Emerging in 18th century Britain, philosophical innovation and liberal thought characterised intellectual life. Considering the British collective identity as a gradually changing and evolving concept, Behn’s position appears to recognise the barbarity inherent to this identity and sees the nation as one that favours violence and personal independence over and above genuine tolerance. Behn’s narrative exposes these contradictory forces while complicating the concept of liberty further by explicitly promoting monarchy and opposing democracy. While exploring the text and its radical depiction of the African slave, it becomes evident that the narrator’s attitude to the concept of wider liberty is far from revolutionary.
Oroonoko is read as an …show more content…
As the narrator continues to tell her story, it is confirmed that those ‘whom we make use of...are Negroes, black slaves altogether’ (Behn, 2012: 2315). The transition of Prince Oroonoko, from royal to slave, is where much of the sympathy garnered from the reader is born. As the critic Ramesh Mallipeddi suggests ‘The primary site for the operation of sympathy...is Oroonoko’s body’ (Mallipeddi, 2012: 476), the fundamental demand of the slave is that the individual surrenders control of their own body. Behn’s female narrator is an active observer of this reduction, from royal privilege to extreme exploitation, and through her eyes the dramatic decline of Oroonoko is affective in inspiring a response from the reader. Presenting the black body in this new way, elevating it to an ‘admirable spectacle’ and then reducing it to an’ exchangeable commodity’ (Mallipeddi, 2012: 476), may suggest to the modern reader that the intentions of the text are straightforward, to depict brutality and try to effect positive
Oroonoko is read as an …show more content…
As the narrator continues to tell her story, it is confirmed that those ‘whom we make use of...are Negroes, black slaves altogether’ (Behn, 2012: 2315). The transition of Prince Oroonoko, from royal to slave, is where much of the sympathy garnered from the reader is born. As the critic Ramesh Mallipeddi suggests ‘The primary site for the operation of sympathy...is Oroonoko’s body’ (Mallipeddi, 2012: 476), the fundamental demand of the slave is that the individual surrenders control of their own body. Behn’s female narrator is an active observer of this reduction, from royal privilege to extreme exploitation, and through her eyes the dramatic decline of Oroonoko is affective in inspiring a response from the reader. Presenting the black body in this new way, elevating it to an ‘admirable spectacle’ and then reducing it to an’ exchangeable commodity’ (Mallipeddi, 2012: 476), may suggest to the modern reader that the intentions of the text are straightforward, to depict brutality and try to effect positive