Switching Power In Oroonoko, By Aphra Behn

This book report discusses the plot, significant characters, setting (e.g., time of the story took place, historical background), problems and resolutions, themes or messages of the story. A reflection of the author’s writing style will be presented followed by a conclusion.

A handful of people gathered July 11 in Ermineskin to celebrate the life, death and canonization of Kateri Tekakwitha, the Protectress of Canada. Kateri was born in 1656 in New York state and died in 1680. At the age of 4, she lost her parents and brother to smallpox; she was left with a scarred face and being

Maryusha Antonovksy was no more. In her place stood Mary Antin, the same immigrant Jewish girl but with a new “American” name. Mary had also bought “real American machine-made garments” to replace her “hateful” homemade European-style clothes. “I long to forget,” she said. “It is painful to be conscious of two worlds.”

When facing unimaginable circumstances, there are some people who may compromise their dignity or integrity to make their life easier. In the case of Abd al-Rahman, the main character in “Prince Among Slaves,” some can say the prince compromised his integrity for the sake of his family. He doesn’t compromise his dignity and even builds, what some would consider, a dignified life during his time as a slave. “Prince Among Slaves” emphasizes keeping one’s integrity or compromising it when it may be necessary.

Often time power can be understood as control of material resources and wealth, control of politics and the institutions that make up society (Hutchison,2015). It is important to recognize and identify the core concepts of power or lack of power with individuals in society. The conflict theory allows examination within the text of those who hold power and lack power. The end result of power to hold dominance over another person, group, or society. As a result of the control and power is causes those who lack power to be devalued or alienated from a setting or even society (Hutchinson, 2015).

      "All women together ought to let flowers fall upon the tomb of AphraBehn, . .

We all have thought of what it would be like to be royalty, or the head of a nation. We simply tell ourselves that power will never change who we are, that it will not pervert us. Nonetheless, History has showed us that power is cancerous, it blinds us, victimizes us, and it corrupts us. In Frederick Douglass’ “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave” he states that immoral power eventually taints the most tender heart and turns it into stone. There is no way we can truly avoid irresponsible power and its effects, but we can learn to distinguish it.

The works I have studied and will be exploring in this essay are Mary Shelly’s ‘Frankenstein’ and Joseph Conrad’s ‘Heart of Darkness’. In ‘Frankenstein’ the abuse of power is most clearly exhibited by the protagonist of the story Frankenstein himself, his abuse of power results in his isolation and could serve as a warning to people, telling them not to play with forces that they can not control. In ‘Heart of Darkness’, Conrad abuses his power as the author to distance himself from the novella and in a sense absolve himself from any racist criticism the book may induce. The abuse of power is also a key theme in the novella itself. Firstly there is a sense of hypocrisy in

In this essay the idea of power is expressed by how much of an impact a powerful person can have on a powerless person. In Montana 1948, an argument occurred between two characters. One was called Wesley Hayden and the other was Wesley powerful father Julian. The

Power had a huge part on how people were treated back in the times of slavery. In the novel Kindred by Octavia E. Butler, an African-American woman named Dana traveled between the 1800s and the present to help her great-grandfather throughout his life while also trying to shape him into a better person in the racist society that he was in. One of the things she noticed was how power could dictate how people lived their lives, especially since slavery was prevalent in the area her great grandfather, Rufus Weylin, lived in. Dana, Rufus, and Alice were all characters whose power affected how their lives turned out and the choices that they made.

Alice Walker, an American novelist, once stated that “the most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.” In current society, power is everywhere, and everyone has at least has some control, no matter how ineffective they might feel. In the novella “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck, the concept of power is represented on a ranch in the 1930’s. On the ranch, there is a group of outsiders- people who do not fit in- that consists of Crooks, a black stable buck, Curley’s wife, who is married to the powerful Curley, Lennie, a worker with a mental disability, and Candy, and old swamper. These outsiders are isolated and feel powerless compared to the rest of society. However, within this group of outsiders, power structures still exist and everyone has power in one way or another. Steinbeck, through the story of Crooks and Curley’s wife, teaches that no matter how powerless someone seems, they may still wield power over others.

“Knowing is not enough, we must apply. Willing is not enough, we must do.” (Johann von Goethe) “The Endless Steppe” by Esther Hautzig is a novel about a family’s determination to survive. In the novel it tells of how determination, the human ability to adopt, and happiness can hold a family together and help them even preserver over all odds. In addition, “The Endless Steppe” tells of Reisa, Ryia, and Esther tales of how they overcame these ordeals and survived in Siberia in their own way.

The author in The Scarlet Pimpernel and Ozymandias describes the effects of misuse of power using personification to show its results in powerlessness and failure. Ozymandias

One very important theme throughout diasporic texts, is power. Power is weaved through the book The Color Purple by Alice Walker. From the beginning of story, it is very clear that men have power over the women in their society. Celie, who is the stories main character, gets dominated over by her father who sexually abuses her. Her father uses the power he has over Celie and forces her to not tell anyone what he does to her, which causes her to feel numb. When Celie’s father finally decides for her to get married, she is once again dominated by her husband Mr. Throughout her time living with Mr. Celie is once again not in control, and is abused physically and emotionally. Mr. believes that he has power of her and doesn’t respect women in general which leads to Celie be even more closed off. It is not until the story introduces Sofia and Shug Avery, that the reader finally sees the idea of power being turned upside down.

Aphra Behn’s novel, Oroonoko, gives a very different perspective on a slave narrative. Her characters embody various characteristics not usually given to those genders and races. Imoinda’s character represents both the modern feminist, as well as the subservient and mental characteristics of the typical eighteenth-century English woman. Oroonoko becomes an embodiment of what is normally a white man’s characteristic; he is the noble, princely, and sympathetic character that is not usually attributed to black men in general throughout most novels of slavery. The complete opposite character style is given to the slavers; the English are viewed as the barbaric, cunning, brutal characters that are usually portrayed in opposite and more generous