Preview

Oroonoko

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1248 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Oroonoko
"Is Life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death" Patrick Henry. Throughout the years, man insisted on inflecting injustice and oppression on the vulnerable and weak. The desire of man to dominate and control is continuous. In this novel the author illustrates a side of the injustice inflected on the world. Oroonoko is a short novel written by English author Aphra Behn. Aphra Behn 's novel Oroonoko is one of the earliest forms of literature that sheds the light on the matter of slavery taking many shapes throughout the novel. Oroonoko, a prince taking part in the trafficking of slaves that later on becomes a victim of this vile crime. He is given the lead role in her novel to be the protagonist fighting slavery by love, the love for his own freedom and the freedom of his beloved Imoinda. Fighting for the liberty of his people, his love, and his own. Early in the novel women are objectified. They are framed to be the objects of entertainment and luxury in favor of the king 's pleasures. Imoinda was of charm and beauty that attracted the old king. Therefore, he sent the royal veil resembling that this woman got the honor of becoming another mistress of the royal king, to entertain him and use for his own pleasures and lusts. The outcome of rejection of this so called honor is to be put to death. Imoinda against her will accepts this veil fearing for her life. The royal veil exploits as an object to enslave women. Imoinda, despite her acceptance of the royal veil, utterly refuses the king 's continuous endeavors to rape her. This indicates that women have the right to choose their spouses and not accept being an object of pleasure and lust. In addition to that, when Oroonoko finally encounters with his beloved Imoinda, the king considers her polluted, for it is a great crime in their customs and beliefs amongst them
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Oroton
    • 701 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Oroton

    A company introduction explaining such aspects as its history, its product, its size, how it operates , where it has already internationalised to (if it has). Include pictures to illustrate your information and make it easy for your reader to grasp.…

    • 701 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Women's Roles in Oryx and Grake
    • 1567 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Women's Roles in Oryx and Grake

    Women play many roles in life: from mother to leader, from caretaker to evildoer. It is easy to see that the world could not development without women. In a similar fashion, women in literature also play important roles. The roles which women play can always push the plot forward. It is obvious to see how important women’s roles are, how the roles influence this story and how those roles make readers think deeply in the most literature. In Oryx and Crake, women’s roles are that of: mothers of the main protagonist, in which case they influence their child; objects of sexual service, which always represents the temptation and they are puppets used by evildoers to do something horrible and hurt others without purpose.…

    • 1567 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Comparing Medea And The Poisonwood Bible
    • 607 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Comparing Medea And The Poisonwood Bible

    In novels and play writes such as Barbara Kingsolver’s, The Poisonwood Bible and Euripides, Medea, the theme Role of women arises: women in many societies are subjugated and displayed as the inferior gender, when they are truly the strongest; they carry all the pain and suffering of society, the wars and the deaths; thus they are the pedestal that keeps everyone up. In order to reveal theme Kingsolver and Euripides make use of literary devices such as symbolism, imagery and diction. Using all three literary devices Kingsolver reveals that women such as Orleana believe that they are just rag dolls that are pulled, pushed and just there, even so realize how strong they really are; that if it was not for them their children would not be able to live. Medea on the other hand represents all the pains and struggles of women and is attempting to inform all women that they have the power and must stand up for themselves.…

    • 607 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Close Reading of Aphra Behn's Oroonoko
    • 1068 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Close Reading of Aphra Behn's Oroonoko

    The rise of the novel occurred at the time Oroonoko was written in the late 17th century. Its form literally means ‘new’ which parallels to the description of the natives that are strange to Behn’s readers. Here the discourse of romance is employed which occupied most early forms of novels. She idealizes their lifestyle through her exotic portrayal; they are ‘gods of the rivers’ and their skills depicted as ‘so rare an art’ and ‘admirable’. The amount of intricate detail builds up a clear image and engages sympathies for the readers, who were unlikely to have encountered them before. This Edenic picture of life within nature reflects their innocence before they are corrupted by colonialism; Behn even compares them to Adam and Eve before the fall earlier in the novel. However it could be said this description puts them on show because they are so different, distancing them from the reader. Behn further separates the natives by changing discourses to an economic description of commerce with the African slaves. Matters of how to ‘bargain with a master’ and ‘contract to pay him so much apiece’ are far from literary and appear to be aimed directly at colonists who want to trade themselves, with second person pronouns ‘you are obliged to be contented with your lot’. This juxtaposition of discourses further emphasizes the simplistic lifestyle of the natives contrasted against the forward, industrial actions of the European colonizers. These contrasting discourses are therefore one way of representing the underlying tensions between the natives and settlers.…

