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More Than Objects but People

6 years ago

1227 words

 

More Than Objects but People

Slavery is a part of history that is usually whitewashed or romanticized, which takes away from how it is learned and the horrors that African Americans had to endure. Slave trade as well the auctioning of slaves is documented by many authors and artists, but rarely do both come together to illuminate a theme or advocate for the narrative of a text. The University of Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, “Slavery Images” Archive along with Aphra Behn’s Novella Oroonoko the Royal Slave 1688 work together to illustrate power dynamics despite taking different approaches to the same dehumanizing concept of slavery. Though the text may seem subtler than the image, the message both convey calls for the reader and viewer to pay close attention to the brute actions done to slaves.

For the people that bought and sold slaves, it was more than just dehumanizing African Americans and ripping them from their families and homes, it was a business. Slaves were not only denied the right to be treated as people, but are only seen as means to an end. When picking slaves, it is all about the look. When it came down to purchasing slaves, vanity was not important, but what did matter was their physical health and strength. What was salient is who can work the field for long hours without food or water, who could bare the most children and live through it, and who could take the most punishment inflicted on them. When you look at Oroonoko, he fits these requirements. He was handsome, but his stature and physique were something to behold. Behn relates, “He was pretty tall, but of a shape the most exact that can be fancy’d: The most famous statuary cou’d not form the figure of man more turn’d from head to foot” (10). Behn implies not even a sculptor could capture the stature and physique Oroonoko processed. It is as if his body type matched that of a Greek god.

Oroonoko having these remarkable features, only makes him more of a target when it comes to what slave owners want in a slave. His being tricked and captured by the English traders after a tribal battle is not a surprise. Oroonoko and his men embody the muscle and “look” slave owners went after when looking to add to their plantations. Before being brought to his new home as a royal slave in Surinam, Oroonoko was examined by Trefry on the boat. Behn expresses, “But fix’d his eyes on him; and finding something so extraordinary in his face, his shape and mein, a greatness of look, and haughtiness in his air, and finding to spoke English, had a great mind to be enquiring into his quality and fortune” (40). The wording of this description is romanticized, and Oroonoko being gawked at reveals he is no longer a person, but an object, which was the case for most people in slavery. Oroonoko being stripped of his identity (his new name is Caesar) and transitions from a person to object, to item, to a nonentity is revealed. The same noticeable factor of being stripped of your identity is present in an image from The University of Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, “Slavery Images” Archive entitled Slave Sale.

This archive depicts a slave for sale. In the image there are five men, four Whites, and an African American slave. The image takes place in Richmond Virginia in 1861. The African American men is being auctioned off into slavery. The White men in the image are depicted as well put together. It is noticeable that they have a lot of money because they are all dressed nicely and look dapper. They are dressed in crisply ironed shirts, sophisticated ties, loose fitting black suits, top hats, polished black shoes, and nicely trimmed facial hair. The slave man is dressed in lesser garments and is not wearing shoes and is afraid. One of the White men in the image is reading the newspaper, but also keeping a watchful eye on the slave for sale. The two other White men are engaging in conversation, but have a look of disgust on their faces. The last White man is examining the slave for sale as if he is shopping for home decor or an outfit for an event. The image resembles what a physical exam would be like if the slave was patient and slaver owner was a doctor.

The slave owner is examining this slave because he wants the “best slave” meaning that he is getting his money’s worth. It is not because he cares about the slave as an individual but as an object of profit and investment. The slave owner does not care if the person he is buying has a family or loved ones. He is only concerned with lining his pockets by buying a person to make him wealthier. The buying and selling of African Americans was such a normalized part of society, those who partook in the act did not even bat an eye when doing it. This archival object evokes emotions of disgust and sympathy that this was everyday life for African Americans. Living your life only to be object to someone and not knowing whether you would live, die, or ever be considered a person again. These same aspects of life, death, and not having your own reality can be found in Oroonoko.

Though the character of Oroonoko is dramatized and romanticized from the perspective of a white English female author, the reader can see the definitive transition when Oroonoko becomes a slave and is dehumanized as an object. Both Oroonoko and the slave in the image have an inevitable loss of identity due to slavery. Power and its dynamics no longer belong to them, but the person who owns them. The reader is also able to see Oroonoko’s identity loss when his name is changed to Caesar, just like the slave in the picture his fate and life is no longer his own. The narrative of the text and image work in harmony, but have the potential to contradict each other if the narrative is only read at face value. This means if the reader only sees the romance in Oroonoko instead of the reality that slavery is, concepts and themes of European superiority, racism, and betrayal will be misconstrued and under looked. The reader and viewer can see yarning to regain the lost identity because both men are more than objects, but people. Objectification can numb the reader and the viewer, which calls for things to be less appreciated and takes away from the meaning. My analysis on an object regarding objectification can lead to emotional contagion. My emotions or actions can affect another person’s emotions or behavior consciously or even unconsciously. This can cause an affective distance in which sympathy is lacked and other emotions take the forefront. While it is important to pay attention to what the author intended to convey, our own unique and individual approach to interpreting concepts and ideas are just as important.

 

Works Cited

Behn, Aphra. Oroonoko. First Melville House Printing. August 2014.

The University of Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, “Slavery Images”:

http://slaveryimages.org/return.php?categorynum=6&categoryName=Slave Sales and Auctions: African Coast and the Americas

 

 

 

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