Oroonoko Is an Arousing and Compelling Protagonist,

Oroonoko is an arousing and compelling protagonist, and his story evokes themes of race, class, gender, and power. The continually shifting social status of the titular character is also a primary motif in Aphra Behn's novella. Oroonoko seems to shift between worlds: the worlds of power and subjugation; master and slave; white and black. The relationship between the narrator and Oroonoko likewise shifts, which is why the point-of-view of the story from a literary perspective is sometimes confusing.

Behn is building up ultimately to a portrayal of the protagonist as a Christ figure, albeit an unlikely one. Oroonoko is not a pure Christ, but a very human one who martyrs not only himself but the love of his life. Oroonoko combines elements of classical Greek heroes and their hubris, with the selflessness of the Christ motif. The narrator idealizes Oroonoko, focusing on his physical, intellectual, and social features. She is clearly aroused by him. "Oroonoko gave me an extreme curiosity to see him," she states.

Oroonoko is described as an ultra-masculine statue. His ambiguous ethnicity combines elements of European and African that make him a sort of uber-mensch, or universal superman. As such, Oroonoko is like a Christ figure from the outset. He is a Christ figure not in the religious sense, but Oroonoko possesses a kind of spiritual power that he wields at the very least over women. His animal magnetism is not the only type of power Oroonoko wields. The man comes from a genuinely royal lineage.

Though not a lineage that presumes a link to God, the Coromantee are of the highest social status. Because of this, Oroonoko speaks multiple languages and is able to converse as well with Europeans as Africans. The narrator goes so far as to deify Oroonoko by saying that not only was his great body adorned, but also his "soul." Oroonoko's sense of pride, or hubris, is linked to his elite lineage.

As the everyman's man possessing an otherworldly sort of power, Oroonoko becomes a Christlike hero in the sense that he dies for a set of selfless and noble causes. One of those causes is purely political, and relates directly to the institution of slavery, the dismantling of traditional African social and political systems, and the scourge of colonialism. The second of those causes is personal, as he knows that upon his death Imoinda would lead a most horrendous life.

His killing her is a sign of redemption, and a display of eternal love. There is eternal life after death, in the lovers' eyes, which is why death is not set out as evil in Behn's story. Far worse than death include the loss of personal dignity, the loss of freedom, and the loss of humanity. The rape and enslavement of women; the rape and enslavement of men, betrayal, subjugation, and dishonesty are the sins against which Oroonoko fights. He therefore comes to represent salvation from the evils of slavery.

Oroonoko's heroism extends beyond the political realm and to the personal. It is as a personal and romantic hero that Oroonoko reveals some of his personal pride, as he cannot bear to live without dignity. Imoinda is the object of his affection, and in her he espies his female counterpart and his equal. Oroonoko's brash confidence causes him to pursue Imoinda in spite of the King's claiming her as his own. He is willing to stand up for what is right, even if it leads to his downfall.

The conflicts brewing around him do not deter Oroonoko from loving Imoinda, and for doing whatever it takes to preserve their mutual dignity. In doing so, Oroonoko exposes some of the most heinous hypocrisies inherent in the slave trade. A core hypocrisy is that slave owners and traders claim to be Christian. The narrator points out that Christians practice a barbaric form of slavery, by purporting absolute ownership of a human being. When Christians buy slaves, the narrator claims, the Christian actually renames them.

Interestingly, Oroonoko is given the name of Caesar. The name is both fitting and powerfully ironic. It is fitting because Oroonoko comes from a line of kings and is thus technically deserving of the title. He carries himself like a Caesar and other slaves come to see him as a hero. However, the designation of Caesar is also ironic because of its Roman connotations: the Romans killed Christ. Oroonoko is set up to be the signatory of his own demise. Like Christ, Oroonoko faces death with dignity and without fear.

Also like Christ, he knows his death is to be immanent and does not fight it. His defiling of Imoinda's body is the only peculiar aspect of the story of Oroonoko. Perhaps the act symbolizes eternal life and eternal love. Another explanation is that Oroonoko asserts his ownership of Imoinda in a patriarchal manner, which is his crude way of protecting her from being defiled by anyone else. Regardless, the language.