    • 1068 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Oroonoko
    • 1596 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Oroonoko

    Behn conveys a message that slavery is cruel and dehumanizing through her literary work Oroonoko, or The Royal Slave. At first Oroonoko did not see slavery to be cruel; it wasn’t until he was sold into slavery and had to walk a mile in the slave’s shoes that he realized slavery was brutal. From Oroonoko’s observations when he is a slave, he characterizes the slaves as basically animals when he says: “They suffered not like men, who might find a glory and fortitude in oppression, but like dogs that loved the whip and bell, and fawned the more they were beaten”(Behn 961). Behn also conveys the brutality of slavery by giving vivid detail of Oroonoko’s death when she states: “…and first cut off his members, and threw them into the fire, after that, with an ill-favored knife, they cut his ears, and his nose, and burned them…Then they hacked off one of his arms, and still he bore up, and he still held his pipe, but at the cutting off the other arm, his head sunk, and his pipe dropped, and he gave up the ghost, without a groan or a reproach” (Behn 970). Many critics…

    • 1596 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Comparing Douglass And Harriet Jacobs
    • 2006 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Comparing Douglass And Harriet Jacobs

    The best way to give someone the idea of an institution’s terrible enormity, is to give them depictions of people who have suffered under it. This is the principle idea of the slave narrative, where former slaves tell their experiences in slavery and how they escaped. As most were written when slavery was still legal, the true purpose of these published accounts is addressed in a myriad of different ways throughout, but sums up to this - to convince the reader, through depictions of abuse and dehumanization, that slavery should not be condoned, for the perpetual abuse and misery the slave must endure is not worth the product. Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs are two examples of slave narrative authors who utilize this emotional appeal…

    • 2006 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    How Does Kate Chopin Use Situational Irony In Desiree's Baby
    • 414 Words
    • 2 Pages

    How Does Kate Chopin Use Situational Irony In Desiree's Baby

    In Desiree’s Baby by Kate Chopin the author uses situational irony to convey the deformed consciences of the time period. In the story the reader believes Desiree leaves L’Abri plantation because she is part African American and therefore cannot be married to Armand. Even though Armand dearly loves Desiree, “The passion that awoke in him that day…swept…like anything that drives headlong over all obstacles” he forces her to leave anyway. This action shows the strength racial issues played in the lives of people during slavery times. However, the reader does not fully understand the deformation of Armand’s conscience until the end of the book when the irony is revealed. Chopin uses Armand’s situation to illuminate the deformed consciences of the time period.…

    • 414 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    The Color Purple Critical Lens Essay
    • 1184 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The Color Purple Critical Lens Essay

    This book is truly centered on the darkness of sexual abuse and the immorality of a man oppressing the will of females. This novel demonstrates the evil of black male patriarchy. Mr. Blank is the father of two young girls, Celie and Nettie, which he basically uses for his own disturbing desires. Not only does he try to sexually control them, but also he dehumanizes them by his mistreatment. Being merely children, he forces himself onto them very aggressively. Their daily experience is described by this quote: “ he start to choke me, saying you better shut up and get use to it. But I don’t ever get use to it. And know I feels sick every time I be the one to cook.” He also orders Celie around like a slave and threatens her into submission. Mr. Blank has also dedicated himself to draining every inch of self-confidence Celie has, which he uses to keep her weak. “Well next time you come look at her. She ugly. Don’t even look like she kin to Nettie. But she’ll make a better wife. She aint smart either, and I’ll just be fair, you have to watch her or she’ll give away everything you own. But she can work like a man.” Mr. Blank takes away their freedom as women to do as they wish and strive for success in life. He condemns them to a life of terror and…

    • 1184 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Cause of Abina's Silence
    • 974 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Cause of Abina's Silence

    In recently learning about pre-colonial West Africa, slavery was not brought to the region by Europeans. Slavery in West Africa had been thriving, as different empires raided neighboring cities for territorial gain. There was however, a European influence that changed the structural ideas of slavery and the demand. In reading Abina and the Important Men there is an element of surprise in that a girl from the Asante tribe was able to have her day in court. The knowledge of the culture sadly foreshadows the deciding verdict of her trial. It is because of Abina’s age, and a gender that the courts did not rule in her favor. The other deciding factors are the different interpretation of slavery unknowing of customs and the influence of importance.…

