What are the social, psychological, and spiritual conflicts in Oroonoko?

Many of the characters in the book suffer through these particular conflicts. Here is one example of each conflict to get you started.

One significant social conflict is in the war in which Oroonoko serves. Although he is on the winning side, he is tricked by an English captain and ends up being taken against his will to be enslaved. This portion of the story examines the very real social conflict that existed between African countries and European countries (and the Americas) during the time of slave trading. In the book, Oroonoko is tricked into going with the captain; thus, the white man (the captain) is depicted as being manipulative, deceptive, and dangerous. Oroonoko is depicted as being too innocent or even naive, at least in this instance, although we know him to be very intelligent and well-educated. This conflict between the two men is representative of the greater social conflict occurring between races and cultures.

A psychological conflict is one where there are two or more possible actions, neither of which complements the other.  This conflict can be seen in the book when Oroonoko persuades the other slaves to try and escape with him and Imoinda. This is a psychological conflict because escaping is very dangerous and there is no guarantee of success, so deciding to do so is very risky. One could easily be conflicted about whether or not to do so and whether or not to take others, risking their lives as well. The alternative is staying enslaved and risking continued torture and even death at the hands of the slave owners. Oroonoko decides that the risk of trying to escape is worth the possible gain (freedom), and decides to try. Sadly, this does not turn out well for any of them, as they are re-captured and most all of the escapees are killed.

The most significant spiritual conflict in the book may be Oroonoko's decision to kill his wife, Imoinda. His reasoning for this is that if he kills her mercifully, he will be sparing her torture and a slow death at the hands of their captors. He also will prevent their unborn child from being born into slavery. We know from the rest of the story how in love they are, and by the time he reaches this decision, we also understand how difficult it is for him. His intentions behind killing his wife really are good and they both agree to it. However, this is certainly a spiritual conflict because everything in his being says this is wrong under any other circumstance. His spiritual nature is not to kill his beloved wife, so having to do so represents a horrific conflict for Oroonoko. We see how overcome he is with grief when he stops eating and drinking and stays by her dead body for days on end.