... it was astonishing to imagine where he had learned so much humanity; or, to give a more apt name to his achievements, from where came this true greatness of soul, these refined notions of true honor, this absolute generosity and this gentleness capable of the highest passions of love and gallantry.. (10-11)Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Thus Says the Narrator of Oroonoko: Or, the Royal Slave by Aphra Behn. The narrator alludes in the above quote to Oroonoko as a royal king, but throughout the short story this implies additional meanings to the words "Royal Slave"; Oroonoko is “majestic, magnificent, splendid” as well as “finely dressed; resplendent; large or imposing”. Oroonoko's "majestic" kingship suggests an elevation not only above other slaves due to his social status, but his "refined notions of true honor" elevate him above even the most powerful white men in later life in the news. Likewise, the word “slave” has several meanings. Oroonoko is not a slave in the literal sense, as the narrator comments, Oroonoko suffers "only in the name of a slave, and... none of the toil and labor of one", but rather a slave of the practice of its high ideals of honor. (46). Just as one can recognize that Oroonoko is not simply a literal royal slave, one can also interpret that the Oroonoko work is not a clearly anti-slavery work. In fact, Behn condemns only two things: that an individual as high as Oroonoko is unjustly relegated to a class far below his own, and that slave traders unjustly deceive Africans with deplorable techniques. As a result, Behn focuses on the fact that the enslavement of the idea of ​​someone like Oroonoko is the worst atrocity committed in the name of imperialism. For someone who is literally royalty and someone who practices high ideals to be forced into a dishonorable life, Behn would agree, is far worse than the practice of slavery itself, an institution to which the narrator never systematically renounces. The narrator's exaltation of Oroonoko's physical and psychological characteristics is key to this interpretation. The narrator describes Oroonoko's face as "not of that brown and rusty black which most of this nation are, but of perfect ebony or polished jet...his nose was upturned and Roman, instead of African and flat... his mouth, the finest shape that can be seen, far from those large turned lips, so natural to the rest of the Negroes", proof that the narrator is trying to separate the Orinoco from the rest of the African race (12). He is completely different, and it is therefore not against the enslavement of the African race that Behn protests, but against the enslavement of such a special and perfect character. Indeed, Oroonoko is also very different from his African brethren in spirit; during his formative years, Oroonoko receives the “wit and knowledge” of a “Frenchman” in the form of “morals, language and science” (11). Behn hates the colonialism that dares to lay its hands on such a fine specimen, not all slaves collectively; this is the main grievance that Behn and Oroonoko's narrator share. Not only does this language indicate that Oroonoko's physical and psychological capabilities differ greatly from those of other "negroes", but also the treatment meted out to Oroonoko results in an almost blind acceptance of slavery as an institution by the narrator. After describing Oroonoko's advanced knowledge in science andthe white man's mind, she recounts his uncanny ability to learn the English and Spanish languages ​​and to use his skill in each in the slave trade (11). At one point, Oroonoko gives Imoinda slaves as gifts and also attempts to barter his own freedom for "either gold or a large quantity of slaves" (44). In Africa also, due to frequent wars and Oroonoko's divine strength and courage, he has "the fortune to take large numbers of captives", and as the main spoils of war in Africa are "...slaves; at least, those ordinary men who could not redeem themselves", Oroonoko himself becomes a sort of slave master (10). Here, Behn establishes this idea as a precedent for the rest of the short story, in that only those above a certain threshold and above a certain class level (that is, if someone pays your ransom) have an inalienable right to remain free All people of power. in Suriname, as well as those below, recognize that Oroonoko is not that type of ordinary man and should not be demoted to the rank of simple slave. The exceptions to the rule are "innocent" Surinamese. ", who, although having the appearance of an ordinary man, outnumber the black and white minority populations in order to thus avoid their own slavery in the Orinoco as long as an individual maintains high visibility or. that a group maintains strength through numbers, a pattern that the narrator never overtly attacks. Aside from Behn's descriptions of Oroonoko's abilities and their counter-effects on an abolitionist interpretation of the work, it is. is Oroonoko's sense of honor. that makes his fall so tragic. Oroonoko most blatantly exposes his faith in honor during his speech in which he calls for a slave revolt: “Have they nobly defeated us in battle? Did they win us in an honorable battle? these methods, for Oroonoko, are the only acceptable methods by which one can honorably reduce another man to slavery (58). This part of the speech denounces the methods used by the white man to enslave Oroonoko and the Africans, but also half-justifies the institution by following Oroonoko's sense of honor. It is only “by the chance of war” that Oroonoko believes that one must become a slave, because honor is “the first principle of nature”; dying with honor is greater than living in shame, slavery and dishonor (58, 59). Slavery becomes acceptable, even just, Behn emphasizes, thanks to an honorable approach like that of Oroonoko. Because Oroonoko practices his high sense of honor and "has never himself violated a single word in his life", Behn seems to think that it is permissible for slavery to occur under the power of a power structure as elegant as that of Oroonoko (35). explicitly places this system of Oroonoko much higher than that of other Africans and the white man. Oroonoko uses his military skills and, through his power of speech, gains the support of all the slaves, who "with one accord [vow] to follow him until death", forming a pact of honor (59 ). When the slaves betray Oroonoko (except Tuscan and Imoinda), an honorable bond of trust is broken once again, just as Oroonoko experiences with the ship's captain and his countless broken promises to the white men for his freedom. When the other Africans abandon the revolt, they violate Oroonoko's honor system and become for him "by nature slaves, poor and miserable rascals, good to serve as an instrument of the Christian, treacherous and cowardly dogs" ( 62). Oroonoko continues on a rant that the narrator can only describe as "not suitable here to be ;.