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A thesis on role of the narrator in story telling
Analysis of oroonoko by aphra behn
Racial Discrimination in Literature
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Oroonoko is an intriguing and epic story of a young African prince who gets tricked into becoming a slave for a workers plantation written by the first professional woman author, Aphra Behn. As the story is told by the narrator (who the reader will presume to be the author Aphra Behn) the reader gets a sense of a first hand perspective from the narrator. This allows the reader to only get a perspective from the narrator's point of view. As the story is told to the reader, the narrator seems to favour or share sympathy with Oroonoko and even in some cases, throw in a biased opinion. This is why the story of Oroonoko and his misfortunes should not be taken as a true account, but rather as a narrative biased opinionated tale.
When we first meet Oroonoko he is described physically by the narrator very descriptively and in depth. The narrator does an immensely intense job of describing all of the physically defining features that Oroonoko withholds. He is even fit to a description by the narrator as being an absolutely flawless human being with no imperfections except for the fact that he is black. He is described as "not of that brown rusty black which most of that nation are, but of perfect ebony, or polished jet. His eyes were the most awful that could be seen, and very piercing; the white of 'em being like snow, as were his teeth. His nose was 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. The whole proportion and air of his face was so nobly and exactly formed that, bating his color, there could be nothing in nature more beautiful, agreeable, and handsome. There was no one grace wanting that bear...
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...n but one can conclude that when we read the story, the reader must be sure to know that what is happening is truly only one person's biased opinion.
Aphra Ben's story of Oroonoko is beautifully written, even for the first ever professional woman writer. The story takes the reader through the twists and turns of a portion of a young African Prince's life. However, with the narrator telling the story in the first person perspective we can only concur that what is being said may or may not be biased. As we see in the descriptions of Oroonoko, and even in the way Behn phrases her words, there is some clear favouritism going on. All in all, Oroonoko is a wonderful story that is narrated beautifully, but when one reads it, you must be aware of the first hand perspective and the bias because the events that happen could be exaggerated or understated by the narrator.
Everyday we observe people’s contrasting opinions. Whether it be in politics, school, or in one’s personal life, emotions are often a major factor when it comes to expressing one’s ideas. In writing, an audience must be aware this, and decide for themselves if an author is being bias or equally representing all sides to a situation. In both Into the Wild and In Cold Blood, the authors form distinct opinions about their main characters and believe family structure heavily influenced their future.
Often, when a story is told, it follows the events of the protagonist. It is told in a way that justifies the reasons and emotions behind the protagonist actions and reactions. While listening to the story being cited, one tends to forget about the other side of the story, about the antagonist motivations, about all the reasons that justify the antagonist actions.
When inquiring about the comparisons and contrasts between Melville’s Benito Cereno and Frederick Douglass’s Narrative of the Life of an American Slave, Written by Himself, the following question almost inevitably arises: Can a work of fiction and an autobiography be compared at all? Indeed, the structure of the two stories differs greatly. Whereas Douglass’s Narrative adapts a typical pattern of autobiographies, i.e. a chronological order of birth, childhood memories, events that helped shape the narrator etc., Benito Cereno is based on a peculiar three-layered foundation of a central story recounting the main events, a deposition delineating the events prior to the first part, and an ending.
...it up to each reader to draw their own conclusions and search their own feelings. At the false climax, the reader was surprised to learn that the quite, well-liked, polite, little convent girl was colored. Now the reader had to evaluate how the forces within their society might have driven such an innocent to commit suicide.
Much about Kogawa's novel makes it difficult not only to read but also to classify or categorize. First, Obasan blurs the line between nonfiction and fiction. Kogawa draws from actual letters and newspaper accounts, autobiographical details, and historical facts throughout the novel, but she artistically incorporates this material into a clearly fictional work. In addition, Kogawa's narrative operates on multiple levels, from the individual and familial to the communal, national, political, and spiritual. Stylistically, the novel moves easily between the language of documentary reportage and a richly metaphorical language, and between straightforward narrative and stream-ofconsciousness exposition. This astonishing variety in Kogawa's novel can, at times, become bewildering and unsettling to the reader. But as many readers and critics have noted, Kogawa's style and method in Obasan also constitute the novel's unique strength. Kogawa writes in such a way that ambiguity, uncertainty, irony, and paradox do not weaken her story but instead paradoxically become the keys to understanding it.
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.
Now, one might argue that because the narrator thinks this story “is worth a book in itself. Sympathetically set forth it would tap many strange, beautiful qualities in obscure men”, then he is biased: ergo, he’s an unreliable narrator (1940). However, being biased in and of itself is not the sole criterion for a narrator be...
The Heart of Darkness, a complex text was written by Joseph Conrad around the 19th century, when Europeans were colonizing Africa for wealth and power and were attempting to spread their culture and religion in Africa. It was also a period in which women were not allowed to participate in worldly affairs. Therefore, the text deals with issues such as racism, European imperialism, and misogyny. This essay will look at the different themes in the novel and argue whether or not The Heart of Darkness is a work of art.
