StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...

Racism in Aphra Behns Oroonoko - Book Report/Review Example

Cite this document
Summary
In her book Oroonoko, author Aphra Behn physically distinguishes her titular hero from his fellow countrymen in a way that subtly foreshadows and establishes the ambivalence toward racial differences that is to be felt throughout the story. Zook writes that "in many ways Oroonoko is more European than Africanhis physical featuresare European" (92)…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER93.8% of users find it useful
Racism in Aphra Behns Oroonoko
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Racism in Aphra Behns Oroonoko"

Download file to see previous pages

Oroonoko's duality is a reflection of the duality at work of the author herself, who seems incapable of fully committing to making an African the hero of her tale without stripping him of many of his uniquely African attributes. Consider that Oroonoko is both a Prince and a slave; a slave trafficker and a slave himself; a savage warrior and an educated noble; as one man with two names. Not only is the protagonist of her story imbued with duality, but the telling of the tale itself is bifurcated by a constant ambivalence toward its own racist viewpoint.

Oroonoko is plainly African, but he also manages to be a representation of the European ideal of masculine beauty. That word needs to be examined more closely; he is a re-presentation. The concept of the Other is one in which man comes face to face with something different from himself. The Other is a threat and must be taken care of either through annihilation or assimilation. Since it wasn't economically advisable to annihilate the Negro, assimilation was called for and the method for assimilation comes through in Behn's writing in which Oroonokoo physically bridges both African and European cultures; he loses his exoticism and becomes one of us.

Though the color of his skin is described as ebony, Behn also describes his nose as "rising and Roman, instead of African and flat; his mouth the finest shaped that could be seen, far from those great turned lips which are so natural to the rest of the Negroes" (15). Behn almost seems determined to create an African hero who bears no resemblance to actual Africans. Instead, she felt compelled to Europeanize his in appearance so he could more readily be accepted as an heroic character. It is Oroonoko's European qualities that make him a natural leader among his own people as well as what ingratiates him so easily among the Europeans.

Oroonoko's identity is connected to his duality and his duality is an extension of Behn's racism which she tries so hard to overcome. At an early point in the story, the narrator gives a backhanded compliment to African women that provides a glimpse into the still burgeoning development of racial tolerance for exotic looks at the time it was written. The black wives of the African King of Coramantien are described thusly: "for most certainly there are beauties that can charm of that color" (13).

This seems quite clearly a racist statement when applied to today's standards, but what about when examined through the prism defined by Jordan when he writes "It was important, if incalculably so, that English discovery of black Africans came at time when the accepted English standard of ideal beauty was a fair complexion of rose and white. Negroes seemed the very picture of perverse negation" (7). Behn attempts to move beyond this negation of perversity by allowing that there is such a creature as a black woman who is charming.

But isn't allowing for the possibility of the existence of some charming black women the exact same thing as saying that most black women are not charming Again, the question of Behn's ambivalence toward race is raised her very effort to move

...Download file to see next pages Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Racism in Aphra Behns Oroonoko Book Report/Review”, n.d.)
Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/literature/1509233-racism-in-aphra-behns-oroonoko
(Racism in Aphra Behns Oroonoko Book Report/Review)
https://studentshare.org/literature/1509233-racism-in-aphra-behns-oroonoko.
“Racism in Aphra Behns Oroonoko Book Report/Review”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/literature/1509233-racism-in-aphra-behns-oroonoko.
  • Cited: 1 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Racism in Aphra Behns Oroonoko

The Role of Women in Aphra Behn's play The Rover

The paper tells that aphra Behn reveals the double standard that men in the eighteenth century society had a great dominance over women.... … This research aims to evaluate and present the role of women in The Rover by aphra Behn.... In the first conversation between two women aphra Behn shows the trap of unhappy marriage women usually appear in....
3 Pages (750 words) Essay

