G-3SI SOCIAL REALISM AND IDEOLOGY IN THE NOVELS OF RICHARD WRIGHT AND SEMBENE OUSMANE BY ADUKE GRACE ADEBAYO B.A. Hons (Ife) M.Phil. (Ife) A thesis in thè Department of MODERN LANGUAGES Submitted to thè Faculty of Arts in partisi fulfilment of thè requirements for thè degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN July 1983 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY SOCIAL REALISM AND IDEQLOGY IN THE NOVELS OF RICHARD WRIGHT AND SEMBENE OUSMANE BY ADUKE GRACE ADEBAYO B.A. HONS.(lfe) M.PHIL. (Ife) A thesis in thè Department of MODERN LANGUAGES Submitted to thè Faculty of Arts in partial fulfilment of thè requirements for thè degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY of thè UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN Department of Modern Languages, University of Ibadan, Ibadan. July, 1983 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY ii ABSTRACT OF THSSIS This study is an attempt at Ideological criticism of black literature. It is divided into five chapters. Chapter one describes briefly thè realist tradition in relationship to Richard Wright and Sembene Ousmane. A detailed study is made of thè evolution of thè con- cept of realism in literature from thè nineteenth cen- tury in France to modern times. It is thus possible to locate where our novelists stand on this extensive scale of literary value. While it is possible to do- cument Richard Wright’s indebtedness to realist writer of thè American mainstream, Theodore Dreiser as well as thè philosophy of existentialism, it is also possible to relate Sembene Ousmane’s aesthetics to that of thè socialist realism as well as african orai tradition. The second chapter firmly placss thè two writers within black literary and social traditions. It exa- mines thè black condition which was born out of slavery, racism and colonialism and examines thè reactions of Wright and Ousmane to thè black condition. While thè first two chapters derive from extra*» literary sources, chapters three to five are strictìy UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY iii based on a stylistic analysis of some of thè novels written by Wright and Ousmane. Chapter three concludes that existentialist thought is thè main-spring of thè Wrightean oeuvre after tracing a vital existentialist link between thè major novels of thè sane author. On thè other hand, thè following chapter examines thè ways in which thè formai structures of Sembene Ousmane»s novels point to thè marxist ideology which permeates thè texts, thus making them out as socialist realist novels. The comparative perspective is introduced to thè study in chapter five where, through a comparison and contrasting of thè formai aspects in thè works of thè two writers, one arrives at thè conclusion that despite noticeable divergencj.es, what unite them is their strict commitment to thè black condition, as well as their so­ cial realism. In thè same chapter, it becomes clear that thè ideology of thè author is al so transparent through thè formai aspects of thè novels for while thè inner textare of Wright1s novels show him as a criticai or "bourgeois" realist that of Sembene Ousmane*s novels prove that thè writer is a socialist realist writer. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY iv Finally thè study illuminates thè basis of thè works of these two novelists not only as individuai writers but as authors who cr ate within a wider tra- dition of black literature. What have been postulated in thè previous chapters for their novels become even more relevant for black literatures in generai. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY V ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My deepest gratitude goes first and foremost to members of my family, most especially my husband and my children without whose wonderful encouragement and assistance both financially and morally this work could not have been completed. I appreciate thè months of privation endured "to help mummy finish her work". I also thank my brothers, my parents and my friends for their solicitude on thè subject of my progress. I would like to express my sincere thanks to my Supervisori Professor Abiola Irele and Dr. Mrs. Ogunyemi of thè Department of English, University of Ibadan. Both of them opened up their rich libraries to me and guided my steps in what at first seemed to me thè ne- bulous field of black literature. Professor Irele did not only make available his rare books but also his in- valuable- time and wide literary experience. For all this, I am very grateful. I thank Professor toilfred Feuser and Professor David Oke, both of whom encouraged me to return to full time academics as a graduate assistant at thè Univer­ sity of Ife. Even though Professor Feuser is far away in Port Harcourt, he has been very much interested in UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY vi thè progress of this thesis as well as in my generai academic progress. I must also express my gratitude to thè British Council and thè Inter - University Council (I.U.C.) for awarding me a scholarship to update my research in thè University of East Anglia in thè United King- dom. I cannot but mention thè assistance of Profe­ ssor John Fletcher and ur. Mrs. Elinor Schaffer both of thè Comparative Literature Section of thè School of European Studies of thè University of East Anglia. Neither should I forget thè Department of Modern Lan- guages, University of Ibadan, which recommended me for thè scholarship in thè first instance. I wish also to thank Mr. T.R. Oyelakin of thè Oyo State Hinistry of Lands and Housing who did thè typing enthusiastically and efficiently well. Finally, I thank God, thè giver of all good things, for it is only by his grace that I could receive thè combined assistance of family, supervisors and friends alike. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY Vii I certify that this work was carried out by Mrs. Aduke Grace Adebayo in thè Department of Modern Languages, University of Ibadan. ? (Supervisor) Abiola Irele, i> .„U (Paris) Professor of Comparative Literature, Department of Modern Languages, University of Ibadan. / UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY viii TABLE OF COMTEMTS Title----- --- --------------- - ------ -— --- i Abstract of Thesis---- ------------ ----- - ii AcknoWledgements ----- — -- ------- -— *— ---- v Certification----------- ■------------------- vii Introduction------- ---------— — --- - - - -- 1 - 7 Chapter O n e ------------- -— -— --— ■— -— — ---- 8 - 24 Chapter Two ---- -•----- --— — ----------------- A4 - 116 Chapter Three -------- --------- 117 _ 177 Chapter Four---- -------- ------------------- 178 - 277 Chapter Five ----------— ---------------- --- 278 - 307 CONCLUSION--- — ----- ---- -------- --------- 308 - 315 BIBLIOGRAPHY---- — ---- -------------- ------ 316 - 335 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY D E D I C A I ' I O N To Lere, Tunde, Ladi, Jumoke and Ronke whose aspirations for mummy are as high as thè highest mountain. