“He knew what he was doing, and therefore could not be said to be mad.” A concise observation on agency and responsibility · Narrative in Oroonoko Death Truth
“He was a person of a shape and countenance that could give us no idea of a barbarous country.” A striking challenge to contemporary stereotypes about African identity · Narrative in Oroonoko Beauty Truth
“I shall omit, for brevity, the many adventures that befell him in his youth.” A glimpse of the narrator’s deliberate control over the story · Narrative in Oroonoko Art Memory
“Nor shall my pen be frighted from its way, by any reflection on the subject of my writing.” A resolute defence of writing freely about difficult subjects · Narrative in Oroonoko Art Truth
“I do not pretend, in giving you the history of this royal slave, to entertain my reader with the adventures of a feigned hero.” A declaration of truthful witness rather than invented entertainment · Narrative preface in Oroonoko Art Truth
