Reading Notes W2: Oroonoko, Part B

Aphra Behn, “Oroonoko; or, The Royal Slave” (225-246)

Plot:

This reading covers the life of one African Prince: Oroonoko (or Caesar) and the story of what he goes through. In these specific pages (225-246), we learn about the struggles Caesar goes through in living the rest of his life as a slave. As if by fate, he comes across Imoinda (now Clemene) and is happy to see her. In fact, they even conceive a child of their own. However, it is the end of the story that really gets me. This twist in the story happens to be when Caesar kills his wife and unborn child in the reason that he felt there was no way they could reach freedom. He had a whole plan that involved killing her and others: “he told her his Design first of Killing her, and then his Enemies, and next himself, and the impossibility of Escaping, and therefore he told her the necessity of dying” (242). She was even willing to obey him and die by his hands.

This twist in the story sent the rest of the events down a dark path.

After killing her, there was no return and you could get the sense of hopelessness in his life as a slave due to the narrator’s sympathy. It makes the reader sympathize with the Prince, even if he did kill his wife. He just felt it was the only way out.

He is killed after this and dies in a horrible way: “the Executioner came, and first cut off his Members and threw them in the Fire; after that, with an Ill-favoured Knife, they cut his Ears, and his Nose, and burn’d them; he still Smoak’d on, as if nothing had touch’d him…” (246).

This twist in the plot is important because:

1)      The pipe represented his honor and how he would accept death as if by example. It was emphasizing how important it was that he was a great man and of high importance. It was as if he was a martyr: believing in freedom.

2)      This plot twist emphasizes how bad slavery actually was and that freedom was hard to find. It seems that she was pointing out that slavery was not humane and that slavery could put a man down this path.

3)      Caesar stuck by his beliefs till the end: aiming for revenge and freedom if he could.

In personal opinion, the twist needed to be there as a shock factor so people could understand how grave slavery was, no matter how intense and sad the ending is. 

Reading Notes W2: Oroonoko, Part A

Aphra Behn, “Oroonoko” (198-224)

Aphra Behn (198-199):

• ·         She is the first professional woman writer in England.
• ·         According to Virginia Woolf, she gave woman “the right to speak their minds”. (198)
• ·         She wrote plays, longer epistolary fiction, novellas, and poetry.
• ·         She was associated with libertines and freethinkers and also might have possibly been a spy in Holland for the English. Code name: “Astrea”.
• ·         She married a German merchant named Johannes Behn, but it did not last long.
• ·         Her political sympathies typically tied in with that of the king.
• ·         She had strong ties to the monarchy.
• ·         Oroonoko’s first-person narrator identified with the author Behn.
• ·         Her story “Oroonoko” covers slavery.

“Oroonoko” (200-224)

Character List:

1)      Oroonoko (or Caesar)

·         African Prince

·         Heroic

·         His social status as a prince is very important and mentioned often.

·         Very honorable

·         His love for Imoinda seems to be a motivating factor. However, his loves seems to throw him for a loop often by doing things that can cause danger. For example, “he caught her in his Arms as she fell; and ‘twas visible to the whole presence, the Joy wherewith he received her: He clasp’d her close to his Bosom” (213). He put her and himself in danger by holding the old King's Mistress because it was considered a “disobedient Offense” towards the King and that action is considered for punishment.

·         In general, his love for Imoinda puts him at risk often throughout the story.

2)      Imoinda

·         Oroonoko loves this woman.

·         Considered to be extremely beautiful.

·         She seems to switch between courageous and obedient\scared because of the King’s rage, power and jealousy or because of what could happen to Oroonoko because of her actions. So just like Oroonoko, her love seems to be a motivating factor but also puts her at risk because of her longing for him. For example, “they should both be sold off, as Slaves” (215). Due to her love for another man, she was sold off to be a slave on orders by the King, bringing down another along with her (Onohal).

3)      The Old King

·         His word is practically law.

·         He is around 100 years old.

·         He pines after Imoinda with lust.

·         He is often seen as an evil and cruel character.

·         He is King of Coramantien.

·         His jealousy and rage knows no bounds. For example, “jealous to the last degree, rose up in Rage, broke all the Diversion, and led Imoinda to her apartment, and sent out word to the Prince, to go immediately to the Camp” (213). He interrupts everything going on around him just to satisfy his own anger.