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY INTRODUCI*IQN 4 All fiction dramatises thè relationship between thè individuai and society. The social novels of Richard Wright and Sembene Ousmane are not exempt from this generai rule. These novels are so related to some specific historical phenomena that a detailed knowledge of thè historical situations is essential to a full understanding of their novels for as Kohn Bramstedt puts itt only a person who has a knowledge of thè structure of a society from other sources than purely literary ones is able to find out if, and how far, cer- tain social types and their behaviour are reproduced in thè novel.... What is pure fan«y, what reaiistic observa- tion and what only an expression of thè desires of thè author must be sepa- rated in each case in a subtle manner. 1 Art is never created in a vacuum. It is thè work not simply of "a person but of an author who is fixed in time and space, answering to a community of which he is an important, because articulate, part".2 The critic is therefore interested in understanding thè 1. Quoted by Wellek and Warren, "Literature and So­ ciety”, In their Theory of Literature. London, Penguin, 1949/73, p. 104. 2. Scott, W. Five Approaches of Literary Criticism, London, Macmillan, 1962, p. 200. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 2 social milieu and thè extent to and thè manner in which he responds to it. When thè novels are read in conjunction with his- tories of thè period that they portray, thè two kinds of work shed reciprocai light on each other and deepen our awareness that truth cannot be glimpsed from a single perspective only. By describing thè historical condi- tions which cradle thè novels and doublé their meanings, thè critic is able to relate thè literary works to a particular social perspective so that thè relationship of thè author to contemporary reality can be clearly rìe- fined» A significant part of thè task of thè literary cri­ tic is to elucidate thè various ways in which literature assimilates and transmits experience; in other words he must discover how writings express implicitly or expli- citly selected experiences from a specific ideologica! point of view. It 'is this specificity which is referred to as thè ideology of thè literary text in contradistinc- tion to authorial and generai ideology» 1 1» Eagleton, Terry. In his Criticism and Ideology London, N»BoL. 1978 distinguishes between generai, authorial and aesthetic ideology within a novel. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 3 Ideology is related to particular social circum- stances and contains an explanatory theory of a more or less comprehensive kind about human experience and thè external worid. Ideology sets out a programmo, in gene- ralised and abstract terms, of social and politicai or- ganisation thus aiding thè interpretation of reality. Moreover it seeks not merely to persuade but to recruit loyal adherents demanding what is sometimes called commit- ment or "engagement”. Literature is thè most convenient and revealing access to ideology. In thè words of Terry EagletonJ History enters thè text as ideology; this is not to say that reai history is present in thè text but in disguised form, so that thè task of thè critic is to wrench thè mask from thè face... The imaginary situa- tions in thè text is... thè pseudo-real... But this pseudo-real is not to be directly correlated with thè historically reai, it is, rather an effect or aspect of thè text’s whole process of signification. What that whole process signifies is ideology, which is itself a signification of history. 1 One of thè two methods we have favoured in interpreting thè works of Ousmane is thè analysis of thè social meanings of 1. Eagleton, Terry. Crjticism and Ideology London, N.B.L. 1978, pp.70/80. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 4 literature as it has been developed by marxist-oriented critics especially George Lukacs in his Studies in Euro- pean Realism (1950). Marxist aesthetics which is best exemplified by George Lukacs is today credited as thè most intelligible account of thè relationship of litera­ ture to thè social order. Lukacs in this later work offers a criticai method which respects thè social and ideological while not neglecting thè formalistic aspects of a work, because marxist criticism has for its aim "thè full explanation of a literary work, a sensitive attention to its forms, styles, and meanings." 1 The second method, existentialist criticism is applied to thè works of Richard Wright and borrows thè criticai method of Edith Kern in her Existentialist Thouqht and Fjctional Technique. Both methods are pri- marily thè aesthetic exegesis of thè ideological themes of thè literary works rather than thè isolation and there- fore thè distortion of such themes. Hearing in mind that thè bearers of ideology in art are "thè very forms, rather 1. Eagleton, Terry. Criticism and Ideoloqy0 p. 82 2. Ref. Kern, Edith. Existentialist Thouqht and Fjctional Technique: Kierkegaard, Sartre. Beckett. New~’Haven and London, Yale University Press, ÌDO. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 5 than abstractable content", ideological themes are discu­ sseci in this thesis and interpreted in relation to thè structural elements like theme, plot, characterisation, language and tone. Our aim is to widen thè scope of these kinds of ideological criticism by applying them to black litera- tures in generai and to thè novels of thè black American Richard Wright and thè francophone African, Sembene Ous- mane. The choice of these two writers is not fortuitous. The most obvious link between them is that of race» Apart from this, both occupy a centrai position in thè litera- ture of t'heir continents as black social realists and wri­ ters of ideologically comv^ted literature. Wright and Sembene have both been described as thè first proletarian L writers of thè national literatures to which they belong. How they have accomplished this task and whether this claim is right is one of thè aims of this study. ' Both Wright and Sembene are prolific writers and elo- quent speakers who have made thè ir thoughts known not only through their novels but also through interviews. This extra-literary source is very cruciai to an understanding of their aims as artists. Both have been subjects of wide- ranging and exhaustive research. However a comparative UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY study of their works should not only be