite the clear divide between the good guys versus the bad guys, the criminals and the victims, those who deserve retribution and those who deserve reparation the text has inconsistencies that make this view seem to black and white/clear cut/definitive. If P had not fobbed off/foist his duties on to his brother there would not have been the opportunity for him to maneuver his way and replace him. The duke was not doing him job, in most professions if a person does not do their work they are replaced. In his quest for vengeance, P hurts many innocents in much the same way he and his daughter was hurt as an innocent. Gonzales, the wise counselor, assisted them as it were not for his interference Even the idea that P is good and his brother is bad is a overstatement of the situation. What P does to Ariel and C makes him akin to his brother. Ariel was in difficult situation, instead of helping him and let that be that he makes Ariel his slave. C sins was being born to a wich of a mother, through no fault of his own. much as he could. If

Bernard 4 Work Cited Deconstruction: The De-centering of Paradigm. Critical Theory and Practice: A Survey of Major Literary Theory and its Contribution. 20 April 2003. 14 Feb. 2011. <http://flash.lakeheadu.ca/~engl4904/deconstruct.html> Hedges, Warren. Using Deconstruction to Astonish Friends & Confound Enemies. 1998. English Department, Southern Oregon University. 14 Feb. 2011. <http://docentes2.uacj.mx/museodigital/teoria/ensyos_Varios/usa%20deconstruction%20to%2 0astonish.htm> Morningstar, Chip. How To Deconstruct Almost Anything: My Postmodern Adventure. June 1993. 14 Feb. 2011. <http://www.fudco.com/chip/deconstr.html>

Siegel, Kristi. Post-Structuralism and Deconstruction. Introduction to Modern Literary Theory. Jan. 2006. 14 Feb. 2011. <http://www.kristisiegel.com/theory.htm>