The Hypocrisy of Surinam’s Traditions in 'Oroonoko' Alexandra Bayer College

Oroonoko, or, The Royal Slave by Aphra Behn is narrated by an unnamed white woman whose life overlaps with Oroonoko’s during his time as a slave in Surinam. When Oroonoko takes the narrator and several other European people to an island she describes as inhabited solely by Indians who have never seen white people before, the line of vision is reversed as the Indians consider questions and compare customs with the Europeans, thus offering the narrator’s way of life up for examination. Throughout the Indians’ appraisal of the Europeans, the narrator also internally reverses the appraisal, deeming them to be extremely ignorant and simple (Behn 2345). This opinion is based largely on some of the Indians’ traditions, such as their lack of scientific medication and use of a Peeie (2346), and the brutality of their war captain competition for generalship (2346-7). However, this analysis also calls into question the European party’s use of accepted conventions, including racism and sexism, and other unfair traditions. Although the narrator seems to be mostly blind to the irrationality or brutality of her own people’s traditions, the reversed view provided by the Indians’ examination makes them easier to see as a reader.

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