interesting but also of artistic and inteilectual value to thè student of comparative black literatures. Marxism and Bxistentialism are thè two ideologies examined in relationship to thè two writers. Both ideologies lay emphasis on thè place, thè role and thè destiny of Man in Society. It is therefore pertinent to discuss thè age and society to which thè writers not only belong but which they reflect and for which they produce; hence thè emphasis on thè black condìtion in relationship to thè lives and letters of thè writers. , Although literature is not sociology, it is equally true that a writer's own experiences affect his desire to re- present human affairs in a work of fiction. In thè words of James Baldwin, "one writes out of one thing only - one's own experience." The sociological background of thè writers will be seen to have formed a Constant pressure on both thè form and content of their literary works for as Raymond Wil­ liams puts it their is a: radicai and inevitable connection between a writer's reai social relations (considered not only individually but in terms of thè generai social relations of "writing" in a UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 7 specific society and period, and within these thè social relations embodied in particular kinds of writing) and 'thè "style" or "forms" or "content" of his work, now considered not abstractly but as expressions of these relations. 1 This analysis is not another exegesis of "protest li- terature". Rather it is an effort to demonstrate ideo- logical criticism as a valid method in thè criticai analysis of black literature. 1. Williams, Raymond. Marxism and Literature. London, O.U.P. 1977, p.203. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 8 CHAPTER ONE RICHARD WRIGHT AND SEMBENE OUSMANE IN THE REALIST TRADITION When a writer is said to be a realist, thè state­ ment says something about his writing and at thè same time thè writing is brought into a certain relation- ship with thè author's world, society and life. The discussion on Richard Wright and Serritene Ousmane as realists presupposes their dose relationship and that of their fictional works with thè Black world, thè black literary tradition as well as literary history in generai. Consequently, it is pertinent to view thè writer in thè context of thè realist tradition as well as that of black literatures. Although thè controversy over thè term realism and what constitutes reality dates back to Aristotle’s dis­ cussion on mimesis, realism as a literary term did not become a serious subject of literary discussion until thè nineteenth century. The French romantic poets of thè last haif of thè eighteenth century as well as thè first half ot thè nineteenth century laid thè basis for modern literary realism. These poets fled imaginatively UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 9 from thè contemporary reality of thè post French Revolu­ tion as well as thè Napoleonic era, They found themsel- ves ill-at-ease in thè new society which destroyed their hopes and ignored their talents. In short, they suffered from what has been generally termed "le mal du siécle". Jean-Jacques Rousseau, thè great precursor of thè French Komantic Movement in his Cpnfessions written between 1665 and 1770 and published in 1789, by contrast- ing thè naturai state of man with thè unsatisfactory con­ temporary reality of thè time, drew attention to thè latter as well as to his personal life in its relation- ship with thè sartie contemporary reality. In thè view of Auerbach, thè Rousseauist movement to which Rousseau's example gave birth as well as thè great disillusionment it underwent was a prerequisite for thè rise of thè modern conception of realityi Rousseau, by passionateli' contrasting thè naturai condition of man with thè exist— ing reality of life"determined by history, made thè latter a practical problem; now for thè first time thè eighteenth century style of historically unproblematic and unmoved presentation of life became value- less. 1 1. Auerbach, Eric. Mimesis Trans, by Willard R. Trask, Princeton, Princeton University Press, 1974, p.467. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 10 French romanticism prepared thè intellectual atmos- phere for thè Realist Movement. Romantic expansiveness also led to an interest in locai colour, one of thè interests of literary realism. However Romanticism and Realism are widely divergent in their philosophical bases. While thè basis of Romanticism is thè idealist metaphysics, that of Realism carne into being in thè fer- ment of scientific and positivist thinking of thè mid- nineteenth century. 4^ However, it was in Stendhal (Henry Beyle 1783-)$ that thè modern consciousness of reality found its first expression especially in his Le Rpuqe et Le Noir (1830)» In this novel, thè characters, thè attitudes, thè rela- tionships of thè dramatis personae are very closely connected with contemporary historical circumstances* Stendhal's novels are more or less incomprehensible with- out a detailed knowledge of thè social stratification, thè politicai situation and thè economie circumstances of thè period known as thè Empire and Restoration in French history. Thus laying a contemporary foundation,, rather than referring to a mysterious and distant past, became entrenched in thè novel form as an aspect of modern realism UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 11 Stendhal*s novels are however plagued by a prepon- derance of current history and poiitics which are not very often wholly integrated into thè course of thè action. Although thè intrigues which constitute his plots are artfully contrived, thè historical forces which underly such intrigues are often neglected. Stend­ hal was much more interested in a detailed analysis of thè workings of thè human heart than in sociological details. Balzac*s novels went a step further in laying thè foundations of modern literary realism. In his diverse novels which he collectively calied La Comedie Humaine; Chronique du dix-neuvieme siede» he made a representa- tion of all facets of life in France in thè first half of thè nineteenth century. History for Balzac does not mean thè scientific investigations of thè remote past. Rather, it is a concern with thè present or at most with a very recent past. Balzac set out i^ptiake a comprehen- sive study of thè "moeurs" of thè French society. In his own words: Les Etudes de Moeurs representeront tous les effets sociaux sans que ni une situa- tion de la vie, ni une physionomie, ni un caract^re d'homme ou de femme, ni une maniere de vivre, ni une profession, ni UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY u 12 une zone sociale, ni un pays francais, ni quoi que ce soit de l'enfance, de ìa viei- llesse, de l'age