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.
The sentences and paragraphs in the story kind of threw me too. Sometimes, in a particularly lengthy paragraph, I would find myself getting lost and then I would have to go back and reread what I just read. It reminded me of Paradise Lost in that sense, but I thought that it was a lot easier to read overall. Whereas in Paradise Lost a lot of the lengthy paragraphs involved the fallen angels debating and discussing, Behns lengthy paragraphs had things happening. That helped to keep my attention. I was focused on what was happening and not getting as lost in what people were saying.
ReplyDeleteOroonoko's trusting nature frustrated me as well. We know darn well that if the weatherman said it would be sunny taking an umbrella would not cross Oroonoko's mind. It happened over and over again in the story which was especially frustrating. I feel really bad for Oroonoko as a result. Having a trusting nature should not get you butchered!
I would also like to comment on the structure of the story and how it is paced. I think the structure and the flow is what made me like this story so much. As you mentioned, it was able to keep my attention (something that typical school chosen books have a difficult time achieving), and while the sentences were long at times, I found myself not minding as much as I did with the other pieces of literature we have read. Some books can have a great concept or plot, but if the structure, flow, and work choice are not at least able to be considered ‘decent’, it just ruins the entire work. Oroonoko did not have this problem at all and I enjoyed it very much.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the structure goes for this book, I found myself more prepared as a result of reading Paradise Lost because I knew what words to look for in order to figure out who was talking about what, which was a huge issue with Paradise Lost, so I didn't struggle AS much as I usually do with the structure of an old piece. I love the use of the trust fall picture! It is a good visual aid in this because he is that naïve to do such a thing. I know I am not going to like whatever happens to Oroonoko because of this flaw that he has.
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