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women by the natives. In "Caliban Answers Prospero: The Dialogue Betw een West
and African Uterature,- Kofi Awoonor suggests:
A significant subtheme that also reflects some of the deep seated
psychological dimensions of the play [1ht Tt'17JPtStl is the relationship
between Caliban and Miranda, the beast and the beauty, the aboriginal
focus of the sex-based war between the races. She is the pure white
woman over who m the native savag e salivates . Between her and Caliban
the racial rape syndro me is born (78) .
Mannoni explains the ' Prospero Complex- of the paternalist colonial and white
racialist, who desires to dominate and fears the rape of a white woman by a black
man, as his own repressed tendencies toward s sadism , rape or incest, the image of
which frigh tens and fascinateshim. being projected on to others (11Q-l11) . The
owners of Coetzee 's Friday eliminate the possibility of him ever raping their women
by having Friday castrated .
It is apparent thatassociated with the project of colonization is the process of
taming the savage by teachinghim language. However, in The Tempest, Shakespeare
presents the characterof Calibanas having a better understanding of the English
syntax . semantics. and poetic diction than Defoe 's Friday. Caliban's understanding of
the English languageempowers him to respond: "You taught me language. and my
profi t on' t l Is I know how to curse: the red-plague ride you I For learning me your
language- (I.ii.363-36S). Caliban uses his acquisition of western language and power
to subvert it,
The issue of language has caused contention among some African postcolonial
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