mur, de la politique, de la justice, de la guerre ait étè oublie. Cela pose, l'histoire du coeur humain trace fil à fil l'histoire sociale faite dans toutes ses parties, voila la base» Ce ne seront pas des fai^^imaginaires, ce sera ce que se passe p1̂ tout. 1 With Balzac, thè subject area of thè novel becomes limitless. Characters and atmosphere are shown to spring from historical events and forces. The introduc- tion of this dimension of Historicism which characteri- ses modern realism can therefore be credited to Bal?zac. Like Stendhal's, Balzac's novels also have their flaws. Balzac's realism was characterised by excessive descrip- tions, portraits whose details are exaggerated, lack of a criticai attitude which often leads to melodrama, all of which can be attributed to thè romantic strain in this writer. Nevertheless, Stendhal and Balzac remain thè veri- table precursor ; of modern literary realism. With them thè representation of life in all its everyday tri- viality, ugliness and practical pre-occupations became serious subjects of literature. In French classical li- terature, everyday subjects belonged to thè comic, sati- i* Quóted by Auerbach, Mimesis. op cit, p.479 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 13 rical, didactic and moralistic modes. With Stendhal and Balzac, characters of any situation could be thè subject of serious and tragic literary representation. In Bal- za'-'s works, man is shov/n as a product of a historic si­ tuation and as part of it„ Environment becomes a cul­ ture-medium with which man is orcjanically connected. 1856, thè year of Gustave Flaubert*s Madame Bovary, constitutes a watershed in thè history of modern realism. In this novel, realism is invested with an impartial, ob- jective and impersonai dimension. Flaubert had wanted language alone to reveal thè truth about characters and situations. The writer’s role should, in his view, be limited to selecting basic events and describing them with such accuracy that their import would be apparent to thè reader without having to contend with thè narra- tor*s running commentary» The subjectivism and autho- rial intrusion which characterise thè novels of Stendhal and Balzac are therefore to be eliminated. In Madame Bovary: language lays bare thè silliness, imma- turity, and disorder of (Emma*s) life, thè very wretchdness of that life, in which she remains immersed. 1 1» Auerbach, Eric» Mimesis. op cit. p.496. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY By thè 1857, thè basis of literary realism had been solidly laid in France where thè battle for this literary movement was first fought and won. In fact realism can be said to be at its apogee in thè 1850& for its decline carne rapidly after» The subject metter of realism was: thè serious treatment of everyday realityi thè rise of more extensive and soci ally inferior human groups to thè position of subject matter for problematic, existen- tial representation on thè one hand; on thè other, thè embedding of random persons and events in thè generai course of contem- porary history. 1 Objectivity, by which facts speak for themselves through linguistic usage became thè watchword of thè realistic mode of writing» The authorial self-effacement favoured by Flaubert necessitated thè reliance on observation and documentation» However, this tendency often l• ed to af physical density which was overwhelming for thè reader» In generai thè period when realism flourished in thè three decades from 1840 s to 60 s coincided on thè politi­ cai scene with a vogue of humanitarianism and thè advent of socialist thought in France. On thè scientific scene, it was thè era of positivismo Furthermore, thè bourge- oisie was playing a dominant role in socio-economie and 1 1. Becker, G»J. (ed) Dpcuments on Modern Literary Realism Princeton, Princeton University Press, 1967/73, p»181. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 15 politicai life but at thè same time, thè masses were ai- ready beginning to agitate for their rights. The novels of George Sand and thè works of Eugene Sue were already portraying thè lowly people before thè advent of thè Gon- courts brothers. Ian Watt in his The Rise of thè Novel describes criticai realism which he refers to as "formai realism" as being closely connected with industriai capi- talism, thereby being grounded in thè basic structure of bourgeois society. Realism therefore embraced thè whole reality of contemporary civilisation made up of society, politics and Science. When in 1865, thè Goncourt brothers published their Germinie Lacerteux, realism had begun its transformation into Naturalismo In thè "Preface", thè novelists explain^ ed thè basic principles of their writing, thè choice of thè common people as major characters as well as scienti- fic documentation. They wrote: Vivant au dix-neuvieme siede dans un temps de suffrage universel, de democratie, de li- béralisme, nous nous sommes domande si ce qubn appelle "les basses peuples" n’avait pas droit au Roman, si ce monde sous un monde, le peuple, devait rester sous le coup de l’interdit littéraire et des dedains d* auteurs, qui ont fait jusqu'ici le silence sur lcìme et le coeur qu'il peut avoir. Nous nous sommes demandé s’il y avait encore pour l’ecrivain et pour le lectaur, en ces annèes UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY « 15 politicai life but at thè sartie time, thè masses were ai- ready beginning to agitate for their rights. The novels of George Sand and thè works of Eugene Sue were already portraying thè lowly people beforte thè advent of thè Gon- courts brothers. Ian Watt in his The Rise of thè Novel describes criticai realism which he refers to as ''formai realism" as being closely connected with industriai capi- talism, thereby being grounded in thè basic structure of bourgeois society,, Realism therefore embraced thè whole reality of contemporary civilisation made up of society^ politics and Science. When in 1865, thè Goncourt brothers published their Germinie Lacerteux, realism had begun its transformation into Naturalismo In thè "Preface", thè novelists explain- ed thè basic principles of their writing, thè choice of thè common people as major characters as well as scienti- fic documentation. They wrote: Vivant au dix-neuvième siécle dans un temps de suffrage universel, de democratie, de li­ beralismo, nous nous sommes demande/ si ce quon appelle "les basses peuples" n'avait pas droit au Roman, si ce monde sous un monde, le peuple, devait rester sous le coup de l'interdit litteraire et des dédains d' auteurs, qui ont fait jusqu’ici le silence sur làme et le coeur qu'il peut avoir. Nous nous sommes demandi s’il y avait encore pour l'écrivain et pour le lectaur, en ces années UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 