What does Trinculo say about Caliban in Act 3, Scene 2 of The Tempest?
In act 3, scene 2 of The Tempest, Caliban literally throws himself at Stephano's feet, asking if he can be allowed to lick his shoe. The arrival of Stephano, Trinculo, and the others on Prospero's remote island has given Caliban an opportunity to break free from his master's control. For years, he's been subjected to Prospero's domination and has had just about enough of it. This is his island, after all, not Prospero's, and yet Prospero lords it about like it's his domain.
So when Caliban comes across Stephano, he thinks that all his Christmases have come at once. Now he can serve another master—one who will help him to get rid of the hated Prospero once and for all. Unfortunately, he's picked the wrong master in Stephano. A drunken, foolish butler, he's simply not worth serving in any capacity.
But Caliban's so desperate that he abases himself before...
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Stephano, and as we've seen, offers to lick his shoe. As he does so, he points an accusing finger at Trinculo and says that he will never serve him as, unlike Stephano, he's not courageous.
Trinculo responds with anger to what he sees as an outrageous slur against his character. He accuses Caliban of being a lying, ignorant monster. For good measure, he claims that in his current state—completely drunk—he could easily attack a police officer. That Caliban can accuse him of cowardice after all the booze he's put away that day is simply too outrageous for Trinculo to contemplate. Evidently, he has a very strange notion of what constitutes bravery.
What is Trinculo's first impression of Caliban in The Tempest?
Trinculo's first impression of Caliban is that he is another spirit sent to "torment" him. He decides to lay low, hoping to escape notice. As Caliban actually comes into view, however, Trinculo can't decide if he is a man or a fish. He says he smells like a fish. He states that in England, this "monster" (Caliban) would pass for a man. Trinculo is amazed that Caliban has legs like a human but arms like fish fins. Trinculo finally decides that Cailban is a native islander, not a fish, but one that was struck by a thunderbolt, which would account for his strange appearance. This episode, played for laughs, is meant to be funny.
It's hard to get a clear mental image of Caliban from this description, but Trinculo manages to communicate that in the encounter with natives from other parts of the world, Europeans were sometimes unsure if they were dealing with humans or animals/monsters. However, Caliban must be more strange than frightening and more human than monster, as Trinculo is not afraid to crawl under his cloak to escape the storm.