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T. Ngo
Professor Scott Keels
ENGL 2004
23 October 2016
Oroonoko Final Essay
Oroonoko was a man of honor and courage. He was passionate and loyal. His
accomplishments were endless, but not achieved without the work of slaves. He lived to rule, but
not to be ruled. Slavery was essential during his time, and he had a belief that slavery was
honorable only through war. But through this story of becoming enslaved, Oroonoko refused to
be one and asked other slaves to help him be free. He claimed slavery is justifiable, but not in his
position because of his royal background. This man seemed to live in a dream without
nightmare. He thought he understood the world around him, but he could not see that man was
unfair, corrupt, and devious. Oroonoko, a believer of slavery, became hypocritical as he was
taken from a life as a proud and respectable prince, and thrown into a life of deceit and slavery,
which led to the end of his life as a proud, but desperate and woeful man.
Greatly respected by his people and lover, Oroonoko was a highly educated prince with
an appealing physical appearance. He kept the peace between the natives and the British,
allowing slavery to continue in his land for as long as they were won by a victorious battle. His
lover, Imoinda, was his main desire, and he wanted nothing less (Behn 157.) During his time as a
prince, he became more confident with his power and he knew he had to show it. As a ruler, he
could not allow Imoinda to be the exception of his power, but after her arranged marriage, he
broke free of those standards to take her back without acknowledging the consequences. He only
embraced his power and what he could do with it in order to get what he pleased. He believed
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slavery was significant and necessary in order to make everyday life easier when it came to work
and chores. Even with his head held high, some of Oroonoko’s greatest traits and beliefs became
his weakness and made him blind to the reality of man. He held the values of truth and loyalty
dear to him, which became his downfall, and led to his capture and separation from Imoinda.
The prince believed man to be honorable and just, but as a royal slave he realized
otherwise. Once he was deceived and aboard a slave ship, Oroonoko became resentful of the
dishonesty of man (Behn 180.) Because of his high social status, Oroonoko was never truly sent
to labor like the other slaves. Oroonoko continued to think slavery was a necessity, but a
dilemma formed in his mind, which caused him to be in disbelief that a royal prince like him
could not and should not live a life being ruled by another man. During his time at the plantation,
