- Oroonoko and Imoinda are represented as fundamentally different (in appearance as well as character) from the other enslaved Africans.
- Little of the material deprivation, cruelty, and onerousness of slavery is depicted.
- Oroonoko is hailed as a prince and revered by the very people he sold into slavery.
- Imoinda has a house, a poodle, and the gallant admiration of all the white men on the plantation.
Some issues to consider as we work towards other ways of understanding this novel:
Who are the villains in this story, and what makes them so bad?
What is it about Oroonoko (beyond his handsome and Europeanized physical appearance) that entitles him to some respect and reverence from everyone he meets?
What are the leadership qualities in Oroonoko that Behn seems to value?
Who are the good guys among the white men in this story--and what makes them good?
Those are some issues to be considered as we formulate an alternative interpretation about what this novella is about. Respond to this post with your answers to any of them, or your thoughts about how these various questions might come together to prompt other ways of reading this text.
Deadline: Monday (4/18), start of class.
7 comments:
Oroonoko has a higher educational back ground then the other slaves and has higher social status. Even though he is a slave he is treated differently because of those factors. He seems to take control, and others want to follow him. He is trust worthy so the people that are following him know they are not being lied to. The governor Byam is a villian in the story. He takes advantage of the fact that Oroonoko is gullible and misleads him, and even hurts him physically by making sure he is whipped.
I think that this novella is not at all about slavery. Given that half of the novel is taken up with the description of Oroonoko as a prince and that, the rest of the novel is not focused on the facts of his slavery but rather his virtues even while enslaved. I think that this story is not a slavery novella, but rather a tragic love story. That tragic love theme is the central theme throughout the entirety of the novel and the only one that lasts until the end of the novella. Every other circumstance in Oroonoko’s life changes except for his virtue and his love, because the central theme of a novella must be evident throughout I think that the central theme of this novella is the virtue and tragic love of Imoinda and Oroonoko.
Other than his European looks, Oroonoko is more educated and has a higher social status as a prince. His courage and bravery is also noted to place him above others as a natural leader. Because he is a well-educated natural leader he is treated differently than the others. I happen to also agree with Margret, the way Behn focuses more upon the relationship between Oroonoko and Imoinda suggests that this novella is not predominately about slavery.
The villains in the story do not belong to any sub-group. This goes along with the theory that the novella is not about slavery. Not all the white people are bad. Not all the black people are bad. Good and bad is defined in the story as how you act. Oroonoko and Imoinda are treated better because the act "normal" to European standards and are good-looking. The bad white people are only the ones who lie and hurt Oroonoko. The book does not talk about the cruelties of slavery. It talks about nobility, physical appearance, and honor. The book is about acceptance of people who possess higher qualities, even if they are not from the majority group.
I believe it's fairly clear after our discussion on Friday that the novella is not predominantely about slavery. The way it depicts slavery rather casually, overlooking the reality of how cruel, insane and dehumanizing it was makes it difficult to think that Behn was making a direct claim about slavery. It seems to me that it's possible she didn't truly understand it.. The situation that Oroonoko found himself in as a slave was virtually unheard of in real slavery. Outside of his handsome European features, Oroonoko possessed more of the accepted dignified qualities that where valued by the Europeans causing them to treat him more like a human. I still feel like that gives the book a racist tone because, like as Chad said, that idea gives the book a theme of toleration of minorities - AS LONG as they possess a high about of qualities that the majority posses.
I think one could even read Oroonoko as a villain. Obviously, that is not Behn's inention, nor should one fully see Oroonoko as evil, but Oroonoko does cause the the blinding of his fellow slaves and the terrorization of their families. He's clearly in a more convenient space in slavery than the others, and their lives are worth more than Oroonoko is giving them credit for.
"They all ran in amongst their husbands and fathers, and hug about them crying out, 'Yield, yield, and leave Caesar to their revenge,' that by degrees the slaves abandoned Caesar..."
They were being whipped in the eyes, etc. and it seems reasonable for folks to abandon Oroonoko as a villain.
I agree with Margaret that this is not at all about slavery, the story that is being depicted is about love. It is only coincidence that they are on a plantation, perhaps Behn decides for the setting to include slavery is so that she can have a reasonable setting from which she might have had a front row seat to this drama. Oroonoko's and Imoinda's love is something that is always out of reach, no matter what they do some outside force always prevents them from being happy. When Oroonoko killed Imoinda he was so stricken by grief, and because he loved her so much he was unable to go through with his revenge.His feelings for her were too strong that nothing in the world matter anymore, since he had lost the person that he loved the most. Various points in the story this novel has been shown to be one of loved instead of slavery. Had it been of slavery more acts of defiance would have been shown by the proud king, if not more depictions of life on the plantation from the slaves point of view. The one time that Oroonoko shows any resistance against his white masters is when he leads the slaves to escape. Of course this is not for their own benefit, he does this so that he an Imoinda can escape with their unborn child. Oroonoko does not wish to confine his unborn child to the life of slavery, the resistance in then not about obtaining freedom, but a means by which to be better able to large numbers of white people. He only wishes to use them, in a way they are his pawns to protect his love from harm. Not only that, but the idea that Oroonoko would find Imoinda on the same plantation is highly unlikely. This story only shows how much they love each other, but unfortunately because of obstacles that eventually prove to difficult to overcome they can never be together. This is a tragic love story, that could have been set anywhere, but the plantation allows Behn to place herself in the story and thus show her innocence and make the story more credible to the readers.
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