Shakespeare introduced the conflict between Prospero and Caliban as the engage in a heated dialogue where they give an opposite version of their shared history. Rather than following the call of Prospero to work, Caliban goes ahead and curses him, which sets the hostile tone from the start. Caliban claims “This island’s mine, by Sycorax my mother, / Which thou takest from me,” basing his argument on inheritance and who was here first. He narrates how Prospero first treated him kindly, –thou strok’st me and made much of me–and taught him about the sun and the moon, and Caliban showed him all the qualities o’ th’ isle, the fresh springs and fertile greens. But then Prospero betrayed that friendship: “here you sty me / In this hard rock, whiles you do keep from me / The rest o’ th’ island.” Caliban feels like he has been deprived of what belonged to him.

    Prospero retaliates by calling Caliban a lying slave, insisting he showed only kindness when he “took pains to make thee speak” and housed him “in mine own cell” until Caliban “didst seek to violate / The honor of my child.” The enslavement became necessary punishment for this betrayal. His language gets really harsh—calling Caliban “filth,” saying “thy vile race” had evil tendencies—revealing he genuinely sees himself as superior. He believes his European education and culture give him moral authority to rule. He’s not just using power—he actually thinks he deserves to be in charge because he’s more civilized.

    This dialogue argues that it is not only physical control they are competing over but also over their legitimacy to power. Caliban relies on right to inheritance and being there first and while Prospero dwell on the right to rule through civilization. The interesting part in the scene is the reaction of Caliban: you taught me how to speak, and my gain on’t / Is I know how to curse. This demonstrates that imposing culture on an individual will cause resentment rather than gratitude. Both genuinely believe they deserve to rule, but only Prospero has power to enforce his will through magic—”tonight thou shalt have cramps, / Side-stitches that shall pen thy breath up.” The conflict raises bigger questions about colonization: does being somewhere first give you more right to rule than supposedly being more civilized? Since neither can escape, they’re trapped in this power struggle where the person with authority and the person claiming original ownership must keep dealing with each other.