"civilized savage"

Yes, I know, our last post was last week and we're just supposed to comment for tomorrow. BUT I watched Saints & Strangers on the National Geographic Channel over the break and noticed several pertinent connections to our class, so I felt the need to share. The two-night movie event portrayed the arrival of colonial settlers in Plymouth, their interactions with the local native tribes, and the first Thanksgiving.

The English settlers refer to the native peoples as "savages," which, of course, made me think of our discussion of "savage" and "civilized" in relation to Oroonoko during last class. At one point, one of the tribe members who speaks English visits the English settlers in order to get a sense of why they are there. When he leaves, one of the colonists tells the other colonists not to be fooled by the "civilized savage" - because the "savage" could speak English, and was well-mannered in the colonists' company, he was considered "civilized." As we've seen in Oroonoko, these native peoples are only seen as civilized if they exhibit English characteristics.

Anyway, I thought it was interesting, and wanted to share that with you all. The videos (follow the link above) are worth checking out, if you're interested. Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving!

How long will this all last?

What I found interesting in this book was how everyone mentioned in importance was described in the color of their skin (at least in the beginning stages of the story). Was anyone else thrown by this? I just found that part significant because this is the first time that descriptions of people went beyond their personality and their general physique. "His face was not of that brown, rusty, black which most of that nation are, but a perfect ebony or polished jet.... his nose was rising and Roman, instead of African and flat", describing Oroonoko here I just wondered if the author was trying to give us a better understanding about the differences that were present in this time of slavery and judgement upon race (Behn, 2187).

Also the love story between Oroonoko and Imoinda struck me as almost too easy, and as most of you have mentioned in a tragedy like this, I believe to have been too good to be true. The way he spoke to her so passionately "he made her vows she should be the only woman he would possess while he lived", which showed how the idea of love was viewed as in this time, "that no age or wrinkles should incline him to change, for her soul would be always fine and always young, and he should have and eternal idea in his mind of the charms she now bore, ad should look into his heart for that idea when he could find it no longer in her face" (Behn, 2189). I know some of you mentioned this already but this brought to mind the story of Romeo and Juliet and we all know how that turned out.

It seems to me in the midst of battle or conflict Oroonoko is one to leap without looking kind of attitude which in the long run might cause him or those he cares about harm. Kind of like Beowulf I believe he thrives in the thought that everyone looks to his guidance in battle but his modesty and naivety may be the cause of his downfall. He is too trusting for a tragic hero. What do you guys think about Oroonoko?

Oroonoko

I'm really nervous about this book. I think someone else said they had a really bad feeling about it and so do I. I think the chosen narrator for this book is interesting, first of all she's a woman and then second she is unnamed. Why not give her a character right away? Interesting choice. This one of the first books in this class that I have been able to get lost in, and I mean to "lose myself in reading" not be confused. I could not put it down.  So I found the narrator's tone a bit infantilizing and condescending. She compared the native people to Adam and Eve once too. Amazing you really cannot read anything written in the English language without understanding the basic biblical stories. But at the same time it could be worse than just infantilizing since she is living on a british colony and usually there is far worse racism than that. Oroonoko seems like he really has his shit together. He's brave, smart, apparently beautiful. But I am really nervous about this story, like I said before. You cannot have two beautiful young people who want to fall in love and get married and then boom everyone lives happily ever after. No! That never happens! Interesting that Oroonoko wants to stick to monogamy in this situation, even though it is the norm to take many wives. It seems like the authors western views are creeping in. You cannot write a book without writing your opinion though. But still, Thats an interesting part of this! I saw on the blog someone wrote that Oroonoko's optimism/trusting nature was annoying and I agree. There is nothing worse than a naive character in a tragedy. It just hurts to much.

I don't know who this is but I found it by googling the name of the book and I think it's super cool. 

So Good So Far

As a hopeless romantic, I am completely enjoying the theme of forbidden love we see in Oroonoko. Although it pains me to see the characters suffer, I must admit that I am a sucker for drama and watching how it unfolds (drama for other people, I mean. Because if it's your own drama it's not very fun at all).

Let me start by voicing my thoughts on the poem at the beginning:

Wow. Just . . . wow.

I've gone to a Catholic school my entire life. Kindergarden until high school graduation, so naturally I have never ever been exposed to this type of content in a school setting. Therefore, I was really surprised at how detailed and intimate it got the more I read. I liked it though. It was interesting. I enjoyed the elegant word choice and flow and think it is very creative how just choosing these specific words can turn something that could have been presented so crudely in a way that was beautiful. Even when things got a a little tough and embarrassing, the elegant tone of the poem kept on. So, although I'm still not sure I understand why this poem was put right before the story, I was still very impressed.

As for the actual story, I will say that I am very excited to see where it goes. I'm hoping for a some kind of a happy ending, but I know not to get my hopes up too much. I mean, poor Imoinda is already dead and Oroonoko is a slave. Can the situation really get better? Hopefully. But now I'm thinking of the TV show Roots and one again my hopes are dwindling. They got their happy ending eventually but it took a long, long time, and many deaths and years of torture to achieve what they did.

Finally, I like the fact that the narrator is an actual character in the story. I think it is interesting how the story is not focused entirely on her and instead focuses on Oroonoko and his life. It is a nice and refreshing change from the usual first person or third person narration that we are all used to. The fact that we get insight into her thoughts and her views of the situation is unique and it has given me a different opinion of Oroonoko and the entire story than I probably would have gotten had it had been written in Oroonoko’s point of view.

