Q 01/05

What does Oroonoko calmly do while his executioners cut him apart at the end of Aphra Behn's story?

A) Sings a war song

B) Smokes a pipe

C) Recites a prayer

D) Laughs at them

Answer · why

B) Smokes a pipe

He smokes a pipe, holding it steady until his second arm is cut off. Only then does it drop, and he dies without a groan or a reproach.

Q 02/05

Before writing Oroonoko, Aphra Behn was sent to Antwerp by King Charles II in which role?

A) A spy

B) A tutor

C) A nurse

D) A painter

Answer · why

A) A spy

A spy for the Crown in Antwerp, she was paid so poorly that money had to be borrowed to get her home. The debts pushed her to write for the stage.

Q 03/05

Why do the plantation slaves in Oroonoko recognise the prince on his first visit to their houses?

A) He had freed them

B) He had sailed with them

C) He had sold them

D) He had preached to them

Answer · why

C) He had sold them

He had sold them: most were captives from his wars whom he traded away. Even so, they fall at his feet and hail him as their king.

Q 04/05

Which Roman name does Oroonoko's new owner give him when he arrives in the colony as a slave?

A) Pompey

B) Scipio

C) Cato

D) Caesar

Answer · why

D) Caesar

Caesar is the name he bears for the rest of the story. The narrator explains that colonists renamed every slave they bought, finding African names har...

Q 05/05

How does a trusted English visitor capture Oroonoko and a hundred of his young courtiers?

A) A dinner on his ship

B) A night raid on the camp

C) A forged royal summons

D) An ambush on a hunt

Answer · why

A) A dinner on his ship

A dinner on his ship leaves the guests drunk on punch and wine, and the crew claps them all in irons. The captain was an old acquaintance who had hunt...