Oroonoko recap

Oroonoko, a prince and warrior in Coramantien, loves Imoinda, but his elderly grandfather the king takes her into his own household. The lovers secretly reunite, after which the king sells Imoinda into slavery and falsely tells Oroonoko she is dead. An English captain later tricks Oroonoko aboard ship and enslaves him in Surinam, where he is renamed Caesar. There he discovers that the enslaved woman called Clemene is Imoinda. Colonial officials promise freedom to the reunited couple but continually postpone it, even after Imoinda becomes pregnant. Oroonoko leads enslaved workers and their families in an escape, arguing that submission will condemn their children to bondage. The colonial militia overtakes them, and Byam ends the resistance with promises he immediately breaks; Oroonoko is brutally whipped. Convinced that capture will expose Imoinda to worse abuse, Oroonoko kills her with her consent before attempting revenge. He is found, seized, and executed by dismemberment, dying with the composure the narrator associates with his royal identity.

The narrator describes the English colony of Surinam and recounts the life of Oroonoko, a prince and renowned soldier from Coramantien. Oroonoko and Imoinda fall in love, but the king, Oroonoko's grandfather, claims Imoinda for his own secluded household. The lovers arrange a secret reunion; once discovered, Imoinda is sold into slavery and Oroonoko is told she has died. Later, an English captain lures Oroonoko and his companions onto a ship, binds them, and transports them across the Atlantic for sale. In Surinam, Oroonoko is renamed Caesar and treated with deference by the overseer Trefry, yet remains enslaved. He unexpectedly finds Imoinda, now called Clemene, and they reunite. When promises of freedom are repeatedly delayed and Imoinda becomes pregnant, Oroonoko leads enslaved families in an escape. Byam persuades them to surrender with false assurances, then has Oroonoko whipped. Fearing what will happen to Imoinda after his death, Oroonoko kills her with her consent and plans revenge, but is captured before he can carry it out. Banister has him dismembered and executed; he dies without submitting to his tormentors.

After colonial forces break the escape attempt with promises of mercy, Byam has Oroonoko whipped, deepening the prince's conviction that no English assurance can be trusted. Oroonoko plans revenge but fears that his pregnant wife will be violated or enslaved after his death. With Imoinda's consent, he kills her in the forest, intending next to attack Byam. Grief and physical collapse prevent him from carrying out that plan, and searchers eventually find him beside her body. Although Trefry tries to protect him, the colonial authorities deliver Oroonoko to Banister. He is publicly dismembered and killed while maintaining extraordinary composure. The narrator closes by preserving the names and fidelity of Oroonoko and Imoinda, but neither they nor their unborn child escape the system that betrayed and enslaved them.