Subtle Criticism in Oroonoko
In reading Oroonoko it might be easy to miss the criticism offered against the European culture. Upon studying the novel however, this criticism which had been presented subtly becomes quite clear. An important note is that the author and the narrator are not in fact the same. Although the author is out to provide a criticism of European culture and values, she is reluctant to let it come through the narrator. This critique comes through mainly in less direct forms, through her non-European characters, most often Oroonoko, and through comparisons between cultures and the characters encountered in each.
As a female writer trying to earn a living, and as the narrator of the story represented herself, Behn couldn't have the narrator offer too strong a criticism for fear of losing her audience. The narrator is presented as very European. She is very ethnocentric and seems to have no problem with the slave trade, only with the treatment of one specific individual (namely, Oroonoko). Occasionally, however, there will be a slip, a slight inconsistency in the narrators character, which offers a glimpse of Behn's true sentiments. For example, throughout the novel, the narrator is a strong believer in religion. She tells Imoinda ". . . Stories of Nuns and endeavour[s] to bring her to the knowledge of the true God."(41). She also tries to defend Christianity to an unbelieving Caesar. When discussing the natives of Surinam, however, she mentions that ". . . all the Inventions of Man . . . wou'd here but destroy that Tranquillity . . . and . . . wou'd teach ‘em [the natives] to know Offence . . . "(10). The first thing she includes as an "Invention of Man" is religion, implying that it is not essentiall...
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... Banister truly does kill him like a dog as he said, "he wou'd declare, in the other World, that he was the only Man, of all the Whites, that ever he heard speak Truth."(64)
Through each of these forms Behn is highly critical of European values, or maybe more precisely the lack there of. She criticizes religion, namely Christianity, for not enforcing morals in people; the most noble character in the novel, Oroonoko, does not believe in any God at all. She also criticizes those in the culture who do not hold themselves to their promises; the blacks and natives who are seen as so inferior are more true. She offers all this, yet, in a way that gives no offence and so keeps her audience for the next criticism she may offer.
Works Cited:
Behn, Aphra. “Oroonoko.” The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Ed. AH Abrams. New York. WW Norton and Company, Inc 2000.
Oroonoko – Slaughter of the Human Spirit. Aphra Behn introduces her characters in Oroonoko as beautiful people who possess pure, innocent love. Behn does this in an effort to make her readers feel and question. Her poetic description of their emotions magnifies the horror of the final scene. Behn's romantic love story is brought to a tragic end through brutality and death.
Murphy, B. & Shirley J. The Literary Encyclopedia. [nl], August 31, 2004. Available at: http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=2326. Access on: 22 Aug 2010.
So let’s look at them together, and later analyze them separately. In the book of (Genesis 1:26), God said… “And let us make God human beings in our image, to be like us.” The first chapter of Genesis recounts the story of creation and verse 26 talks about the creation and origin of Adam. Unlike the previous, parallel verse, there is a distinct difference in verse 26. Verse 26, talks
Lawall, Sarah N. The Norton Anthology of Western Literature. 8th ed. Vol. 1. New York: W.W. Norton, 2006. Print.
Greenblatt, Stephen, and M. H. Abrams. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 9th ed. Vol. A. New York: W.W. Norton, 2012. Print
Authors often write not only to tell a story, but to communicate personal ideas and opinions to the readers. Even more personal beliefs can be read through the bias that the author uses, often the product of society or race. In the novella Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad displays his opinions through the attitudes and actions of his main characters Marlow and Mr. Kurtz. Similarly, Chinua Achebe shows his personal beliefs through the character Okonkwo in Things Fall Apart. Both authors, whether intentionally or not, show their opinions on the relations between Native Africans and European colonists in the Victorian era, and the races themselves.
The character analysis of Mary Anne Bell in comparison and contrast to Martha and Elroy Berdahl implores the audience to consider the idea that gender is not inherent.
Lipking, Lawrence I, Stephen Greenblatt, and M H. Abrams. The Norton Anthology of English Literature: Volume 1c. New York: W.W. Norton & Co, 2006. Print.
Abrams, M.H., et al. ed. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 6th ed. 2 Vols. New York: Norton, 1993.
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In “Too Beautiful Altogether” Smith points out that even though Heart of Darkness is an especially masculine account, femininity and gender play a deeper role in the story. Smith writes “Marlow’s narrative aims to “colonize” and “pacify” both savage darkness and women” (Smith 189). Furthermore Smith states, “By silencing the native laundress and symbolizing the equally silent savage woman and the company women, Marlow reconstructs his experience of the darkness they stand for. The story’s two speaking European women, Marlow’s aunt and Kurtz’s Intended, perform a similar function. By restricting unsatisfactory feminine versions of imperialist ideology to them, Marlow is able to create his own masculine version to keep the darkness at bay” (Smith 190). For Marlow his story is never meant for a female to read or hear. Marlow feels that his story is far too masculine for and women and because of that the story would be over their head.
all. Jesus explains this to mean that God is the only Lord we have so
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One of the most popular characters in Shakespearean literature, Hamlet endures difficult situations within the castle he lives in. The fatal death of his father, and urge for revenge leads Hamlet into making unreasonable decisions. In William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, Hamlet’s sanity diminishes as the story progresses, impacting the people around him as well as the timing and outcome of his revenge against Claudius.
Hamlet’s wit and play of words deceits everyone. He seems to be philosophical and existential being with a certain interest to the meaning of life. Many may see him as the tragic hero fighting against a superior force. This image of a tragic hero seems to be just a façade. Although there can be many reason why he may be seem as a tragic hero he is corrupted by those around him making him evil.