The Enduring Power of Human Dignity

This is the story’ central thematic consideration as evoked or manifested by the action of its primary narrative line, or plot, as well as by its protagonist, Oroonoko. From his first appearance to his last, from when he is described as being a person of integrity and wisdom, to the point when his physical life comes to an end but his inner life (i.e. that integrity and wisdom, now tempered by experience) lives on in the narrator’s telling of his story, Oroonoko is portrayed as a living embodiment of a life being defined by living true to oneself, one’s values and ideals. These ideals, as defined in the narrative, are ultimately defined by the goal of being respected as, and respecting another as, a human being worthy of freedom and dignity. This is true not only in Oroonoko...