Aphra Bhen’s Oroonoko “The royal Slave” and “Candide, Or Optimism” Essay

Aphra Bhen was a prolific female playwright and author during the redevelopment period of slope history. Bhen herself stood by the power of the monarchy. Her book _Oroonoko_ has hints within the schoolbook that royalty is inviten as set apart from the rest of society and that ordinate is the natural order of things. Though little is re anyy known roughly Behns early years, evidence suggests that she may take a leak had a Catholic upbringing (1) however, in considering the schoolbook for analysis, Bhens position on trust shows that she found religion precise constrictive to society, which I will discuss in detail later.Franois-Marie Arouet who is also known by his nom de plume Voltaire, was known for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, freedom of expression, free avocation and separation of church and state. He was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher, and his Book _Candide or Optimism_ is a satirical philoso phical tale which I will also discuss in detail later.The first text to be analysed is found on page 11 of _Oroonoko_. The text depicts the Indian natives of Surinam, how they appear to the narrator, how they show love to each other and how they interact with the English governor.The text begins with a vivid description of the natives. they be extreme humiliateder-ranking bashful, very shy and nice of being touched and though they ar every(prenominal) then naked if one lives forever among them, t present is not permit onn an indecent action or glance. This is a vivid description of innocence, and leads to the occasion of poetic language when discussing erotic love eg -he pursues her with eyes and sighs were all his language while she lookeddown with all blushing modesty.. This is also a clever use of the narrative structure known as vocalisation, and gives a powerful seal of how the natives feel for each other. However the tone she uses in the text is also hyperbolic, in as much as she romanticises the natives she describes. to a fault by doing this the natives ar shown as passive.The text also contains Biblical purview and religious connotations. In the first quarter of the narrative she states so alike our parents before the fall which she also connects with and these people represented to me an absolute base of the first state of innocence, before man knew how to sin By placing these comments in this conjunction, together with the innocence she creates, she gum olibanum connects both the native man and the cleaning adult female to Adam and Eve within their setting- the jungle of Surinam, which thus creates an impression of the Garden of Eden as described in the Bible, in contemporaries 3. This is something that her audience, having known the Biblical text accurately, would have been able to understand and thus take into consideration, when thinking about a man and a woman from a country a ache way away.The narrator considers this statel y when she sees their culture free from the social parameters of religion and informs the reader thus genius is the most harmless, inoffensive, and virtuous mistress, it is she alone, if she were permitted, that better instructs the humanity than the inventions of man religion would here destroy that tranquillity that they possess by ignorance.But she also sates in the first quarter of the text . It seems as if they had no wishes, and nothing to call down their curiosity and later adds where on that point is no novelty there is no curiosity. when this is considered with the biblical connections, there is the possible implication of rank detachment thus separating the natives from the Christian-European culture which she and her readers are a part of.At the end of the text, she separates the natives take down further from the colonists, when she describes a meeting with the regulator.When the Governor cannot make the trip to see them, the natives conclude that he must be dead. W hen this it is seen that this is not the case, the natives call the Governor a liar and guilty of that infamy. On one level, this could be seen as native justice as she calls it. However, it also implies that the natives are check in their understanding, and possibly suggesting that small town is acceptable, moreover necessary for their development.The second texts is seen on Pages 40 to 42 of Voltaires Candide or Optimism and are contained in chapter 16 of the main text. The scene depicts Candide and Cacambo entering the Jungle of Orillion, Their entrapment by the Orillians Cacambos give-and-take with the Orillians, who then release Candide and Cacambo from captivity, and ends with Candides exclamation as to how nice the Orillians are.Its a Jesuit its a Jesuit we will be avenged And well eat the Jesuit say the Orillians after capturing Candide. Here Voltaire is visual perception the native as very savage. But he is also viscously satirical and ironic, as Voltaire himself was ta ught by the Jesuit order. The omniscient narrator here gives us insight into what the natives are saying, and this adds to the viscous humour and the irony.Candide then considers the philosophy of optimism which is the underpinning inveterate theme within the text All is for the best, no doubt, nevertheless I must say that its a cruel thing to have lost Mademoiselle Cungonde and be roasted on a spitting by the Orillions.Cacambo comes to the rescue by precedenting with the natives. Here Voltaire does not see a race that is inferior to the culture in Europe, but evidently some other form human being that can be reason out with. As Cacambo states that natural law teaches us to kill our neighbour all the world over. The Orillians might be cannibals but as he says We Europeans have other substance of eating well thus suggesting that there is little that separates modern society from the native, other than money.The Orrillians are convinced by Cacambos reasoned speech and not onl y do they let them go, they give them women and are treated with every politeness again underlining the civility of the native population and thus informing the reader of the day that the natives are civilised in their behaviour, despite where they live and what they wear and try to do.As the piece ends, Candide is overcome both by his deliverance but also by the natives themselves what men What customs he says, going tail to the theory of Optimism and the issues that relate to cause and effect if I had not bear my sword right through Cungondes brother, I would have been eaten awake(p) without fail. It seems to me that nature is a good thing, since these people, instead of eating me, showed me a thou civilities just as soon as they know I was not a Jesuit.In its tone style and genre _Candide or Optimism_ is a sharply satirical, philosophical tale that stands against the Leibnitzs argument for philosophical optimism which is summed up in the words of Alexander pope whatever IS, IS RIGHT. (2) In its tone style and genre Oroonoko is a classical tradgedy where the hero is brought low by personal character flaws or outside circumstances.In comparison and contrasting the texts, both consider colonisation and exploration In considering the archetype of exploration within _Oroonoko_ Bhen paints a vivid picture of the passivity and the yellowish pink of the natural order, and how this justifies hierarchal society, Whereas, in _Candide_ Voltaire paints a very different picture, where humankind as a whole is struggling with its very nature, and only reason and enlightenment can help humanity progress.In considering colonisation, Bhen supports the idea of colonisation as a means of financial gain for the homeland. Therefore the natives are shown as a species on their own but a secondary coil species, next to the European colonists which thus supports the idea of slavery, as a means to an end, despite the suffering that slavery incurs. This is seen in how she co nsiders the natives in the text, who are considered, on the whole as nave.In _Candide_ Voltaire gives us a very tangled picture of a world with complex cultures that simply do not interact well. Suggesting that colonisation is an imposition of one culture upon another for the sake of greed. This too is seen in the way he portrays the natives in the text, and though both consider religion to be a man-made bring in that is difficult and dangerous to impose upon another culture. It is Bhens perspective of the natives that is demeaning, whereas Voltaires position is one of equality where we are all the same the world over._Oroonoko_ by Aphra Bhen and _Candide_ by Voltaire, Both have varied and complex arguments relating to slavery and the plight of humanity. Both are very different and aver two very different stories of life in other lands. The fact that they are still in print now, is a reflection of their enormousness in understanding the attitudes and cultural aspects of the tim e that they were written. This in turn, still makes them as important as they were when they were first written.1. Todd J Introduction xviii Oroonoko2. pope A _Essay of man p 45-6_ Fraiser R Voltaire _candide, or optimism_ P 182 renascence and the long 18th Century (ed) Pacheo A, Johnson D, Open university press.BiblographyBhen A. Oroonoko William canning (1688) (ed) Todd J. penguin classics(2004)Voltaire Candide or Optimism (ed) T. Cuffe Penguin classics (2005)The Renaissance and long eighteenth century (ed) Pacheo A, Johnson D, Openuniversity press.(2008)