Bodies Through Oroonoko, by Christina Woodson, no use of this work allowed without written consent

Christina Woodson

Professor Michael-Smith

English 250A

May 1, 2023

Bodies Through Oroonoko

Morality, and its functions within topics such as racism and racism through slavery, is a topic that changes and will not function with a single answer. A good example of this, and how slavery as well as racism functioned depending on time, who is in charge of narratives, where it took place, and especially ties with the past. Oroonoko is a story that tells of an African slave whose experience functioned and changed, not only because of his narratively written superhuman beauty but also because the narrative was written by a white woman who clearly had some affection towards him for these traits and attributes. This story juxtaposes the slave narrative written by Equiano in a later part of the Norton Anthology that carries both of these depictions. With such contrasting stories, readers, whose main exposure to slavery may only be the context of the late eighteenth century, as well as only Americans, bring a sense of questioning. Did morality and how oppressors viewed it, change based on circumstance? While examining the two pieces, it is obvious that it does in explicit ways. 

When examining morality, lack of, and how it functioned, a prime tool is how a story like Oroonoko seemed to weaponize and fantasize about the past. as well as a Roman nose and straightened hair. His African heritage is combined with European ideas of masculine beauty and nobility. Oroonoko is described to be extremely black, unlike many other people from his original homeland, who are described as a ‘muddy brown.’ The idea of his extreme blackness is already so separating from who he is in comparison, that there is something more pure or perfect to his tone that has not been meddled with by African clays. “His face was not of that brown, rusty black which most of that nation are, but a 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 were so noble and exactly formed that, bating4 his color, there could be nothing in nature more beautiful, agreeable, and handsome. There was no one grace wanting that bears the standard of true beauty. His hair came down to his shoulders by the aids of art; which was by pulling it out with a quill and keeping it combed, of which he took particular care.” The note of his face not being a rusty black already puts this disposition in an extreme comparison, calling out the natural conditions of Oronooko’s original home and the color of many people who come from there. She also writes that his nose is comparable to that of the Romans of the past, ‘His nose was rising and Roman, instead of African and flat’ or more so an idealization of the past, considering noses of Romans can be intermingled possibly with noses of England, and there are possibly Romans who had flat and wide noses as well. His hair was also described to be straightened, which takes away from his Afrocentric features that we can assume to know about as current readers. Throughout the story, there seems to be an air around Oronooko that presents itself as better than the rest of the slaves, privileged at times even. It continues to relate to this idea of the past with Roman and Grecian comparisons, which conclude on their own. In the same way that the reader’s idea of the past, how slavery functioned in a case-to-case scenario, is being called into question, it seems as though the author of Oronookos’ experience does the same with her rendition of the past. This tie to ancient Rome and Greece, though the author is Aphra Behn, an English writer, is not coincidental. To write of him and tying it to the past is to be tying him to a mere idealization of what we as readers, and what she as an author, understood or want to make of the past. As an author who is not descent from those particular lands, and has only lived in a time frame long after, brings the reader to a new assumption about what to assume and take from this narrative. If even the author is stuck in an ideal notion of what she only thinks of as the past, then how do we know as an audience, know anything about slavery of the past from different regions? Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that because of Oronooko’s beauty, realistically it allowed him privileges as a slave because not all experiences were the same and they were also not American. If there were idealizations of the past at all times, it is safe to say the idealization or assumption about slavery could also be occurring within the audience, proving this story to be necessary for questioning if morality functioned as a dependent upon beauty. The functioning of morality, or in this case, Oronooko barely being treated as a slave is entirely dependent on the narrative being written by an enamored white woman.

