Oroonoko: Model Material

In Oroonoko, there was one passage that really stuck out to me. On page 2140 in the very last paragraph, Aphra Behn describes Oroonoko in a very interesting way. Right away she speaks of how tall he is and what a great figure he has. " He was pretty tall, but of a shape the most exact that can be fancied: the most famous statuary could not form the figure of a man more admirably turned from head to foot." Just the fact that Behn is describing Oroonoko as a beautiful sculptor is very fascinating and made me want to read on. She then goes on to explain the color of his skin as a "perfect ebony or polished jet." This just meaning he was very dark. "His eyes were the most awful that could be seen, and very piercing, the white of them being like snow, as were his teeth." Behn is using symbolism here by saying his teeth and the whites of his eyes were as white as snow. The part that comes next is what stood out to me the most. "His nose was rising and Roman, instead of African and flat; his mouth, the finest shaped that could be seen, far from those great turned lips which are so natural to the rest of the Negroes. The whole proportion and air of his face was so noble and exactly formed that, bating his color, there could be nothing in nature more beautiful, agreeable, and handsome." This part actually shocked me a little. She is so taken back by the fact that Oroonoko is beautiful AND black it's like she can hardly believe what she's seeing. She describes all his features as " non African " features. His nose and lips are that of a white man and it is " so rare " that he is a black man with these features. She compares his long beautiful hair to art, and goes on about how educated,generous,noble, and refined Oroonoko truly is. I think the way that Aphra Behn describes Oroonoko is very remarkable. It created imagery in my mind where I could actually imagine exactly what Oroonoko looked like. The way she described him from head to toe was very descriptive and very enjoyable.