16 d’égalité ob nous sommes, des classes indig— nes, des rnalheurs trop bas, des drames trop mal embouchés, des cata-strophes d’une ter—-* reur trop peu noble„.. Àujourd’hui que le Roman s’élargit et grandit, qu’il devient,„, l’Histoire morale contemporaine».o quii montre des misbres bonnes a ne pas laisser oublier les heureux de Paris, qu’il fasse voir aux gens du mon­ de, ... la souffrance humaine, présente et toute vive, qui apprend la charité; que le Roman ait cette religion que le siècle passé appelait de ce large et vaste nom: Humanité, 1 The Goncourts brothers wanted thè novel to adopt thè spirit of scientific historical research. They wanted to become "les raconteurs du present." Their charac- ters were almost all borrowed from their contemporary reality. Speur Philoméne (1861) is thè story of a nurse who worked in thè hospital tin Rouen» Germinie Lacerteux (1865) is thè story of one of their maids» Their aunt inspired thè heroine of Madame Gervaisais (1869) while Renée Mauperin is thè story of their childhood friend» However, thè interest of thè Goncourts brothers in thè lowly people proved to be more aesthetic than huma- nitarian» They gave their subjects a pathological treat­ ment and they had a certain sensory fascination for thè 1 1, Les Goncourts, "Préface", Germinie Lacerteux» Paris, Societe des Beaux- Arts, 1905/65, " UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 17 morbid, for "creatures passionnees, nerveuses, maladive- ment impressionnables»" 1 For example, Madame Gervaxse is a medicai study of a religious crisis while Germinie Lacerteux examines thè case of an hystericl Les Goncourts recherchent avidement les sensations nouvelles, "le poignant des choses qui nous touchent, nous font vib~ rer les nerfs et saigner le coeur." Ils etudient les cas anormaux, les detraque- ments nerveux, avec une rigeur qu’ils veulent scientifique. 2 By their methodical documentation and interest in patho- logical case studies, thè Goncourts brothers were pre- cursors of naturaiism in literature. However they were not interested in thè dynamics of thè social structure. In thè words of AuerbachJ thè subject treated is not one which con- cerns thè centre of social structure; it is a strange and individuai marginai phe- nomenon. For thè Goncourts, it is a matter of thè aesthetic attraction of thè ugly and pathological„ 3 Emile Zola was however inspired by Germinie Lacer- teux. In his twenty-volume novel on thè Rougon Macquarts 1 1. Lagarde et Michard. Les Grands Auteurs Francais» XlXe Siede» Paris, Bordas, p.477. 2» Lagarde et Michard. op cit, p»477. 3. Auerbach. op cit, p.505» UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 18 (1871-93), he shared thè Goncourts* fascination with thè ugly, repulsive and filthy world of workers and peasants, their passion for extensive scientific re- search, as well as thè mafcter-of-factness of their pre- sentation. Although Zola did not understand thè essence of socialism which was gaining ground in his time, he de- picted working class life with sympathy in his Germinai (1885) which deals with thè struggle between labour and capitai during thè early socialist era of thè Second Em­ pire. Zola had been inspired by thè biologist, Claude Bernard*s Etudes des Sciences Experimentales. Also, a fervent disciple of thè great philosopher and cricic of literary realism, Hippolyte Taine, Zola believed in thè subordination of psychology fco physiology. One is re- minded of his famous formula that: Tous les sentiments, tous les états de 1 'ame humaine sont des produits, ayant leurs causes et leurs lois, et tout 1 *avenir de l’histoire consiste dans la recherche de ces causes et de ces lois. Lassimilation des recherches historiques et psychologiques et chimiques, voilà mon objet et mon idée maitresse... Le vice et la vertu ne sont que des pro­ duits comme le vitriol et le sucre. 1 In thè same vein, Zola describes thè hero of thè naturalist novel as a physiological being determined 1» Lagarde et Micha^d. XIXe siede, op cit, p.399. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 19 by his environment and his innate disposition: Notre héros n’est plus le^pur esprit, l'homme abstrait du XVIIi siede, il est le sujet physioloqique de notre Science actuelle, un étre qui est com­ pose d'organes et qui trempe dans un milieu dont il est pénétré à chaque heure..o Tous les sens vont agir sur l'ame. Dans chacun des ses mouvements l’iàrae sera precipitee ou ralentie par la vue, l’odorat, l'ouie, le gotit, le toucher. La conception d'une ame iso- lee fonctionnant toute seule dans le vide, devient fausse. C’est de la mécanique psychologique, ce n'est plus de la vie, 1 In other words, Zola, thè naturalist writer lays empha- sis on thè physiological conditions, thè influence of thè milieu and thè circumstances which determine human personality. This was an important dimension in thè mo- dern novel«, The author of thè experimental novel be-?i lieved that thè novelist is a kind of biologist perform- ing an experiment. Describing this method which he used in his Les Rpugon - Macquart: histoire d*une famille sous le Second Empire, he explained: Le roman sera base sur deux idees: 1. Etudier dans une famille les questions de sang et de milieux. Suivre pas à pas le travail secret qui donne aux en- 1 1. Lagarde et Michard. XIXe siede» p. 483. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 20 fants d’un meme pere des passions et des caractères différents a la suite des cro- isements et des facons particulières de vivre. Fouiller, en un mot, au vif méme du drame humain aans ces profondeurs de la vie ob s’elaborent les grandes vertus et les grands crimes, et y fouiller d’une faeton méthodique, conduit par le fil des nouvelles découvertes physiologiques. 2. Etudier tout le Second Empire depuis le coup d'état jusqu'a nos jours. Incarner dans des types la societe contemporaine, les scelerats et les héros. Peindre ainsi tout un è'ge social, dans les faits et dans les sentiments, et peindre cet age dans mille details, des moeurs et des evenements. 1 The aesthetic consequence of Zola's method is that thè more generai and commonplace thè story or thè charac ter is, thè more typical it will be. This is thè con­ tras t to thè Balzacian type who concretised thè most salient aspeets of his timet Here we have thè new realism, thè concen- trated essence and in sharp opposition to thè old realism; a mechanical average takes thè place of thè dialectic unity of type and individuai; description and analysis are substituted for epic situations and epic plots* 2 Zola's physiological and social study of man was not however impartial for according to him, art is "un le Quoted by J.H. Bornecque et P. Cogny. Realisme et Naturalisme. Paris, Classique Hechette, p083. 