Post 1: Oroonoko

Beatrice Adenigbagbe

English 460

18 February 2020

Passage from the Text

“began to shew she was with Child, and did nothing but sigh and weep for the Captivity of her Lord, herself, and the Infant yet unborn; and believ’d, if it were so hard to gain the Liberty of two, ’twould be more difficult to get that for three. Her Griefs were so many Darts in the great Heart of Cæsar, and taking his Opportunity, one Sunday, when all the Whites were overtaken in Drink, as there were abundance of several Trades, and Slaves for four Years, that inhabited among the Negro Houses; and Sunday being their Day of Debauch, (otherwise they were a sort of 190Spies upon Cæsar) he went, pretending out of Goodness to ’em, to feast among ’em, and sent all his Musick, and order’d a great Treat for the whole Gang, about three hundred Negroes, and about an hundred and fifty were able to bear Arms, such as they had, which were sufficient to do Execution, with Spirits accordingly: For the English had none but rusty Swords, that no Strength could draw from a Scabbard; except the People of particular Quality, who took Care to oil ’em, and keep ’em in good Order: The Guns also, unless here and there one, or those newly carried from England, would do no Good or Harm; for ’tis the Nature of that Country to rust and eat up Iron, or any Metals but Gold and Silver. And they are very expert at the Bow, which the Negroes and Indians are perfect Masters of.

Cæsar, having singled out these Men from the Women and Children, made an Harangue to ’em, of the Miseries and Ignominies of Slavery; counting up all their Toils and Sufferings, under such Loads, Burdens and Drudgeries, as were fitter for Beasts than Men; senseless Brutes, than human Souls. He told ’em, it was not for Days, Months or Years, but for Eternity; there was no End to be of their Misfortunes: They suffer’d not like Men, who might find a Glory and Fortitude in Oppression; but like Dogs, that lov’d the Whip and Bell, and fawn’d the more they were beaten: That they had lost the divine Quality of Men, and were become insensible Asses, fit only to bear: Nay, worse; an Ass, or Dog, or Horse, having done his Duty, could lie down in Retreat, and rise to work again, and while he did his Duty, endur’d no Stripes; but Men, villanous, senseless Men, such as they, toil’d on all the tedious Week ’till Black Friday; and then, whether they work’d or not, whether they were faulty or meriting, they,”

Post 1: Enslaved Voices

In the passage above, Oroonoko, now named Caesar, surrounded by his fellow enslaved men, denounces the cruelties of slavery, “counting up all their toils and sufferings under such loads, burdens and drudgeries as were fitter for beasts than men” (Behn 61). In my analysis of this passage, I chose to examine the secondary source titled, Afro-Latino Voices: Narratives from the Early Modern Ibero-Atlantic World, 1550-1812. The short excerpt from this book which I focused my attention on, titled “The Case of Javier, Esclavo, against His Master for Cruel Punishment, San Juan, Argentina, 1795,” enhances our understanding of Aphra Behn’s, Oroonoko, by accentuating not only the importance of Caesar’s verbalization of the injustices of enslavement but also the importance of being able to verbalize such a thing in the presence of a receptive audience.

From examining the secondary source, we learn that Javier Esclavo, an enslaved “Mulatto” man was granted a court hearing where he was able to give his testimony of the cruel punishments inflicted upon him by his master, which was then documented by a Spanish court official. It’s important to point out that the act of writing down his testimony further legitimizes and memorializes it. From the records of the court official, Javier is quoted as stating that the punishment was “carried out by his master’s own hand. [He says] that the device used to whip him was a switch made of four quince sticks and that he does not remember exactly how many lashes he was given…” (McKnight, Garofalo 309). Here we get a record of an enslaved man using his voice to tell his truth and testify against his master and owner. This act is extremely powerful because every opportunity was taken to silence the enslaved, in an effort to keep them weak and subservient. Despite the added threats to his safety, Javier still boldly vocalizes his treatment, and not only that, he does it in front of a court audience, thereby defying the wishes of his owner. As a result, he empowers himself, reaffirms his humanity and cements his story into history and the minds of the court audience.

Similarly, Oroonoko’s vocalization and articulation of the shameful institution of slavery and of his and his peers’ “[toils] on all the tedious week till black Friday,” (Behn 61) empowers him and his audience and gives them the motivation and strength to challenge the authority of their oppressors and take the risk of plotting to fight for their freedom. To reiterate, while we often take for granted our freedom of speech and ability to use our voices to advocate for ourselves, for many enslaved individuals like Oroonoko and Javier Esclavo, speech served as a powerful tool or weapon that could help combat the forced silence imposed upon them by their oppressors.

Works Cited

Behn, Aphra. Oroonoko, or, The Royal Slave: a Critical Edition. University Press of America, 1987.

McKnight, Kathryn Joy., and Leo J. Garofalo. Afro-Latino Voices: Narratives from the Early Modern Ibero-Atlantic World, 1550-1812. Hackett Pub. Co., 2010.