The paper aks: who are the main characters in Aphra Behn’s Oroonoko; or, the Royal Slave and what are their traits? How do they interact with each other and what do they represent? As the novel gives little evidence what each of them stands for, this term paper will give a detailed analysis about their occurrence, appearance, introduction and importance during narration. In the beginning, the focus will be on the role of Oroonoko, who gives the novel its name and fails to gain his freedom as a royal slave. What makes him different than the other slaves and how is it visually presented? An important point to consider is his European behaviour that he has acquired and how he shows it within interactions between other characters. Nevertheless, his character symbolises much more than these aspects and therefore, it is essential to focus on his attitude towards love and religion in order to highlight his individuality and unique nature. Furthermore, the presence of the narrator within the novel will be analysed in order to see if Aphra Behn creates a narrative that reflects her own impressions during her stay in Surinam or if the story is complete fiction.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Character Symbolisation
2.1 Oroonoko as Royal Savage
2.2 The Narrator as Aphra Behn (?)
2.3 Imoinda as the Other
3. Conclusion
Objectives and Themes
The main objective of this paper is to analyze the three primary characters in Aphra Behn’s "Oroonoko; or, the Royal Slave" to understand their symbolic representation, traits, and interactions. The research explores how the characters function within the context of colonialism, narrative authority, and gender dynamics.
- Symbolism of Oroonoko as a "Royal Savage" and his Europeanized portrayal.
- The relationship between the narrator and Aphra Behn’s own biography.
- The passive role of Imoinda and her status as the "Other."
- The interplay between colonial power structures and individual character agency.
- The influence of racial and gender tropes in 17th and 18th-century literature.
Excerpt from the Book
2.1 Oroonoko as Royal Savage
The full title of the novel is Oroonoko; or, the Royal Savage but who is Oroonoko and what is his role within the plot? First of all, what is essential for the story is that it generally combines Old World romance with New World travelogue (Aravamudan 1999: 30) and as the title suggests, Oroonoko can also be described as a royal slave that learned to use his status. His story is filled with rejection in either way; when Byam, a deputy governor in Surinam, offers him freedom for his surrender, Oroonoko rejects in the same way he rejected his functional African setting and then rejects his European setting (Caulker 2009: 11). In the beginning, he lived the life as a young warrior in Coramantien on the gold-trading coast of modern Ghana and (Vermeule 2010: 58) and is then captured into slavery by an unscrupulous English slave-ship captain. Oroonoko had befriended the captain when selling slaves to him as he thought he was a guest on the ship, but the captain saw him as any other slave.
When they arrive in the Caribbean, Oroonoko becomes a paradoxical ‘royal slave’ (Rosenthal 2004: 151) when the other slaves bow down before him as their king, not regarding that he may have traded some of them into their current status. The English that brought and capture him in Surinam and recognise his nobility, promise him freedom but never deliver it. For the story, his royalty means that he does not suffer the usual hardships of slavery but still, he longs for release out of his misery. Furthermore, Imoinda’s pregnancy is a turning point within the narrative because it creates a crisis over the fate of their child. Therefore, Oroonoko leads a rebellion to secure their liberty but he fails due to the lack of resolve among other slaves (2004: 151). He gets tortured and while being desperate and furious, he decides to kill his pregnant wife to protect her from rape. In his grief of Imoinda’s death, he becomes helpless to initiate the revenge he had planned and dies through a process of slow, horrific dismemberment at the hands of the colonial authorities.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: This chapter defines the scope of the term paper, introducing the main characters and the research focus on their symbolic representation and narrative importance.
2. Character Symbolisation: This main section provides a detailed analysis of the three central figures, examining Oroonoko's complex identity, the narrator's connection to Behn, and Imoinda's role as the subordinated Other.
3. Conclusion: This chapter synthesizes the findings, highlighting how the characters' individual features and their inability to fit into the colonial structure define the novel's significance.
Keywords
Oroonoko, Aphra Behn, Royal Slave, Colonialism, Imoinda, Narrator, Character Analysis, Gender, Race, Slavery, 17th-century Literature, Europeanisation, Symbolism, Surinam, Coramantien.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this academic paper?
The paper examines the main characters in Aphra Behn’s novel "Oroonoko; or, the Royal Slave" to determine what they symbolize and how they are constructed within the narrative.
What are the central thematic areas discussed?
The text focuses on the paradox of the "royal slave," the influence of European cultural norms on the portrayal of characters, the reliability and identity of the narrator, and the female experience within colonial structures.
What is the primary research goal?
The goal is to analyze the occurrence, appearance, and importance of the three main characters—Oroonoko, the narrator, and Imoinda—to define their wider representation within the literary context.
Which methodology is applied in this analysis?
The paper employs a literary analysis approach, comparing the novel's text with historical and biographical data, and interpreting character interactions through critical perspectives on colonialism and gender.
What does the main body of the paper cover?
The main body breaks down the analysis into chapters on Oroonoko’s identity, the potential autobiographical elements regarding the narrator, and the role of Imoinda as the passive "Other."
Which keywords best characterize this work?
The key concepts include Oroonoko, Colonialism, Royal Slave, Narrative Authority, and the socio-cultural representation of race and gender in early modern writing.
How does the author interpret the relationship between the narrator and Aphra Behn?
The author argues that the narrator reflects elements of Behn’s own biography and political stance, suggesting the novel functions as an attempt to justify and immortalize the story of Oroonoko.
Why is Imoinda's role considered passive compared to Oroonoko's?
The author highlights that while Oroonoko drives the narrative through agency and action, Imoinda is consistently defined by her passivity, suffering, and her position as an object of the narrator’s gaze.
- Citar trabajo
- Kim Gloria Burk (Autor), 2019, Character symbolisation in the book "Oroonoko or the Royal Slave" by Aphra Behn (1688), Múnich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/964286