·         His lust and cruelty is so awful that he even takes Imoinda away from her love, Oroonoko knowing full well that they were in love.

Important Character Attributes:

·     

                   The characters all seem to have attraction and love as important attributes. However, love has a broad range in this story. Both Imoinda and Oroonoko’s love motivate each other and stay’s strong through the story so far. But they both put each other at risk. The King’s love is different to the others. In fact, I would not even call it love. I would call it lust because he simply just wants to own Imoinda, not love and cherish her. This makes Imoinda the center of the problem’s that arose so far.

·     

                   The characters social status also seems to be an important attribute. The old King’s status as King of Coramantien puts him above the others. This makes his word absolute. Whereas, Oroonoko’s status is that of a Prince, but it does not put him above everyone like the King. He is limited, like Imoinda; to where he must listen to the King’s orders.

Time Strategies

Since I will be busy with a hectic swim schedule and several classes this semester, I will really have to stay on top of my work. Too make sure that I get everything in, I will have to try to do as much homework ahead of the due dates and do my homework between practice and classes. To stay organized on this, I typically put all the assignments I have to do, practice times, swim meets and class times all into one planner that I bring with me to and from school. That way, I will not have to bother with remembering everything in order to not be as stressed. Sometimes if I really need to get something done, I will put a reminder in my phone for that day. I do all this to relieve the stress of an unorganized semester. Otherwise, I would be a mess and would probably miss many assignments. Overall, I plan to stay organized and well-prepared for this semester and any following semesters. 

Technology Tools

Reading up on the different tools that I can use for doing assignments and such, I found it to be quite interesting in the fact that I definitely could use one of these tools or maybe even more than one. The Text-to-Speech Reader seems to be extremely helpful in many ways. For example, I can use it if I end up having trouble focusing on reading the text with my own eyes or if I want to read at the same time as listening to it in order to take in the information a little better, I can then use it for that. Another tool I have found to be useful is the Google Docs because I have used it in the past for previous classes when it came to using the “share” option on working on one assignment with several people in a group project. It also is very helpful by keeping my pages organized solely on Google Docs. On looking through the course tools, I feel I might also use any of the support sites like The Center for Academic Support or the LMC Library. This is because I could use it for help on my many assignments or simply if I need a place for researching. Frankly speaking, seeing all this information has overwhelmed me. However, my looking at all the support sites and other things I can use makes me believe I can do more than I tell myself I can do. Therefore, I will probably take this information with me and use it to aid me in my assignments for this class and maybe even other classes.  

My view of Growth Mindset

The idea of Growth Mindset is an interesting take on a new outlook towards education. If I think about it, the Growth Mindset Theory is basically thinking positive thoughts, which I believe everyone needs in their life. If I just think “I can do this” or “I’m just not there yet”, I can reach a more positive outlook on my path of education. If everyone thought like this, we would have a world with skyrocketing positive attitudes and attentiveness to school.

Personally, this Growth Mindset Theory has altered my opinions and has brought some realizations upon me. When I started my college career, I decided I would change how I view education compared to when I was in high school. I decided that I would push myself to do what I felt I cannot. Well believe or not, I passed all my classes and enjoyed learning more because I pushed myself to accept that challenge. When I was in high school, I only did the bare minimum and was absolutely bored when it came to doing homework and attending classes. I still went to all my classes but was bored none the less. It seems that by changing my view, I changed my mindset to one of growth instead of fixed without realizing. However, I do occasionally revert back to my high school days and sometimes go back to a fixed-mindset. I tend to do revert back in ways like procrastinating or occasionally thinking negatively, like “I can’t do this”. I try to fix my way of thinking, but sometimes it does not always work. By watching these videos on Growth Mindset Theory, I have come to the realization that I need to think more on the side of not yet instead of the side of giving up and feeling defeated, no matter how much I may revert to what was ingrained in me: a fixed-mindset.

