The Tempest: Act II

What type of person is Gonzalo? What was his role in the plot against Prospero? Does his behavior seem consistent with how he acts now? optimists; he is loyal to Prospero; yes he is consistently looking for the brighter side in things
What is Gonzalo’s advice to Alonso at the beginning of the scene? How do you think Alonso will respond? What do we already know about Gonzalo? Gonzalo is constantly looking on the brighter side of everything
Allusion: What things do we learn from Gonzalo’s comments in 2.1.62-71? Who is “wido dido” (line 76? Why is she referred to in this passage? according to Greek legend, Wido Dido was the founder of the city of Carthage, on the coast of Africa
Sebastion and Antonio ridicule Gonzalo. What does this tell us about their characters? they like to mock and make fun of everyone, they think they are better than everyone
Why isn’t Alonso impressed with or entertained by what his followers are saying? What do we know that he doesn’t know? Alonso doesn’t believe his son is alive, he lost all hope; he doesn’t know that Ferdinand is alive on the island
What sort of commonwealth would Gonzalo create on the island?
What is Gonzalo’s idea of the type of government or life style that could be possible on this island? Why does he say this at the time? Gonzalo would like to build a plantation on the island, and he promotes a utopian society in which everyone is equal and lives off the land. He also notes that women would be “innocent and pure.” His opinions and dreams are promoted at this time in direct contrast with the desires of power seen in other characters.
What causes most of the characters to fall asleep? Who remains awake? What do they decide to do? Are they successful? Why or why not? How do they cover for themselves? Ariel; Sebastian and Antonio; to kill Alonso and Gonzalo so Sebastian ca be king; no, they woke up bc of Ariel; they said they heard a lion/beast
Antonio incites Sebastian to kill his brother and take the crown of Naples. Why? What does this tell us about Antonio’s motives? What does Sebastian’s response tell us about him? What could Shakespeare be saying about human nature? The main thing this tells us about Antonio’s motives is that they are selfish, he’s out to get whatever he can, and the more it comes at the expense of others the better; no matter that Sebastian will be forced to lived with the fact he has killed his brother.
What have we learned about the characters of Sebastian and Antonio? Sebastian: easily manipulatedAntonio: manipulative and evilBoth: sneaky
What is the Caliban doing at the beginning of the scene? What does he think Trinculo is? ranting about Prospero; a spirit
Who is Trinculo? How does he respond to Caliban? Why does he crawl under Caliban’s garment? a jester/servant; thinks he is a fish that smells really bad; bc it was thundering so he had to hide under something
Who is Stephano? What condition is he in? How does he respond to Caliban and Trinculo? How does Caliban respond to them? a butler/servant; drunk; thinks they are a monster that can talk his language; Caliban thinks Stephano is a god
How did Stephano escape from the ship?
What does Caliban offer to do? Does this sound familiar? What does this say about Caliban? Caliban offers to be a servant to Stephano; he is already a servant/slave to Prospero
Is it surprising that Caliban willingly worships Stephano and desires to give him control of the island when he resents Prosper for usurping what he considers his rightful claim to the island? What does this show about Caliban? No, it’s not suprising. Caliban resents Prospero, therefore anything Stephano can do to change Prospero’s position is a good and just action. Caliban believes Prospero to be the usurper; he hates the man and what it comes down to is that is it’s not going to be him knocking Prospero off his high horse and ruling, it may as well be Stephano. Caliban is short sighted here the only thing he cares about is that Prospero be taken from the throne.
How would you describe the moods of Alonso, Gonzalo, Antonio, and Sebastian during Scene 1? Alonso is still upset about his son and daughterGonzalo still optimisticAntonio and Sebastian are being negative bc they keep mocking Gonzalo
Where were the castaways going when they are shipwrecked? Why is Alonso especially unhappy? home in Naples; bc he lost his son and daughter