Post #5. Aphra Behn: A Slave to her Bias

Though Warren Chernaik argues that Aphra Behn’s Oroonoko is anti-slavery, I would counter-argue that Behn’s portrayal of Africans de-humanizes them as much as a pro-slavery stance. Oroonoko’s extreme solution towards the fate of Imoinda could not have been well received by the Christian audience of 17th century England, however, if the audience already had a mindset stereotyping Africans or savages, Oroonoko’s actions would have seemed justified. Therefore, Behn’s portrayal would only serve as reinforcement to these stereotypes. Behn’s acknowledgement of Oroonoko’s beauty is based entirely on Oroonoko’s physical characteristics that mirror the ideal values of a fellow Briton. In a way Behn is implying that she and those of her race, are suited in determining the worth of others. In eschewing Oroonoko original name, giving him the name of Caesar, and then referring to him as such throughout the rest of the narrative, shows cultural belittlement. Perhaps in the narrative, Oroonoko was called Caesar by his masters but Behn could have continued referring to him as Oroonoko, showing her disagreement with the imposition of Western culture over those brought into it by force. It is through this name-changing that Oroonoko is no longer Oroonoko, but a mannequin painted black for the purpose of telling a Romantic tale. It is not the average slave but royalty that foments the rebellion. If not for this royal mannequin, would the regular slaves never had gathered the courage to rebel? In my opinion, this reliance on Oroonoko as catalyst for revolution was detrimental to the overall image of Africans. So only he who most resembled the Europeans could stand a chance against them? This post is not a complete dismissal of Aphra Behn's work. Her friendship to staunch critics of slavery implies her leanings on the matter, however, in writing a work in which the protagonist is racially different from oneself, I find it better that someone of that race write it than someone who can only glean a shadow of those hardships.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Blog Post #7 Journalism, Then and Now

Image
The journalism of the eighteenth century seemed more of a commentary upon everyday life as opposed to the journalism of the modern times that is focused on the occurrences of everyday life. Steele and Addison set out to “…enliven morality with wit and to temper wit with morality, that my reader may, if possible, both ways find their account in the speculation of the day.” The Washington Post slogan “Democracy Dies in Darkness” is symbolic towards the dangers of silencing information. Modern journalism is focused on the delivery of said information before any competitor hence the inception of breaking a story. From the writings of Johnson, Addison and Steele one can infer that they strived to elucidate the reader. Nowadays, the focus is centered on skewing the reader’s perspective to whomever funds the newspaper or network. For example, Fox News caters to conservatives while CNN leans more for liberals. This doesn’t mean that what’s being reported is not true, but that the facts are
Read more

Blog Post #6 Anonymous Lady Poetry

Image
I every substance would resign To clasp thy aerial breast to mine; Or if, my love, that could not be, I would turn air to mix with thee. (57-60) This excerpt is from “A Letter to My Love—All Alone, Past 12, in the Dumps” from the Anonymous Lady. Unlike others of the time, she revived the amorous ardor of some metaphysical poets such as Andrew Marvell and John Donne. Though she doesn’t necessarily use a metaphysical conceit, her poems do express the passions and pangs of love but, most importantly, from a female perspective. What I really appreciate about her poetry is her unabashed approach to it. She easily could have conformed to the norms of that time and written like her male counterparts, focused more on criticisms and satire yet because she did not receive their similar education, “Who were the slaves of Busby's nod,/And learned their methods from his rod” (15-16) she developed a truer style to herself. Her ability to maintain the couplet form throughout the poem’
Read more

Blog Post #4 Locke and Modern Thought

Image
It can be reasonably argued that the liberties of modern Western society stem from the Enlightenment period. The case is especially strong for the United States considering that Thomas Jefferson used John Locke’s phrase “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” in the Declaration of Independence. The American and French revolutions can both attribute their inceptions to Locke’s tenacity for advocating independent thought. By independent thought, I mean thought and ideas the thinker has come to by method of his or her contemplation and who’s thought and ideas align with the thinker’s own philosophical systems. In this regard, even if the idea is detrimental to others, the idea comes from an unshackled thinker. Once thought was freed, the body followed. Both the Church and the Crown, entities whose survival depends on governed thought, were weakened by Locke’s ideas. This weakening, however, pre-dated Locke by half a century. The Scientific Revolution of the 16 th century champione
Read more