An Introduction to the Idea of Representation and Oroonoko

CONTINUATION OF CLASS NOTES:-

That words and meanings are arbitrary and no fixedness can be attributed to the way language operates gained theoretical and philosophical impetus from
the twentieth century onwards, beginning with seminal thinkers such as Ferdinand de Saussure who would influence the likes of Roland Barthes, Lvi-
Strauss, Jacques Lacan and Jacques Derrida to name just a few. These thinkers have immensely influenced the shape and direction of literary theory and the
study of language and literature but before their advocacy of the fluidity and arbitrariness of language and meaning, the general belief was that words were
meant as they were meant - they were not just a random selection of symbols that have been publicly and consensually accepted to point to a phonological
system to which has been attributed social, political, and cultural relevance, depending on the need or the design of that moment. Does this create a kind of
mental tension or anxiety? Knowing that language may not be sacrosanct and free from the very vicissitudes that affect human nature? Well, this is where
representation in literature comes in, and points to the ability to negotiate the status of language, ironically. William Shakespeare wrote: Whats in a name?
That which we call a rose/ By any other name would smell as sweet (Juliet, in Romeo and Juliet). It hints at the irony of language (the expression of one's
meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect) that a system of symbols, are given a certain
logic, to create a system of sounds and meaning, that we all agree with at least approximately. That this very system should be question using the very
means by which it can be question is what makes the idea of representation so powerful. Yes, language may not be as stable as we like, or meaning may be
fluid and changing, but it remains that it is language that allows us to understand this difference. The literary imagination has used this difference and
deployed it in many ways. From the ironic statement of Juliet to the wit of the metaphysical poets, to the imaginative blossoming and sharp politics of the
Restoration, to the attempt to believe in the better nature of man among the Romantics, to the witty satire of the Neo-classical movement, to the staid
commentary on the social conditions of the Victorian Era all the way down to Modernism and the Postmodernist, postcolonial discourses we are now
engaging, the literary space has been one of creative freedom, that which allows us to learn and study literature, be shaped by it, even with its theoretical
and philosophical baggage.

Representation in this context, becomes an important tool in understanding the way the world has been captured by language. When we write something,
we do not bring it into this world without our own views, ideas, opinions, thoughts, whether consciously or unconsciously, also influencing some of the
writing. Just as language may be arbitrary and meaning fluid, words cannot always be seen as neutral, and innocent and without depth of history. Each word
has come to us, now, through a long journey of accepted use and accepted kind of use. Language used in literature also reveals this. The way literature
denotes other people and their cultures reveals this to a great extent. The issue of representation deals with the way others are portrayed, rendered,
depicted, and by extension, spoken about, thought about, analysed. Thus, we too may be able to engage with Oroonoko not simply as a tale of a great man,
worthy of a better fate, and a more sublime wit and the brave, the beautiful, and the constant Imoinda, but engage with the text to reveal how language
can hide, shape and reshape, and convey different kinds of meaning. Language can be seem to be neutral and sincere, but we can trace in it many kinds of
meaning, and we look for the ironic, the implications of the words and sentences used, and the way these are presented to chart out a deeper understanding
of the way the world has been shaped and reshaped by language. Aphra Behn wrote during a time of major political upheavals in England, and its colonial
ambitions beyond its shores. Charles II was dead and James II ascended the throne, and being of a certain religious leaning (Catholic) with a Queen equally
inclined towards this made the monarch vulnerable again to the Parliamentary agitations that shook England in the mid 1600s. Behn was a staunch
supporter of the idea of monarchy and kingship and it is not surprising that all the great attributes of leadership and kingship that Behn describes through the
figure of Oroonoko, point, in a way, to her politics as well. Behn was in favour of a leadership borne by the king (and history has shown that the absolutism
exercised by the non-royal leaders of Parliament could be just as brutal as a kingly reign) and some of the highlights in Oroonoko is the favourable description
to the idea of a strong and noble leader, who stood out among his peers, and was worthy through merit and ability, of the position of king, even if Oroonoko
himself never formally became king in his native land.

The land of Oroonoko is portrayed as both exotic and mysterious, full of riches and beauty; but at the same time, the land can also be treacherous and brutal,
with its wildness, its barbaric uncivilised people, and its conflicts. This simultaneous representation is encapsulated best by the phrase, which is often invoked
in literary studies as a point of departure, the Noble Savage. This phrase that uses two words quite opposite in meaning: Noble denoting someone having
or showing fine personal qualities or high moral principles; and Savage denoting someone who is fierce, violent, and uncontrolled, and primitive and
uncivilised. The phrase itself can be traced back to its use by John Dryden in the play, The Conquest of Granada (1672): I am as free as nature first made man,
/ Ere the base laws of servitude began, / When wild in the woods the noble savage ran These words are spoken by a character who denies the right of a
prince who is about to kill him that he cannot do so because he is not his subject and within the rightful jurisdiction. The use of noble savage here indicates
the first creation of man, as free entity, just like the other beasts. But why must we concern ourselves with the idea of representation? A simple reason could
be that it is in language and what it means that one may locate ones understanding of the world, and in doing so, there is attributed to the words we use on a
daily basis a depth - contextual, historical, moral, social, and so on We often conceive of and express truths that are founded through a belief that
language is a stable and convincing system with which to utter or express such truths. It is not surprising that the status of truth in relation to literature is
troubled and little understood, and the view of language has become riddled with doubt, cynicism, and narrowness over the years, marking the movement
away from universalism to postmodern fragmentation. How does a piece of fiction reveal an intersection between history, personal experience, morality,
emotion, thoughts, and so many other factors? While it may be useful to study the relation of truth to the human condition, the present moment leads us to
view the literary as a useful conjunction of the various threads that language expresses.

In this sense, Oroonoko the fiction comes to represent something more than just a fantastic but tragic love story. According to the scholar Vernon Guy
Dickson, the novel has come to represent more than just historical fact. Oroonoko, with his idealised physical features and strong moral qualities comes to
represent the ideal figure of leadership, courage and nobility, as Dickson points out, as a representative of truth and wonders yet unknown (or
misunderstood), a moral example of what should be in her own world (Truth, Wonder, and Exemplarity in Aphra Behn's Oroonoko 574). In this sense, the
argument is not so much about the central issue in the discussion of Aphra Behns Oroonoko; or, The Royal Slave. A True History [which] has been whether it
is true or false, factual or fabricated (573) but the issue is whether fiction can be used as a suitable point of departure for our interest in other things that
the fiction may represent - history and politics for example, which is why Dicksons example of Oroonoko as representing an ideal is important. Can you think
of other ways something represents something else? In language, there are terms that point to such kinds of representations which add complexity and
complication to the language being used:

metaphor - a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable
allusion - an expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference
simile - a figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind, used to make a description more emphatic or vivid
(e.g. as brave as a lion).
implication - the conclusion that can be drawn from something although it is not explicitly stated
irony - the expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect

These are just some of the examples of the depth of language, there are many many more and each can also be viewed in a number of different ways. This is
how representation through language, whether in fact or fiction, comes to be more than just what is written down or spoken about. It is this depth that we
try to access in our studies and our research: the features of language as well as the context that it is located in and comes to represent. Returning to
Oroonoko, it therefore becomes important to see in the language the metaphors, allusions, similes, implications and ironies that will aid our understanding of
the text as well as the context in which the text emerges.