    • 974 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Wife of Bath/Lanval
    • 2117 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Wife of Bath/Lanval

    Hansen criticises this integrated perception of marriage and power stating that the Wife of Bath is “ironically trapped in the misogynist culture she explicitly names as the enemy and is blind to the ways in which her tactics further embed her in the assumptions she tries in vein to defy” (1996 p.274). This statement insults Alisoun’s character as it oversimplifies her understanding of her situation and neglects to take into account the social context of the text. She is not a victim as she has knowingly embraced an institution associated with female confinement and oppression. By willingly playing the game she manipulates marriage in her favour and uses it as a tool to help her achieve the power and autonomy she strives for, “What sholde I taken keep hem for to plese, / But it were for my profit and…

    • 2117 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Theme Of Feminism In The Awakening
    • 1226 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Theme Of Feminism In The Awakening

    Feminism has consistently been a major theme of literature throughout history. It has been used as a commentary on the status of women in a given time period, or to show how people’s attitudes have changed over time. Feminism in literature can also be used, as in the case of The Awakening by Kate Chopin, as a way to show how individual people, especially women can have a positive effect on the world around them. The actions of Edna and Adele Ratignolle in The Awakening are examples of how women can advance feminist ideals, even if it is not done in the conventional way. Edna does this by becoming her own individual person throughout the story. Adele does it by simply her life the way she wants, even if that means stay home and…

    • 1226 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Feminism in Anthem
    • 826 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Feminism in Anthem

    Throughout history, women have been brushed aside as the inferiors of men. From the time of the Greeks to the modern day world, men have been the dominant beings. Mary Astell, an English feminist writer, says, “If all men are born free, how is it that all women are born slaves?” She questions the societal norm of women in predetermined constrictive roles. This theme of a submissive and obedient female pervades many literary works, specifically those by Ayn Rand. Rand’s portrayal of women in her novel Anthem further drives the female into a position of inferiority.…

    • 826 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Desiree's Baby
    • 406 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Desiree's Baby

    her anyway. Which by the way, that sometimes happens when you find someone that you really like. Regardless of what anyone has to say or tell you about that person you are going to still want to be with them. As time went on, Desiree and Ahmand became united in holy matrimony. To their union a child was born. Now, the problem begins. It wasn't until there was a question about the baby's race, the hardship on the plantation began. Only because her identity resembled that of a slave. While now, she would have to leave the plantation, only because of the outer appreance of the child. When all along, I feel that Ahmand knew that he was the cause of the child African decendency. Her family wanted her to come back, but she felt that she would change there lives. I think Chopin really indentified the power of a woman by not letting Desiree go back home. It exemplifies independance, toughness, and a desire…

    • 406 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Canterbury Tales Response
    • 1012 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Canterbury Tales Response

    The novel contains many stories on how females were portrayed during medieval times. A tale in the novel called The Wife Of Bath's Tale, gives a common situation in which a man must pursue a women, but not for marriage. The Knight must find what women desire most in order to not be executed for rape. He finally finds the answer from an old woman, who tells him that all women desire to be in charge of their husbands/lovers. For example, Chaucer writes, “A women wants the self-same sovereignty, over her husband as over her lover, and master him he mustn't be above her (p. 282). “ This statement is more or less true, and is showing how women want to be their own person, but at the same time be viewed as equally powerful to their male counterparts. Women aren't the problem, the problem is what society expects them to be. Although the conflict concerns a man trying to get out of being killed for a crime, the women in this story serve a greater, and thoughtful purpose. Ultimately, the knight marries the old woman, but isn't satisfied because of her appearance. In contrast, the woman doesn't take offense to his behavior, instead…

    • 1012 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Oroonoko Analysis
    • 1565 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Oroonoko Analysis

    was conducting while assembling its overseas empire. Behn paints the majority of the white colonists as unmitigated illustrations of greed, dishonesty, and brutality. Through these depraved individuals, Behn regularly articulates the barbarism innate in British nature as opposed to the African prince Oroonoko, whom is conveyed as the quintisential model of nobility, physical prowness, and honor. These reoccuring motifs apparent throughout the literary work reveal Behn's intention of undermining the inhumane treatment of the colonized populice and the criticism of overseas expansion. Upon close examination of the literary work, one could conclusively view Aphra Behn's Oroonoko as an assailment against the dehumanization of the colonized people and a subtle criticism of Britain…

    • 1565 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More

Related Topics