Finally, he decides that he would rather see his family die quickly from his own hand than die the slow death of slavery so he kills Clemene and the unborn child. He next leads a slave revolt but he is betrayed and is badly beaten when he is caught. Oroonoko tries to free his family because he does not want his children born into slavery. Once Imoinda discovers that she is pregnant by Oroonoko. A sweet love affair peeps in between them. Oroonoko soon finds out that Imoinda is a slave on the same plantation, but her slave name is now Clemene. As is the practice with all slaves, Oroonoko is renamed.

When they arrive at their destination, Prince Oroonoko is sold to a British gentleman named Trefry who likes and admires the prince. After dinner, the captain takes advantage of Oroonoko’s trust and takes Oroonoko and his men prisoners.

One day an English ship arrives and the captain invites prince Oroonoko to come aboard for a meal and drinks. Oroonoko’s tribe is a supplier for the slave trade. Imoinda is eventually sold as a slave and is taken to Suriname which is under British rule. Unfortunately, his grandfather, the king, wants Imoinda also. Oroonoko is the story of an African prince Oroonoko who deeply loves the beautiful Imoinda. In any case, Behn receives credit for influencing the development of the British novel at or near its origins. While other scholars insist that Oroonoko should have the honour in that it was written in a novelistic form and is not too short to be disqualified. The honour often has gone to Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe (1719) Defoe is often referred to as “the father of the novel.” Some others regard Henry Fielding as the Father of English Novel. Scholars have debated which work should count as the first novel in English. It developed the figure of the noble savage that was later to be made famous by the French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau. It also influenced the development of the English novel, developing the female narrative voice and treating anti-colonial and abolitionist themes. Oroonoko: or the Royal Slave remains important. It has won the prestige of most widely read and most highly regarded work. In spite of its lack of popularity during Aphra Behn‘s lifetime, Oroonoko (1688) has ornamented the throne of English Novel of late.

Oroonoko full text