Essay #1
In life and in literature, love and passion often drive a man to succeed. The drive was often led by a passionate cause, such as a woman. With this passion, a man could defy all obstacles and continue to survive based on hope. In Aphra Behn’s Oroonoko, this was no different. Oroonoko’s motivation to thrive on and survive was his love and enthusiasm for Imoinda. The main test of his endurance was when Oroonoko lost his wife to the king, and he became a slave. Oroonoko was a slave trader, but he ended up as a slave himself aboard an English ship in Guiana. Not only he did lose his beloved wife, but he also lost his freedom in life. This was detrimental for Oroonoko. However, he pushed on and did not give up. He could have ended all his pain and suffering by committing suicide. However, he braved his experiences and endured the pain and suffering. His main drive to succeed was his determination to find and regain Imoinda.
There were many tests of Oroonoko’s devotion towards Imoinda. Although his grandfather raped Imoinda, Oroonoko still loved her and considered her pure and beautiful. This demonstrated that he would not give up his deep love so easily because she was tainted. This revealed his everlasting love towards Imoinda. When Oroonoko was told about Imoinda’s supposed death, Oroonoko was sad but he stayed true and could not love another women. Oroonoko remained loyal and had an undying passion towards Imoinda. It was an emotion that would stand the test of time and continue on even after her death.
In Guiana, Oroonoko is reunited with Imoinda. This was the defining moment that Oroonoko had struggled and endured all his pain and suffering for. He now had his chance to reunite with Imoinda. At this point, he was ecstatic. He was extremely happy that he has found his love, the main reason that had kept him strong and alive. Therefore, his compelling passion paid off in the end. Oroonoko’s determination gave him the result he wanted in the end. He had regained his love for his Imoinda.
This was why Aphra Behn classified Oroonoko as the “royal slave.” Oroonoko had such a great passion for Imoinda. He would not be deterred or stray away from this love. Thus, he kept his focus, and this allowed him to continue to survive.
Orronoko had his ears, nose, and arm without making a sound, once his second arm was cut off he died or “gave up the ghost” (Behn). Jesus was tortured for days, they plucked his beard hair, made him carry the cross, wear a crown of thorns, and nailed his hands and feet to the cross to hang and suffer. Jesus had his mother in the crowd as well as many friends and followers that could not save him. Oroonoko also had his followers and friends in the audience while he was killed and not one called out for him to be
Oroonoko is able to sustain his code of virtue and fidelity by showing an act of true loyalty that proves his devotion and love to his lover and wife, Imoinda. After the King, Oroonoko’s grandfather, vigorously takes Imoinda for himself, Oroonoko faces the decision to either end his love affair or prove his loyalty to Imoinda. He chooses to go against the King and have Imoinda for one more night, even if his consequence is death:
..., after having been betrayed twice, before, hence he said, “ But Caesar told him, there was no faith in the white men, or the gods they ador’d; who instructed ‘em principles so false, that none perform’d so little; that he knew what he had to do, when he dealt with Men of Honour; but with them a man ought to be eternally on his guard , and hand; and for, his own security, never to credit one word they spoke ( Behn 239). Knowing, his family would never be free of slavery, knowing he could no longer trust the white man, Oroonko, in a sense, betrays Imoinda and his unborn child, he kills them. In my opinion this is a theoretical betrayal, because you don’t kill people you love, and I think that is why Oroonko, feels so horrible after killing them. Nevertheless, that betrayal, leads to the final betrayal, Oroonko’s murder, despite Byam’s promise not to kill him.
Love is a powerful force of nature. It is a feeling of passionate and deep affection. It is patient, kind, and honest. It has the ability to consume someone’s thoughts, feelings, and emotions. It serves as the foundation for numerous songs, poems, shows, and novels. However, the attributes of love in The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao are depicted as a curse preying on the insecurities of relationships and a blessing embodying its beauty. Fukú, a curse, strikes the Dominican Republic and its inhabitants through violent acts of revenge, rage, and jealousy. The source of fukú’s power, nonetheless, is derived from the infamous dictator of the Dominican Republic, Trujillo. The dictator not only presided over all political, economic, and social
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.
As the novel progresses, Behn includes more racist and stereotypical descriptions of Oroonoko. Within the selected quote, Behn describes Oroonoko as having an “earthly smell about him” (2358). With a time-sensitive perspective, Behn may be referring the idea that once someone dies, he or she is returning back to the earth and taking part in the ongoing cycle of life. However, from a more racist viewpoint, Behn may be referencing a stereotype in which blacks, due to slavery, constantly work with the land, and therefore, smell like the earth. Due to this association with the land and slavery, Oroonoko’s “earthly smell” is perceived as a negative characteristic (Behn 2358). Further, this possibly stereotypical reference is arguably, not the first referenced within the novel. There are key points within Oroonoko where stereotypical behaviour was described in reference to Oroonoko himself. For example, Behn writes that, he “did such things as will not be believed that human strength could perform,” referencing a common belief that black people have supernatural strength (2330). Again, these stereotypes can be perceived both as a form of racism, or simply, a way to describe Oroonoko’s behaviour or characteristics, unintentionally referencing the conventional
In the book, Things Fall Apart, there are a couple of folktales that are extended throughout the book. These folktales contributes to and comments on the central narrative of the story. Animals and folktales were important to the Igbo people. They used animals in fables and stories to demonstrate their beliefs and rituals. With all rituals, animals and symbols play a crucial role in Igbo society. The fable of the Tortoise and the Birds has uncanny similarities with Okonkwo and his rise and fall. The tortoise’s strength and cunningness eventually gets to be too much, which ends up crushing him. And Okonkwo’s inability to adapt to change leads to his demise. Both the tortoise and Okonkwo’s seek to be strong in society and they both want to be known as important. That is why I believe that the fable, The Tortoise and the Birds, is the closest fable to the central narrative of the story.
