During last week, I did a presentation on the abolition of slavery in Britain, and it briefly touched on anti-slavery narratives. After reading a number of said texts, I found that several writers wrote a number of pieces examining the practice of slavery, and they managed to rework a number of literary elements in the process. Aphra Behn, in particular, is significant with regard to her novel Oroonako, or, the Royal Slave.
In Aphra Behn's Oroonako, she presents the title character as a relatable person for the reader to feel sympathy for. By depicting the dreadful conditions of slavery and focusing on a black man, Apart from his ethnicity, Oroonako is described as being an attractive man. His new name of Caesar is somewhat ironic, because the ancestors of his master were dominated by Julius Caesar and the Romans. The relationship of Oroonako/Caesar and his bride is an interesting one, because the narrative places a black couple as main characters in place of regular archtypes (mostly white). However, Behn keeps the focus of Prince Oroonako to the point where he is reaping the spoils of war and other slaves treat him as if he is above them due to his stature and intellect.
Through the use of language, Behn presents the dialect and voice of Oroonako with a feeling of authenticity. In addition, the first portion of the story reads like an exotic travel narrative with its diction and description of the common struggles of the Negro slave. With regard to positioning the text, it is difficult to do so, because nobody knows what Behn thought or how she viewed the slave trade. Unlike Harriet Becker Stowe (who was inspired by real-life figures and experiences to write Uncle Tom's Cabin), Behn had no major role models or influences during the 17th Century, because she came late to literary culture. Regardless of her lack of inspiration or role model figures, Behn created a novel with a black protagonist, filled the text with authentic language/diction of African slaves, etc.
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