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Book review for The Tempest, Oroonoko, and Beloved
The books, The Tempest, Oroonoko, and Beloved are the ones I chose to discuss in these courses. But first, before beginning, there is a need to organize the course by highlighting the goals of the course, content selection, content presentation tools and methods, student’s evaluation methods, and lastly, the selection of instructional materials. For effecting the presentation of the three books, there is a need to start with the simple text to the complex one. Also, doing a book talk, as the instructor, I would briefly talk about the author, explain the characters, read and explain the prologue to make all learners ready and eager to learn more. The mentioned books are written by different authors and have two similar themes of love and slavery, and that is why I chose them since they are easy to connect and understand.
William Shakespeare is the author of the play, The Tempest, written early in 1600. As the book starts, Prospero, the seized Milan’s Duke, and Miranda, his teen daughter, had remained stranded in a distant island for twelve years. Ariel and Caliban were their only company. Prospero had enslaved them with Ariel being a magical spirit and Caliban an inherent of the isle. Naples’ King, Alonso, and his brother Sebastian consented Antonia, Prospero’s brother, to usurp the position of Duke, leading to Prospero’s deposal. As the play opens, a ship containing Antonio and Alonso, together with their several retainers, is on the verge of capsizing over a violent storm. Without their knowledge, the wind was caused by Prospero to shipwreck them on his isle. Prospero plans to revenge against his enemies after they get swept away to the shore to recover his place as Milan’s Duke. Prospero’s magic, tricks, and intimidation finally helped him to restore his dukedom, revealing Antonio’s betrayal. Besides, it also secured Miranda’s marriage to Prince Ferdinand, who is a son to King Alonso (Virginia Mason Vaughan 23).
Oroonoko is a novel that was written in 1688 by Aphra Behn. The book is about a Prince called Oroonoko from Caramantien in Africa. Oroonoko is deceived into captivity and traded to British colonizers in Surinam. At the age of 17, Oroonoko became a professional captain after training for battle since he was little. One time during the war, a top General took an arrow for Oroonoko and sacrificed himself. Afterward, Oroonoko takes the position of the General and pays a visit of honor to the deceased General’s daughter to offer winning trophies of her father. Oroonoko develops some affection towards General’s daughter, Imoinda, and weds her later on (Aphra Behn, 37). Oroonoko’s grandfather, who is the current King, steals Imoinda from him. The King then sends a sorry message to Oroonoko when he was in the war together with his soldiers asking him not to take revenge. The King is upset by Imoinda for being with Oroonoko and not him, and so he decides to sell her to slavery. Surprisingly, the King plans to prank Oroonoko into captivity. Oroonoko comes to his senses and realizes he is in a ship heading to West Indies. He received proper treatment as he wore royal clothes, his education as well as regal demeanor. Trefry buys Oroonoko, and his name changes to Caesar. Oroonoko is hailed as the leader by other slaves in the quarters. After being sold to slavery, Imoinda got renamed Clemene when Oroonoko discovers her.
Toni Morrison is the author of the novel, Beloved, published in 1987. The book is about a black woman called Sethe, who was enslaved in Kentucky during pre-civil war times and still imprisoned by her past slavery memories in Cincinnati even though she has freedom. Sethe is a mother who is devoted to passionately (Morrison, 17). With her kids, she escapes from a “schoolteacher” who is a cruel owner. Unfortunately, they got captured, and out of love, Sethe decides to kill her kids as a way of protecting them from slavery. It is only her daughter aged two who died, and the schoolteacher did not want her back as he thinks she is insane. Sethe’s daughter got buried, and later she inscribed “Beloved” on her tombstone. Sethe’s intentions were “Dearly Beloved” to read on her daughter’s memorial, but she could not pay for those words because the engraver asked her for sex, each name costing 10 minutes. The novel opens with Sethe living in Ohio with Denver, her teen daughter. At 124 Bluestone Road, an angry ghost of the daughter Sethe killed is haunting their house. Paul D’s arrival made the haunting less bearable. Paul D and Sethe begin a relationship while working on the plantation. A woman who claimed to be called Beloved appears, and the things she knows suggest she is Sethe’s daughter reincarnate. Sethe becomes possessed with alleviating her guiltiness and attempts to appease the progressively demanding and cunning Beloved. When Beloved realized Sethe murdered her daughter, she allured Paul D, causing him to leave.
The three books have common themes, such as love and slavery. In The Tempest, the Duke’s daughter is in an intimate relationship with the King’s son. Ariel and Caliban are suffering; as a result, Prospero’s enslavement. In Oroonoko, Prince Oroonoko and Imoinda fall in love and get married. On the other hand, they got enslaved in the West Indies after being sold by the King. In Beloved, Sethe loves her children very much to the point of killing them to escape slavery. She also falls in love with Paul D in the plantation. Sethe experiences enslavement in Kentucky during pre-civil wars eras and also becomes enslaved by her past slavery life memories.
Work Cited:
Aphra Behn. Oroonoko. S.L., Blurb, 2019.
Morrison, Toni. Beloved. London, Vintage, Cop, 2016.
Virginia Mason Vaughan. The Tempest. Manchester, Manchester University Press, 2015.