Okonkwo remains stubborn even when Ezeudu tells him, “That boy calls you father. Do not bear a hand in his death” (Achebe, 57). In the event that Okonkwo was really concerned with the moral value of not taking part in Ikemefuna’s death, then he would have attended the funeral. But, Okonkwo is more concerned about being more powerful than leaders of the other tribes. Oedipus shows similar behavior when he tells Teiresias “… it has no strength for you because you are blind in mind and ears as well as in your eyes” (Sophocles, 428 – 430). Oedipus doesn’t respect oracle’s information that is given to him and this shows that not only is he arrogant, but this addresses Oedipus’ hubris and ignorant behavior as he denies his fate. Both Oedipus and Okonkwo, are arrogant and refuse to be told to that they are wrong about anything and these tragic flaw in each character contributes to their responsibility in their demise. But, Oedipus always brings up his personal achievements when he became the leader of Thebes to show his pride. Meanwhile, Okonkwo relives his glory days when he defeated Amalinze, also known as the Giant cat to influence himself to show courage, strength, and that he is a powerful leader. Both these character are more same then different as both character show arrogance, pride, and desire to help, but
She might not have pushed her activist message very hard because the novel was published in 1688 and she wanted the story to be digestible for seventeenth century European readers. When looked at with this in mind, the copious amount of detail and praise for Oroonoko and his Western-approved attributes makes much more sense. The reader can then see the flowery depictions of the slave prince as the author trying to convince her European audience of Oroonoko’s worth, rather than someone making an exception for her otherwise traditional views. However, I think that it would have made much more sense to go with a more obvious and empathy evoking stance on slavery that could not be ignored. The way the narrative is framed, there is space to leave the readers unsure at best. At worst, it could lead to the possibility of someone justifying their own actions and opinions regarding slavery, because none of their slaves are so noble as the great Oroonoko, and therefore not deserving of special
He was in great conflict with the ideas of the white men and the missionaries. Okonkwo saw that their beliefs had not only changed the daily life of the Ibo, but it also changed the people themselves: “He mourned for the warlike men of Umuofia, who had so unaccountably become soft like women” (Achebe 183). The author uses strong diction to compare the men before and after colonization. This quote also portrays Okonkwo’s opinion towards the cultural collision. He values strength and masculinity immensely because of his fear of appearing weak like his father Unoka. When he describes that the men of Umuofia changed to be soft like women, this shows how much he dishonors the Western ideas and how it has taken over the village. He made an attempt to get rid of the Western influence by urging the tribe to fight like men, but they refuse to. He was determined and still attempted to furthermore encourage the people of Umuofia to revolt against the new culture. He realizes that his attempts to return the village back to the way it was before were futile. He knew that Christianity was tearing his people apart, but knew he was incapable of making change to help his people. Okonkwo then starts to feel hopeless and abandoned by his clan, which causes him to commit suicide by hanging himself: “Obierika… turned suddenly to the District Commissioner and said ferociously: ‘That man was one of the greatest men
“Dead Men’s Path” by Chinua Achebe. In this short story “Dead Men’s Path,” Chinua Achebe gives the protagonist an exciting chance to fulfill his dream. Michael Obi was officially headmaster of Ndume Central School, which was backward in every sense. He had to turn the school into a progressive one, however the school received a bad report when the supervisor came to inspect.
This quote shows that Okonkwo is really sympathetic and how he has a liking ness to some children for different reasons. This also shows how Okonkwo is not a heartless man and actually cares for his children. “He therefore treated Ikemefuna as he treated everybody else - with a heavy hand. But there was no doubt that he liked the boy.” (Achebe Ch 4) This shows that Okonkwo even shows sympathy to those that are not related to him. Ikemefuna came in as a prisoner but later ended up becoming apart of Okonkwo's family.
From birth Okonkwo had wanted his son, Nwoye, to be a great warrior like him. His son instead rebelled and wanted to be nothing like Okonkwo. Okonkwo would not change so that his son would idolize him, as he had wanted since his son's birth. He chose not to acknowledge his son's existence instead. This would weigh heavily on anyone's conscience, yet Okonkwo does not let his relationship with his son affect him in the least bit.
In the beginning it appears that Olenka is waiting for Mr. Right, but it is really so, that Olenka, is dependant and needs to love and have the love of others. She finds this love, this unconditional love that most look for, in people such as her aunt, the school’s French master, and even her father.
People Fall Apart in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe Karl Marx believed that all of history could be reduced to two tiny words: class struggle. In any period of time, a dominant class exploits a weaker class. Marx defines a dominant class as one who owns or controls the means of production. The weaker class consists of those who don't. In Marx's day, the age of Almighty Industry, the means of production were factories.