2. Auerbach. op cit. p=91 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 21 coin de la cre4at tion vu va travers un tempe/ rament." Zola pushed literary realism to its furtherest point, that is naturalism with its characteristic pessimistic and mate- rialist determinismo Generally, realism has surfaced as thè dominant li­ terary mode in thè literature of every country at some point in its literary history. In Russia thè second half of thè nineteenth century also saw thè rise of a long line of important novels of thè realist tradition. Tols- toy, Turgenev, Chekov, and Gorky drew attention to thè marginai and thè rootless of thè Russian community. In America, thè battle for literary realism was being waged when thè movement had died out in Europe and when Marcel Proust, Thomas Mann, James Joyce and Franz Kafka were experimenting with new forms. The harsh con— ditions of pioneer life, thè violence of thè Civil War, thè cruel and impersonai processes of industrialisation were new experiences which demanded new ways of depiction other than romantic escapismo Through his literary «olumn in Harper’s magazine, William Dean Howells, thè pioneer of American realism, preached thè merits of European realists. Realism in American Literature reached its apogee in thè first two UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 22 de^des of this century with Theodore Dreiser's Sjster Carrie (1900)„ Others w'no wrote in thè same tradìtion were Gertrude Stein, Sherwood Anderson, Sinclair Lewis a^d John Dos Passos. Richard Wright was very much influenced by Gertrude Stein's "Melanctha" but most especially by Theodore Drei­ ser's novels. In thè 1920s thè most vital native tradi- tion was thè "New Realism" (or Naturaiism) as both terms were interchangeable in American literature. So far as thè new post war generation was concerned, Dreiser's Sister Carrie (1900) and Sherwood Anderson's Winesburq Ohio (1919) were thè most influential American novel since Huckleberry Finn (1885). Protest writers like Steinbeck, Dos Passos and Wright, w’no emerged between thè two wars, either adopted or refined this tradition. Wright felt more affinity with Dreiser and Stein­ beck especially thè former in his American Traqedy (1925). An autodidact like Wright, Dreiser also had a poor childhood. He understood thè plight of thè poor who in a sense were outsiders to thè mainstream of American society in his novels. Dreiser represented for tht. younger writers thè triumph of that native tradition of UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 23 social protest and criticism that derived from thè French realists Balzac, Stenc'hal and Flaubert as well as in thè methodology of thè new quantitative social Sciences of economics and sociology. When his American Tragedy appeared in 1925, Dreiser was acclaimed as thè father of American rtaturalism. By thè laborious, powerful accumulation of detail, Dreiser*s novel revealed thè tragic conditions lying beneath thè prosperous surface of American life. Nineteenth century and early twentieth century "na<8 turalism” as practiced by Dreiser emerged as a necessary corrective to thè fatuous optimism of thè previous lite- rary romance which celebrated a simple-minded philosophy of material success as in thè novels of Hawthorne, Cooper and Melville. What endeared young writers like Wright to Dreiser was not so much his tiresome style but his honesty and sense of responsibility as a practicing writer. He it v/as who introduced thè idea that to be an American was a tragic destiny. In his Sjster Carrie, he showed that there was a disjunction between thè American dream and what ac- tually obtained as a social fact. An American Balzac, he took it upon himself to demonstrate how this dream had been corrupted. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 24 In his American Traqedy. a whole book of six hundred pages assumes thè difficult task of persuading thè reader that thè hero Clyde Griffiths, through his very lack of distinction and opportunity was an American possibility. Dreiser accumulates a great deal of substantiating details - Clyde growing up in a family that is both materially and spirìtually impoverished; Clyde tasting thè small plea- sures of life; Clyde making his debut in thè bourgeois world sanctioned by America in Lycurgusj Clyde being re- fused legai entry into this world; Clyde's desire to force his way into thè world through murder and finally Clyde's death in thè electric chair. From thè first page to thè last there is this desire to show Clyde as an image and a prisoner of America, "hungering with its hunger, empty wxth its emptiness." Dreiser's perspective of life is relentlessly econo­ mie» His heroes who in thè Flaubertian tradition are really anti-heroes crystallise thè banality of middle class life. They are vain, poor and ambitious. There is a fierce struggle by these heroes to transcend thè harsh limits of reality. Dreiser proves however that they ulti- 1 1. Theodore Dreiser. An American Tragedy. New York, Signet Classic, 1925/64, p.201. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 25 mately fail like all those who depart from thè nortns of society and this is a tribute to his realism. Dreiser's habit of portraying contemporary American society as well as people who start at a disadvantage in thè universal competition for social mobility as well as thè innocence of Vision which made him report what he saw and not what he was expected to see impressed Richard Wright. In 1920, in a critique of Mary White Ovington’s The Shadow, H.L. Mencken advised thè black writer to get a true picture of his people on paper. He said that: The thing we need is a realistic picture of this inner life of thè Negro by one who sees thè race from within - a self- portrait as vivid as Dostoevsky's por- trait of Russia or Thackeray’s of thè Englìshman. The action should be kept within thè nomai range of Negro expe- rience... It should be presented against a background made vivid by innu- merable small details. 1 Mencken further enjoined that thè place to learn to write such novels is in thè "harsh but distinguished seminary kept by Professor Dr&iser". It was Wright who would ful- fil this injunction. 1 1. Ray David and Farnworth. Richard Wright: Impressions and Perspectives. Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Press, 1973 edition, p„ 35» UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 26 Wright*s Native Son accomplished for thè black Ameri- cans what Dreiser did for thè larger American society in his American Traqedy. The conception and execution of thè latter very much influenced Native Son. Like Dreiser, Wright painstakingly collected data and based his novel on a reai story. Margaret Walker Alexander, Wright’s dose associate during his period with thè WPA describes how she and Wright collected stories, interviews and newspaper clippings on thè case of a boy named Nixon who committed a similar crime as Bigger's in Chicago. Wright is reported to have visited various police stations and jails as well as thè rooftops all of which served as settings in Native Son. Like Clyde Griffith, Bigger Thomas is both a product and victim of thè American society. Bigger believes also' in thè American dream but his social position and race, he is already doomed to failure. This specificity of Bigger’s background as well as thè existential Vision of thè author v is however responsible for thè different ways in which thè heroes’ destinies are resolved. While Clyde Griffith is completely destroyed by society, Bigger Thomas is port— rayed as triumphing over this society and dominating it by inflicting his own form of violence on thè sanie society. Wright claims that only by dramatically bursting out UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 27 of his immobility and by rejecting feelings of defeat and inferiority can thè black assert himself, show that he is a human being with his own autonomy. Like Frantz Fanon, Wright proves that violence can indeed be a "cleansing force'’ which frees thè oppressed from his inferiority com- plex and from his despair. In other words, violence is a potent psychological weapon. However, by thè 1930 g realism was on its decline in thè literature of thè American mainstream with thè emer- gence of writers like Eliot, Hemingway and O ’Neill. Con- versely, it was thè period when realism had just become thè literary mode in black American literature with thè novels of Richard Wright. This conflict of literary mcdes is in part responsible for thè adverse criticism Native Son received from white writers in thè 1940s. In thè case of Sembene Ousmane as well as other fran— cophone African writers, thè influence of French realist writers on their Works cannot be overemphasised. Besides, African literature in generai is characterised by thè qua- lities and indeed thè shortcomings of social realism which we have highlighted. The noVel, though an alien form in Af- rica, has been a very convenient form for thè Afriean writer t« UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 28 make his researeh into contemporary situation and to put across his opinions to a wider audience. As a literary form, thè novel has always been adaptable to all socio-economie and historical situa- tions since: more directly than other arts, (it) confronts us openly with thè issue of thè meaning and value of our ineluc- table historical and social condition. Implicit in thè text of thè novel are propositions that man never lives by himself, and above all, that he has a past, a present and a future... The novel is thè fifSt art to represent man explicitly as d^fined historically and socially...With thè novel, society enters history and hi story enters so­ ciety. 1 Sembene Ousmane, like all other African writers, de- sired a literary form which would be a means of histo­ rical and social investigation and he found this in thè European realist novel. Like their European men- tors, African novelists were: pre-eminently concerned with thè pre­ sent, thè contemporary as history; man (as being) firrnly structured within a totality of politicai, economie and social forces... thè individuai and his fate as indissolubly bound to a cons- 1 1. Zeraffa, Michel. "The Novel as a Literary Form and as Social Institution", In Burn (ed) Socioloqy of Literature and Drama. Baltimore, Penguin Books, 1973. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 29 tantly evolving society. 1 The Second Congress of Negro writers and Artists in Rome in 1959 laid a firrnly realist and committed basis for African literature. The Committee on Litera- ture, after examining thè responsibilities of thè black artist towards his people, advocated: thè true expression of thè reality of his people long obscured, deformed or denied during thè period of colonisation. This expression is so necessary under present conditions that it imposes on thè Negro artist or writer a singularly spe­ ci fic concept of commitment. The Negro writer cannot avoid tafcing part in thè generai movement outlined above. 2 Taking thè injunction of this committee very mlieh to heart, most writers criticised in varying degrees thè colonial enterprise in Africa and later thè post inde- pendent situation in Africa. In thè same vein, Sembene Ousmane's novels constitute a mimesis of African con- temporary situation. His works are a reflection of what obtains in society and like Zola, he believes that "l'histoire doit guider nos mains." lo Swingewood, Alan. Politics and thè Npvel„ London, Macmillan, 1975, p.29. 2. Presence Africain^. Special Edition. Feb/May. 1959. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 30 Realism is thè singular literary canon thè African critir-, has employad in his evaluation of African lite- rature. The fortunes of Laye's L 1 Enfant .Np_ir vvhich appeared in 1954, in thè hands of various critics illuminate thè importance attached to realism in Af­ rican literature. Mongo Beti accused thè novel of its "negre bon enfant" mentality and for closing its eyes to thè realities of thè colonial situation. He declared: Laye se complait dans l'anodin et sur- tout le pittoresque le plus facile, donc le plus payant... Malgre 1 *appa- rence, c*est une image stereotypee, donc fausse de l'Afrique et des ecri- vains qu'il s'acharne a montrer: uni- vers idyllique, optimisme des grands enfants, fetes stupidernent intermina- bles, initiation de carnaval, circon- cisions, excisions, superstitions, oncles liamadou dont 1 ’ inconscience n’a d'egale que leur irrealite. Est-il possible que pas une seule fois, Laye n'ait ete temoin d'une seule petite exaction de 1 'administra- tion coloniale. 1 However, it is interesting to note that this controver- sial L*Enfant Noir was acclaimed in thè West and was even awarded thè Charles Veillon Prize for 1954. Emile 1. Biyidi Alexandre. "L1Enfant Noir". In Trois Ecri- vains N’oirs, Presence Africaine, 19540 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 31 Henriot of thè French Academy admired what put Mongo Beti off, that is thè novel's exotism and its cla- ssical French. According to him^ Camara Laye, si bon ecrivain du {premier coup, nous vient de loin, attaché de racines profondes encore au pays natal, a ses traditions, au souvenir de ses an- cetres. Dans un tour limpide et uni, ce livre est un petit chef-d*oeuvre. 