In ‘unreliable narration’ the narrator’s account is at odds with the implied reader's surmises about the story’s real intentions. The story und...
Storytelling has a special importance in culture throughout the African continent; Anansi the spider in Ghana, is one great example of an African fable that teaches children important lessons including respect for elders, the importance of wisdom, and the importance of culture. These stories have been retained and perpetuated by oral tradition, despite the western emphasis on written records; African tribes have preserved history and culture well thorough oral historians. The translator, D.T. Niane, explains the validity of oral history well by stating that written text can contain inaccuracies as well (xv). The importance of the oral aspect of djelis method relays the information in a personal manner, as Djeli Mamoudou Kouyate states, “writing lacks the warmth of the human voice,” therefore by creating a written text of an oral story it “does violence” to it (xvi). I was raised in an African community, here in DC and was lucky enough to attend Djeli performances by family friend, Djimo Kouyate, and later his son Amadou. Although I do not speak Manding, Djeli Djimo Koyate, performed the music in such a way that I was able to relate and...
"I don't want to bother you much with what happened to me personally,' [Conrad] began, showing in this remark the weakness of many tellers of tales who seem so often unaware of what their audience would most like to hear" (Conrad, 9). Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad's best-known work, has been examined on many bases more than I can possibly list here, but including imperialism, colonialism, and racism. I would reason that all bases of analysis are perfectly acceptable through which to critique Conrad's novella, or any piece of writing. I would reason this, were some of these bases mainly, racism not taken to an extreme level. In arguing racism, many critics seem to take Heart of Darkness as Conrad's unwavering view on Africa, Africans, life, or whatever else one may please to take it as. I, therefore, propose that Heart of Darkness be taken for what it truly is: a work of fiction set in late 19th century Europe and Africa.
...and through an unfolding of events display to the reader how their childhoods and families past actions unquestionably, leads to their stance at the end of the novel.
In Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart the life of a man named Okonkwo and the tribe of Umuofia is depicted in three chapters which each represent a significant era in the tribe. In the first chapter, Achebe describes the life of the native African tribe before the coming of the white man. This chapter enables the reader to understand and respect the life of the Igbo. The second chapter describes the beginnings of colonialism and introduction of the white man. Suddenly, the Igbo way is questioned. The natives lives are turned upside down as they search for a way to understand the new religion and laws of the Europeans. The third chapter describes the effect of colonialism on the Igbo tribe. This section explores the many ways which the Igbo people try to adapt to the new society. From the suicide of Okonkwo to the abandonment by other tribe members, it becomes apparent how difficult it was for the African’s to adjust to the change. Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness tells of an English man named Marlow and his journey into the Congo and interest in a colonist named Kurtz. Marlow is the narrator of the novel. He describes the natives and the Europeans from a somewhat objective view. He finds colonialism questionable, but also cannot relate to the Africans. Kurtz is the antagonist who exploits the Africans to make money by selling ivory and subsequently goes insane. Both novels depict the colonization of Africa, but each has a markedly different perspective on the African’s lives which were irreparably altered when Europeans came to conquer their land and convert them to Christianity.
When the topic like racism is left untouched in the Heart of Darkness, it indicates that there was never a problem nor the case. However, there is so much room to analyze the racialism that is embedded throughout in the novel: "They are called criminals, and they outraged law, like in the bursting shells, had come to them, an insoluble mystery from the sea. All their meagre breasts panted together, the violently dilated nostrils quivered. The eyes stared stonily uphill. They passed me within six inches, without a glance, with that complete, deathlike indifference of unhappy savages.” (46). The natives were enslaved and chained yet, Marlow manages to describe then as dangerous savages who are about to rebel. It is impossible to overlook the stereotypes and ruthless language that are used to depict the Congolese people. Hence, by leaving the racism topic away shows how oblivious the critics are to racialism; Therefore, failing to acknowledge the inferiorities that are used to describe black people. In An Image of Africa, Chinua Achebe, a Nigerian novelist, poet, professor, and critic, who focus on traditional African values during and after the colonial era, challenged the prestige of The Heart of Darkness: “And the question is whether in the novel which celebrates this
King Leopold II of Belgium is known for being one of the most brutal racists in history. His inhumane treatment of Africans in the Congo was revealed in photographs that surfaced and that were taken to emphasize his cruel behavior over the Africans in the Congo. His motive for this inhumanity was pure greed. Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, although does not embody the vicious behavior of King Leopold II, contributes to the racism of that period in other ways. Because of this, the novel can be interpreted in different ways from a racism standpoint. In my opinion, I both agree and disagree with Chinua Achebe’s statements concerning Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, and feel that it can be viewed in some ways as both racist or not racist.