Aphra Behn and Alexander Pope both present various situations of crisis and revolt in their works, Oroonoko and The Rape of the Lock, respectively. Although the nature and intensity of crisis situations are very different, both authors use them to make political statements about the culture of their time. The uprising and crisis of Oroonoko condemn a certain form of slavery, while the crisis of The Rape of the Lock mocks undue attention to society's banalities. These authors use revolution, political tension and crisis situations as a means by which to comment on their own society and criticize its negative characteristics. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In Behn's Oroonoko, the main character, Oroonoko, is a strong and courageous general who is often at war in his home country (190-191). War is physical conflict with the purpose of resolving a larger conflict or suppressing riots. Nations at war must make sacrifices to achieve something. Oroonoko is physically involved in the war in his home country, which foreshadows the psychological warfare he will have to fight later in his life. Behn compares him to Mars, the god of war, while he compares Imoinda to Venus (190). When Oroonoko hears the false information that Imoinda, his wife, is dead, he becomes so depressed that he will not fight anymore (201). He feels partly responsible for her death, because their love for each other led to his punishment. This also foreshadows a later part of the story where Oroonoko actually kills Imoinda, but out of love. In Pope's fictional epic, The Rape of the Lock, the female protagonist, Belinda, receives a warning of "some [imminent] terrible event" (1.109). He has the protection of the Sylphs, but they cannot prevent what will happen. The only thing Sylph's personal guardian, Ariel, can say is "Beware of all, but especially beware of men!" (1.114). This ominous warning sets the stage for the conflict to come. However, Belinda gets caught up in a love letter and completely forgets the warning, but the reader does not. “As soon as Wounds, Spells, and Fires were read, all the Vision faded from your head” (1.119-120). The fact that the reader still remembers the warning accentuates Belinda's frivolity and diminishes the situation. This is a tool that Pope uses to make light of the real life situation that is occurring in the context of the novel. The event of the title actually took place in a small, close-knit Roman Catholic society, and Pope recognized the toxicity of the divide between the people. He was asked to write this poem in an attempt to reconcile the situation and dispel hostility and resentment. Pope took the opportunity to write the poem as a mock epic to make his subjects see how insignificant the issue was in the broad sense. In Oroonoko, the main conflict is between Oroonoko and his fellow slaves and the people who care for them. It is not a traditional anti-slave narrative, because Oroonoko had slaves in her homeland. The first time he visits Imoinda it is partly to “present to her those slaves who had been taken in the last battle, as trophies of her father's victories” (191). What Aphra Behn condemns in her text is real slavery. He portrays Oroonoko, who is a royal slave, in a very different light than the other slaves. His description practically makes him sound European. The only differences are his religion and skin color. There are differences between Oroonoko's personality and that of the other slaves. During the battle between the slaves and thetheir owners, Oroonoko, Imoinda and Tuscan are the only slaves who do not surrender (223). Oroonoko considers himself a noble warrior, not a slave, and this is evident in his actions. The slaves surrender when they initially planned that “If they died in the attempt, it would be braver than living in perpetual slavery” (222). It is Oroonoko who suggests that the slaves rebel and Oroonoko who leads the rebellion. The other slaves are not capable of conceiving such an idea on their own. Not only do the other slaves surrender, but they also betray Oroonoko. “He saw each of those slaves, who until a few days before had worshiped him as something more than mortal, now had a whip to give him lashes” (225). The fickleness of the slaves contrasts with Oroonoko's loyalty, especially towards Imoinda. The multiple differences between Oroonoko and the other slaves show Aphra Behn's position on slavery. He feels that there are certain types of people destined to be slaves, but Oroonoko is not one of them. He is part of the nobility and the nobility should not be enslaved, no matter what nationality they are. Before the battle, Oroonoko gives a very moving anti-slavery speech that, if the rebellion had been successful, would have made it more of an anti-slavery novel. The rebellion, however, fails and in the end it is only the royal slaves who do not surrender. In this note one could understand that the anti-slavery discourse was only applicable to noble slaves. Aphra Behn's political position may have influenced her opinion of royal slaves. In his description of Oroonoko, he says that "he had heard of the late civil wars in England, and of the deplorable death of our great monarch, and would speak of it with all the sense and horror of injustice imaginable" (189-190) . ). This refers to the beheading of King Charles I during the civil war between Royalists and Parliamentarians. in England. It would have signaled Behn's ardent support for James II, the last of the Stuart kings. The fact that she portrays Oroonoko as a hero, and then gives him her realistic opinion, shows the high regard she has for him. Pope's The Rape of the Lock is a mock epic that follows the structure of the Iliad, satirizing the attention a society paid to meaningless events. It's a sophisticated way to criticize people's stupidity. The main event is when the Baron cuts a lock of Belinda's hair for himself. Cutting your hair is something that cannot be undone. The hair is symbolic because it is part of Belinda and is connected to her sexuality. Hair loss devalues ​​her in a certain sense and is therefore extremely upsetting. A battle of the sexes ensues, each trying to take possession of Belinda's stolen lock of hair. Pope describes this scene using war terms. The card game is described in terms of battle, the cards being "peculiar troops" (3.44) and "knight adventurers" (3.26) who are "dragging to fight on the velvet plain" (3.45). Pope describes the scene in these terms to compare it to the battle scenes of the Iliad. The epic form and the comparison with the great battles of the Iliad heighten the effect of Pope's satire. "Men, monkeys, little dogs, parrots, they all perish!" (4.120), Belinda exclaims after losing the lock. He compares the pain of losing the lock to death and, in doing so, draws attention to the banality of it. situation. It raises animals to the same level as men, at the same time lowers men to the level of animals. In reality, many people would, and probably should, be much more devastated by the death of a man than a little dog here, Pope satirizes the misplaced ethical priorities people had at the time, illuminating the.