Writing the Modern World, 1600-1800 OROONOKO Aphra Behn, HAMLET Shakespeare, THE MAN OF MODE George Etherege

in aphra Behn's case, she was more interested in the quality of her literary productions than in the reception by the public (Todd 1999).... It is a fact that one of Aphra Behn's texts, known as “oroonoko”, was not well-received by the English public when she wrote it in the seventeenth century.... … ‘oroonoko' (Aphra Behn) ''Texts in this period are less interested in performances as such than in what happens when those performances break down or fail'' It is a fact that one of Aphra Behn's texts, known as “oroonoko”, was not well-received by the English public when she wrote it in the seventeenth century....
7 Pages (1750 words) Essay

Power, Violence, and the Marginalization in the Rover by Aphra Behn

Name: Course Date: Power, Violence, and the Marginalization in aphra Behn's-The Rover The struggle by women during the 17th century can easily been seen from Behn's play, The Rover.... Despite having their own preferences and the willingness to walk an extra mile to achieve their desires, women are portrayed as virtually powerless, having the decision of others imposed on them, without the due consideration of their feelings (Gill, 77)....
5 Pages (1250 words) Research Paper

Aphra Behn's The Rover

This paper under the title "aphra Behn's The Rover" focuses on the English female author and her book written in two parts which has been one of the most popular Restoration comedies and the play clearly reflects the author's political and literary concerns.... nbsp; … First published and produced in 1677, The Rover has been realized as the most successful play by aphra Behn who was a Royalist and the first English professional female author.... Most significantly, a close reading and explication of The Rover with regard to the word choice, rhetorical function, imagery, symbolism, syntax, and figurative aspects of the play are essential in appreciating the great work by aphra Behn and this paper intends to undertake a reflective analysis of these elements in the play....
6 Pages (1500 words) Book Report/Review

Anita Pachecos Royalism and honor in Aphra Behns Oroonoko

In the paper “Anita Pacheco's Royalism and honor in aphra Behn's Oroonoko” the author provides the critical review of Pacheco's article that identifies the central thesis to understand the prospective readers as to how Pacheco fares in establishing her thesis.... Anita Pacheco's Royalism and honor in aphra Behn's OroonokoThe critical review of Anita Pacheco's ‘Royalism and honor in aphra Behn's Oroonoko' clearly identifies the central thesis – “that the ideology of [Oroonoko] is royalist and also that its effort at ‘ideological closure' is undermined by its continuity with the historical period and by its reliance on an unstable discourse of honor” -- made by Pacheco in her essay; however, fails to examine or evaluate the contents of the text in full vis-à-vis her thesis to understand or guide the prospective readers as to how Pacheco fares in establishing her thesis....
2 Pages (500 words) Book Report/Review

Critical Evaluation

The critical review of Anita Pacheco's ‘Royalism and honor in aphra Behn's Oroonoko' clearly identifies the central thesis – “that the ideology of [Oroonoko] is royalist and also that its effort at ‘ideological closure' is undermined by its continuity with the… torical period and by its reliance on an unstable discourse of honor” -- made by Pacheco in her essay; however, fails to examine or evaluate the contents of the text in full vis-à-vis her thesis to understand or guide the prospective readers as to how Pacheco fares in Focusing too much on Pacheco's argument that Behn's novella is ‘Eurocentric' and ‘class-biased', the review fails to provide a balanced view of Pacheco's commentary, and leaves the reader clueless about Pacheco's objective in writing the essay– exposing the political agenda underlying Behn's novella, and its failure in achieving an ideological closure....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Oroonoko Close Reading

oroonoko is a prose narrative exploring slavery.... This can be agreed upon to a certain extent in that the author has attempted a faithful So, oroonoko puts on various identities as a novel, as a travelogue, or colonial discourse than an anti-slavery text.... The narration presents contradictions in the perspectives of the fictionalized author narrator and the hero, oroonoko and creates doubts about its characteristics as an anti-slavery text....
9 Pages (2250 words) Research Paper

Second Earl of Rochester's Imperfect Enjoyment and Aphra Behn's The Disappointment

The literature tradition of the Restoration Era in England was significantly influenced by the work of such writers as John Wilmot, Second Earl of Rochester, and aphra Behn.... While John Wilmot is considered one of the major representatives of the Era, aphra Behn is known as the… It is pertinent to point out that the restoration of monarchy in 1660, besides other consequences, was followed by the repeal of the preceding Puritan restrictions and rigid censorship towards literature....
8 Pages (2000 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us