Anti-colonization and Dehumanization in Aphra Behns Oroonoko

Anti-colonization and Dehumanization in Aphra Behns Oroonoko In Oroonoko, Aphra Behn sheds light on the horrors of slavery and expansionism that Britain was conducting while assembling its overseas empire. Behn paints the majority of the white colonists as unmitigated illustrations of greed, dishonesty, and brutality. Through these depraved individuals, Behn regularly articulates the barbarism innate in British nature as opposed to the African prince Oroonoko, whom is conveyed as the quintisential model of nobility, physical prowness, and honor. These reoccuring motifs apparent throughout the literary work reveal Behns intention of undermining the inhumane treatment of the colonized populice and the criticism of overseas expansion.†¦show more content†¦The narrator incontestably gives this implication when she states, They have a native justice which knows no fraud, and they understand no vice or cunning, but when they are taught by the white men (2185). The understanding that the Europeans have in fact, tainted the natives, is eviden t in the narrators words. In light of the fortitude in which the narrator takes in describing the purity of the native people, it can confidently be understanded that a metonymy is used substituting vice for evil. Thus, the implication is made that in terms of moral sensibility, the natives are far better than the European colonists. Such a distinction is made by Behn to exemplify the negative generalization and criticism of the Europeans in comparison to the colonized other. In this way, the idea of anti-colonization is conveyed. Behn also incorporates dishonorable traits in the white men that Oroonko meets throughout the story to convey her anti-colonization position, implying that they are not suited to engage in colonialism due to their dishonest nature. The hypocrisy and treachery that Behn illustrates in these characters in contrast to the more honorable Oroonoko, gives the idea that the British possessed a general predisposition towards greed, violence, and betrayal. For instance, the British slave trading captain initially befriends Oroonoko, gaining his trust at first, but later betrays him, condemning him to theShow MoreRelatedOroonoko Analysis1579 Words   |  7 PagesAnti-colonization and dehumanization in Oroonoko In Oroonoko, Aphra Behn sheds light on the horrors of slavery and expansionism that Britain was conducting while assembling its overseas empire. Behn paints the majority of the white colonists as unmitigated illustrations of greed, dishonesty, and brutality. Through these depraved individuals, Behn regularly articulates the barbarism innate in British nature as opposed to the African prince Oroonoko, whom is conveyed as the quintisential model ofRead MoreAnalysis Of Oroonoko By Aphra Behn937 Words   |  4 PagesAphra Behn’s Oroonoko; or The Royal Slave, highlights the immorality of European colonization by focusing on how it serves as a means to corrupt the purity of foreign cultures and deliberately disrupts their way of life. There is an undeniable indication of cultural corruption throughout Behn’s work. The title itself, exemplifies the intricacy of Behn’s work, due to her blatant use of binary oppositions, in order to emphasize the conflicting views of both colonizer and slave. Slaves are unlikely