Wasn't as Bad as I Thought

I really like this story. I found it difficult to put down. I wouldn’t consider this story any harder to read than Measure for Measure or, dare I say, Beowulf. The author still had very long sentences, which I found myself getting distracted in the middle of, and having to go back to the beginning to understand. I found the way that she writes to be very fast paced and able to hold my attention, for the most part.  I feel like, even though I could sense what was going to happen, it still surprised me when it did happen.

I didn’t like how the women in the story had little independence. Maybe I read this wrong, but the story said that the king was in the wrong since he took Imoinda from her husband, and she still can’t get out of his hold. It also bothered me that she didn’t try to get out of his hold; she cried a bit and then accepted it.

I also don’t like the fact that once a woman gets old she is seen as undesirable in the story. I would think in a society where trust is a big theme, they would value a person on a deeper level than solely on looks.

Oronoco’s optimism bothered me a bit. He was so trusting in everyone and believed everything that people said, and that bothers me because I can’t do that. Before I can truly trust a person, I need to have known them for a while and they have to have never crossed me.
I mostly don’t like his trusting nature because it makes me feel bad for him. Oroonoko is so trusting that everything that happens is a surprise to him, he doesn’t seem prepared for anything. Maybe that is a nice way to live, though, not always fearful of the worst, simply experiencing the best that life has for you because no one is out to get you. It’s like when the weatherman says it’ll be sunny all day and you pack an umbrella just in case. There is no just in case for Oroonoko.

One last thought I had was why did Behn chose to write the story like she was there and saw some of the action. I wonder if she actually experienced it, or if she is writing like that to give her story more credibility.

ENGLAND YOU SUCK!!!

I like that we are dealing with someone that is outspoken. Even though she is using a story, fictional or not, she is telling it how she sees the world around her. I can tell that she has standards when it comes to people. She seems to respect those who work hard and live their lives in a moral manner .the strong leadership and cohesiveness of the natives is what attracts her. On page 2187, she is telling us what a leader should be. “I have often conversed with this great man, and been witness to many of his mighty actions, and do assure my reader the most illustrious courts could not have produced a braver man.” The description of Oroonoko sounds almost divine. These mighty qualities and strong characteristics places him on a pedestal above the base men of her time. She is in awe over him.  I looked into her and she made some remarks about the Kings son that got her arrested.  I like her boldness. “Religion would here but destroy that tranquility they possess by ignorance, and laws would but teach em to know offense, of which now they have no notion.” I like the fact that she is honest. The corruption that is around her is too much to handle. I like that she is saying the English are terrible people. I like how Adam and Eve are the muses for Milton and Behn. The idea of everyone being this innocent bystander of the evils of one entity. The English must be a giant Anaconda instead of a small snake wrapped around a tree, because they have spread their evils almost all over the world. The descriptions of the natives and the way they live tells me that she would rather have a simple life. Living in a community that is more collective than individualistic. This story is almost tragic. The way the new circumstances changed the character of a great man into the very people that captured him. The character shift of Oroonoko is not as divine as Behn wanted us to believe. I think this story was written not only to represent the horrors of slavery, but to show how good people can change as the circumstances do. Also we change and become the worst part of ourselves. I enjoy reading about this era, because it is good to receive different opinions and different experiences. I know this is fictional, but it happened to someone and I glad someone like Behn wrote on the subject.   

O Romeo, Romeo wherefore art thou....Orlando?

I have a really, really bad feeling about this story. I feel like I am stuck in some sort of Shakespearean tragedy and that is not a wonderful feeling. I am getting the idea that this story does not have a happy ending. If the introduction is anything to go by, “she lacks the power to save Oroonoko and might even be implicated in his downfall”, and the fact that the poem that comes before the actual story does not end in the favor of the guy at all, this story is not going to end well (Behn 2179). On that note, I am, weirdly, enjoying the story. I think it is really engaging and hard to put down.

Oroonoko reminds me of two characters from Shakespeare, hence the title. The fact that people are trying to keep him and his love from one another reminds me a lot of Romeo. That being said, the way he reacts to being separated and the way he acts when he falls in love reminds me a lot of Orlando. He seems to be the perfect combination of these two characters. Unfortunately, I am thinking he is more Romeo than Orlando. This may be why I have such a bad feeling about the end of story, but I am hoping that I am wrong.

In regards to the poem at the beginning of the story, was I the only one who was initially confused why the story started off with that? The entire introduction focused on the author and this awesome character named Oroonoko, but then we get this poem and I couldn’t help but think “Okay, well, all this guy wants is to get into her pants. What is so novel about that?” I mean, it made more sense as I got into the story, but it set a really weird tone for the story. I was pleased to see the actual tale was a lot more romantic than that, but I was really questioning Virginia Woolf’s assessment that is noted in the introduction.

As I was reading, I was excited to come across a quote by Virginia Woolf. I am pretty ashamed to admit, but before this semester I had no clue who this woman was. Yeah, I had heard of her, but I did not realize how popular her books were. I am taking a class on her and Forster. The fact that she complimented this author’s work at the beginning made me really excited to read this story. Woolf’s novels focus a lot on how voiceless women were in her time period. For her to say this author “earned them the right to speak their minds” gave me a really good impression of this story right at the start (Behn 2178). While I am impressed with the story, don't get me wrong, I was actually expecting a stronger female character. Having Woolf at the beginning gave me that impression, but the female character in this story seems kind of weak. At least, so far she does. That being said, I do not think Woolf is wrong, it is a very interesting story.