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In the novel Oroonoko by Aphra Behn, the main character Oroonoko is seen as having two special titles at one time by most other people in the story. One of those titles is connected to royalty, that of a prince early on in the novel and later as a king. His other title, especially seen by Europeans in the story is as an African. Both of these features are instrumental in shaping who Oroonoko is as a person and what he does in the story. Oroonoko views himself as a special person, possessing special traits that make him an important and powerful person. Oroonoko's royalty sets him apart from everyone else in the novel and gives him a particular viewpoint that only he has. Oroonoko's culture also has set him apart, especially from the Europeans in the story, in that his beliefs shape how he acts and sets up a fundamental difference between European and African cultures. It also separates Oroonoko and his fellow black African from white Europeans. Many critics also see Oroonoko's roles as king and African as an opportunity for the author to comment on and give her own beliefs on subjects that were important at the time to her and to others.
One of the major issues of contention in the story among critics today is the role of race in the story and whether or not the author Aphra Behn was a racist. Many people have condemned Behn as a racist and have taken instances from the novel to show this. Derek Hughes in his article “Race, Gender and Scholarly Practice: Aphra Behn's Oroonoko” refutes much of this. One issue that Hughes looks at particularly in depth is the charge made by some critics that Behn was afraid of African sexuality but Hughes says: “The apparent evidence for this is that women in Oroonoko retreat to safety when the slave revolt starts. Margaret Ferguson attributes this to fear of rape, and the fear of rape to stereotypical slanders about the lasciviousness of the black African…and it is therefore remarkable that the women in Oroonoko do not retreat through fear of rape at all, but lest Oroonoko should ‘come down and Cut all our Throats' (p. 111).” (Hughes 4). Hughes goes on to say: “The unrestrained sexuality of the Africans is simply imposed on the text by the modern critic” (Hughes 5) and also says about Restoration plays in general: “Almost every Restoration play portraying Europeans and non-Europeans favourably portrays love between them” (Hughes 6). By looking at the environment that produced the work and also reading the text carefully Hughes says that many accusations made against Behn are false.
Hughes also goes on to say that people have concentrated so much on race in the story that they forget about religion, and how it is used to justify slavery. Hughes states: “Nevertheless, it is this that Behn chooses to foreground: the villainous captain justifies his treatment of Oroonoko on the grounds of religion, not race” (Hughes 17). If one looks at it from this point of view it would seem to be a direct attack on or denial of the supposed belief present among some Europeans that Africans, because they had darker skin were inferior to Europeans. Europeans themselves don't use color as a justification in the story so by exclusion it is done away with. It is also worth noting that in the story Oroonoko is tutored by a Frenchman who has taught him much and that by European standards Oroonoko is well educated. Oroonoko is also portrayed by the author, even though the narrator states that what information she has was learned directly from him, that Oroonoko was a friendly and trusting person. Religion is also a point taken up by Warren Chernaik is his article “Captains and Slaves: Aphra Behn and the Rhetoric of Republicanism”. Chernaik says that Behn attacks those who hide behind religion as a justification for slavery: “… Behn attacks the hypocrisy of professing Christians who betray, exploit, and enslave their fellow men. In two separate episodes, the virtuous pagan or noble savage upbraids nominal Christians who behave towards him in dishonourable, treacherous ways” (Chernaik 103). Oroonoko becomes a kind of moral reformer pointing out the faults and double standards of English society. The English are portrayed as greedy tricksters who will do anything to get what they want, yet at the same time professing to be religious and honorable people. Royalty also has an impact on how others see Oroonoko to a certain degree.
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