In my experience with my journey through education, I would say that I lie between a fixed-mindset and a growth-mindset. This is because I do not fully have the view of an individual who think’s with a growth-mindset due to the fact that I sometimes tell myself I cannot do this and that I am occasionally afraid to step up to a challenge. However, I do often fight myself on this, and try to tell myself I can do this and I actually do find myself liking challenges once I get up there and actually accept one. In my case, it is a fight on getting me to think with a growth mindset by thinking positive thoughts.

Hopefully with viewing the videos on Growth Mindset Theory, I can change my way of thinking from a negative view to one of a completely positive standpoint. With that kind of view, I would have no problem with facing any challenge that is directed towards me, whether it is education or simply just life itself. It would be wonderful if I could make myself think of more than just “I am going to pass this class”. I actually want to learn and grow from taking my courses this semester and take what I learn with me as I go on with life. Therefore, I found learning about Growth Mindset Theory to be rather interesting and would like to learn more about it, especially if it will further my boundaries of education. 

Introduction to a Horror Fanatic

Hello all!

I am Kaylee Stull and I am 19 years old.

To start off, I would like to say I am excited to take this class. I have never blogged before and would love the experience. Plus the more practice on my writing skills, the better.  I would very much love to develop my writing skills and hopefully be good enough to have a job revolving around writing one day. However, I have a long way to go. Therefore, I am headed towards the writing route and declared English as my major.

Alongside those hopes, I also want to transfer to a four-year college but have no clue as to what college I hope to attend. I was thinking of either an out-of-state college or one in California near a beach because God knows I love to swim.  In fact, I actually play water polo and swim for Diablo Valley College but take my courses at Los Medanos College because I live closer to the Brentwood campus. It is a bit of a drive sometimes but I find it to be worthwhile.

On a different note, I watch a lot of television shows and movies. In general, I watch a lot of Netflix, especially on breaks. Right now, I am actually watching The Punisher and find the show to be absolutely amazing. However, I do watch a lot of other shows, like Lost but find myself having to take breaks because of the many seasons. My all-time favorite show to watch happens to be American Horror Story because I just love the horror genre. I just cannot seem to get bored of that show as it always has me interested.

As I mentioned previously, I declared my major as English because I want to head towards the writing route. There is actually more reason to it. I just absolutely love to read! One of my favorite authors is Stephen King because of the horror and how much of his writing is pure genius. His stories always seem to keep me on edge. I like to always get my reading in any shape or form, so I either read Reddit No Sleep online or read from the many collections of books I have spread around my room.

To finish, I would like to at least mention the fact that I have such cute and adorable dogs! One of my dogs is 10 years old and is a Miniature Pinscher mix. His name is Dale. Sadly, he is blind now due to cataracts and struggles to move around the house so he just follows us as closely as possible by literally walking against our ankles. My other dog is only 2 years old and her name is Kleo. She is a Pit bull mix and absolutely loves to run. In fact, if we simply put on our tennis shoes, she is just ready to go and will not leave our side until we take her with us. I find it completely adorable! Not to mention, the fact that she is small for a Pit bull to where we call her a pocket pit because she has just the shortest legs.

First Photo: Left: Kleo, Right: Dale

Second Photo: Left: Dale, Right: Kleo

Favorite Place

Reading the Words "My Favorite Place", one comes to mind and that is the Volcano Kilauea in Hawaii. This volcano lies upon the Big Island of Hawaii and is absolutely beautiful in my opinion. Believe it or not, it has been erupting since 1983 and I have had the wonderful chance of seeing the eruption for myself, although, only from afar. By what I could see, there was red flares that would arise from the top of the volcano and it lit up the dark sky. I had the chance of seeing this volcano by hiking up and down trails at the National Park. Not only is the volcano magnificent but the trails and scenery are just as wonderful. The scenery is so memorable that I can recall the massive crater I hiked down to and walked upon. There were even certain hot spots with vents coming up from the ground, that obviously you should not walk on. However, hiking back up was a bit tiring but absolutely worth it because I had the chance of seeing the beautiful trees, plants, and creatures covering the pathway. There was even a chicken just roaming about the trail, minding its own business. The volcano and the scenery hiking up to it are oddly serene and peaceful that I found myself lacking of stress, viewing and combing through these trails. The peacefulness and beauty of the scenery is what makes the Volcano Kilauea my favorite place and I would gladly go back there again.

Test Post

This is just a test post for English 145.