When considering that this narrative relies heavily on an audience’s idealization or how they want to perceive the past, it would be good to compare Oronooko to Equiano. Equiano was enslaved as a child and taken to Barbados, whereas Oronooko was moreso tricked and then sold into being a slave. The two stories are also comparatively different in the sense that Equiano documents his experience himself and the other is written about. Because of this, the story can only really exist as a narrative because of how audiences will assume about the past and what it means for these two narratives. These two stories are a perfect example of an issue that can be found in many narratives now of people who try to insert or manipulate the past into their own beliefs and make issues like slavery, a functional tool for a kind of political point or power. “What," said he, "give you your freedom? Why, where did you get the money? Have you got forty pounds sterling?" "Yes, sir," I answered. "How did you get it?" replied he. I told him, very honestly. The Captain then said he knew I got the money very honestly and with much industry, and that I was particularly careful. To which my master replied, I got money much faster than he did; and said he would not have made me the promise he did if he had thought I should have got money so soon… These words of my master were like a voice from heaven to me: in an instant, all my trepidation was turned into unutterable bliss; and I most reverently bowed myself with gratitude, unable to express my feelings, but by the overflowing of my eyes, while my true and worthy friend, the Captain, congratulated us both with a peculiar degree of heartfelt pleasure.” (p. 2858) Equianos Freedom is a story that shows how he experienced a ‘good’ part of slavery. He happened to be so lucky upon a slave master who granted his freedom, quickly, and happily. Equiano describes in the passage how others were not so fortunate in this way, and ties back to the idea of the past functioning only to serve a purpose for authors like Aphra Behn, whereas narrative storytellers like Equiano do not rely on this rhetoric, which instead forces audiences to come to terms with what they may be trying to imply without evidence. In other words, when comparing Oronooko’s tragic tale as a slave, there is a kind of mystique and supernatural element to the tale which may or may not be true. When looking at other slave narratives at the time, such as Equiano, even the traditional assumptions of what slavery is and how it functioned are put into question. Like the past of ancient Rome and Greece, the audience can not know for sure what any slave experience was or was not like based on multiple accounts and must accept their presumed notion of the past as just pure assumption that can be proven correct or wrong based on accounts. 

When calling into the idea of morality functioning around race during this period, we can assume that what we know now as colorism and racism, might be a present issue that comes up multiple times throughout a wide set of experiences. Looking at slavery, especially concerning stories of Oronooko and Equiano, it is important to note that both narratives occurred within the seventeenth century, which can be muddled with the eighteenth. When we as an audience hear of these topics, we assume to know what will occur or what the story will aim to do. In reality, equiano and Oronooko serve as very early narratives of what slavery was like before the seventeen-hundreds, and before slavery became a monolith of American society. This ultimately should change readers’ perceptions of what they assume about morality and how it functions. Though Oronooko is darker than other indigenous people of his land, the narration perceives this as making him exceptional and above ever performing work during his time as an enslaved person. The function of morality put him above the other slaves in Behn’s perspective; in contrast, Equiano experienced a life that had a happier ending than Oronooko, by at least being able to live. Each experience was unique to that of each enslaved peoples and can contribute to the notion that because of beauty, some enslaved people were put above others, heightening the morality that surrounded them as well. 

Morality and the way oppressors viewed it, changes drastically within each account of people who endured slavery. To employ a sense of betterment and reasoning as to why Oronooko did not deserve to be treated as an ‘average slave,’ Aphra Behn relies heavily on a false notion of what ancient Rome and Greece may have appeared like. This use of chivalry heroism that is applied to Oronooko and his character throughout the entire narrative, even until his disgustingly graphic murder, shows Behn’s use of convincing herself that this was morally okay. In the sense that, she applied a mystic rendering of the past to nullify what was occurring at the time, making it almost honorable to have the titular character suffer through such an intense and terrible end of his life. In contrast, Equiano and his depiction of slavery, white people, and colonialism are digestible for any audience as it barely counts for these oppressors committing the inhumane act of slavery. This goes on to prove that each of these examples helps to racism and its function does not have a definitive answer and especially not one that is most likely modeled by an American or English audience. It changes and functions based on time, who is in charge of narratives, where it took place, and especially ties with the past. When authors like Aphra Behn, who predates a current audience by over four-hundred years show the use of manipulating the past through contexts and hearsay, it introduces the problem that audiences may also be doing so when reading different accounts such as Equiano and trying to fit or force a narrative that is only relative to seventeen-hundreds American depictions of slavery. This proves that the function of the past, especially on topics that cause a tumultuous stir such as slavery, cannot be assumed or molded and should be read and perceived with delicate perception as it may not always end up being what is expected.