Oroonoko

Aphra Behn's novel Oroonoko is about a young man who was born a prince and dies a slave. As an African male, Oroonoko is subjected to the racism of the white males who have all the power in his society. In the time period that Aphra Behn was writing, Africans were being captured and enslaved no matter what their birth status. Even a prince could find himself enslaved and forced to work for white oppressors. The institution of slavery was already heavily practiced by the time that Behn wrote this book and her depictions of slavery and the enslaved are apt. The harsh portrayal of the peculiar institution is accurate in terms of the history of slavery.

Oroonoko was one of the first texts to take a negative stance against the institution of slavery. There are critics however who try to cast Behn in the role of racist for...
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