1 The same criterion of realistic portrayal of events and characters has been employed by anglophone critics of African literature. Chinua Achebe in his various essays which were later published in his Mornjnq Yet on Creation Day (1977) advocated social relevance as a vital yardstick in African literary criticism. Employing this same criterion, he condemns Ayi Kwei Armah*s The Beautyful Ones are not yet Bprn (1969) The novel failed to convince me. His Ghana is unrecognisable. This aura of cosmic sorrow and despair is as foreign and unusable as those monstruous machines Nkrumah was said to have im- ported from Eastern countries^ he said. 1 1. Quoted by Melone, Thomas. Pela Negritude dans la ALfirtitcearianteu,r e 1N96e2g,r o-pA.9f4r.icaine. Paris, Presence 2« Achebe, Chinua. Mprninq Yet On Creation Day; Essays. London, Heinmann, 1977 p.25. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 32 Sembene Ousmane has affirmed that thè basis of his ari. is realism, "La conception de son travail decoule de cet enseignement5 rester au plus pres du reel et du peuple." 1 In this, he invests his works with thè ne- cessary "sociological imagination" which constitutes thè specificity of African literature for as Abiola Irele rightly affirms: Our writers are recognisably African only in thè sense in which they give an African character to their works. 2 The seventies have witnessed a more inward looking rea— list literature. Most novels are reflections of thè realities of post-independent Africa, with its inherent cultural contradictions, politicai and economie instabi- lity, corruption and nepotism. Sembene Ousmane’s post- independent novels, Le Mandai (1966) Xala (1973) and Le Dernier de L’Lmplre (1980) are firmly entrenched in this new realist tradition which Abiola Irele terms thè "New Realism", whereby: 21 1. Sembene Ousmane. "Preface", L» Harmattan. Paris, Presence Africaine, 1964. 2. Irele Abiola. "The Criticismi of African Literature". In Heywood, Perspectives on African Literature. London, Heinemann, 1971, p.15. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBR RY .33 The African writer has foegun to modify his stance-and to adjust his angle of perception to take account of those po­ liticai and social realities that began in thè wake of African independence to impress themselves more closely upon thè generai attention through thè entire continent. 1 In thè twentieth century, thè outlook of literary realism has been modified by thè marxist ideology and our two writers have both profited frorn its application to literature. Realism shares some innate characteris- tics with marxism. While both are revolutionary in nature, they also celebrate man’s potential freedom' from an arbitrary world and attack thè alienating and dehumanising aspects of thè modern world. J The type of literary realism which characterised thè social novelists we have discussed from Bai zac to Zola to Tolstoy and Dreiser has been formally distin- guished from thè socialist realism which characterise thè writings of marxist oriented writers. .Criticai or formai realism is according to Swingewood: a full and authentic report of human experience, a continuous questioning of *l 1. Irele, Abiola. ;SParabies of thè African conditioa: A Comparative study of throe post-coloniàl Novels". ln tioA'rnol of African and Comparative Literature (.IbadanT No. ’ ’ 1 /Tr«rch" 1961*,' 'p'.70.‘ . . ' UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 34 rraecaltietrys, witthhè lnr essppooncsief ico f soscpieacli figcro ucphsa,- ethcèo normeisep onasned ptoo litthièc adio mipnraotbilnegms soofcio- their time. 1 Criticai realism has depicted thè workings of thè bour- geois society and showed its ugly and repressive aspeets. However, thè socialist realist tradition sees thè pre- occupation of criticai realists as inadequate and only a partial revelation of contemporary reality. It has therefore sought to "elevate life" and thus recharge nineteenth century realism. The advent of socialist realism cannot be disso- ciated from thè doctrine and philosoohy of marxism as a critique of thè capitalist society itself. In thè nine­ teenth century, Karl Marx had pointed out that thè basic social problem thè world must solve was thè unfair eco­ nomie advantage that permitted capitalism to exploit labour. In marxist terms capitalism is: a System of production, which, through its extended division of work, including that between mental and manual labour, had thè effect of creating a society in which man*s sense of wholeness, his potential many- sidedness, becomes reduced to a mere frag- ment - his sensual, emotional, creative potential turned into one specialised1 1. Swingewood, Allan. "Introduction" Literature and Revolution. London, Macmillan, 1975. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 35 activity, a limiting function. Apart from objectifying man and limiting human poten- tials, marxists believe that capitalism also dehumani- ses man and emphasises thè division of society into classes of haves and have nots as wel 1 as thè dornina- tion of thè latter by thè formerà Capitalism, with its System of private property and thè domination of one class over another, creates thè social condi- tions in which man's labour, his crea­ tive potential becomes an external, oppressive activity, something which ̂ rather than fulfilling him denied him. However, marxism optirnistically posits that change is a normal feature of society. As Darwin discovered thè law of evolution in organic nature, so Marx disco­ vered thè law of evolution in human history. The Capi- talist society, like thè slave and feudalistic socie­ ties, contains within it, inner contradictions which will eventually bring about its fall. As workers’ lives become more and more precarious due to machines, they will begin to form trade unions against thè bour- geoisie. The concentration of workers and thè improved 12 1. Swingewood, Allan. Literature and Revolution op cit. p. 7 3. 2. ibid> UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 36 means of communication will eventually lead to one "national struggle between classes." In time, thè pro- letarian movement becomes a seif-conscious and indepen- dent movement of thè immense majority» In other words, thè bourgeoisie produces its own grave-diggers» Its fall and thè subsequent victory of thè proletariat are equally inevitable» In thè mid-nineteenth century, Hippolyte Taine pronounced that literature is thè consequence of race, moment and milieu» Marx and Engels added a fourtft di- mension by thè end% of thè nineteenth century by affir- ming that literature is also a product of thè system of production, thus making possible by 19306 thè spe- cific sociological approach to literature known as mar- xist aesthetics as it has been represented by George Lukacs, Jean-Paul Sartre, T„W» Adorno, Walter Eenjamin, Ernst Block, and Lucien Goldmann in their various ways» Creative writers who have been influenced in their writings by thè Marxist ideology like Sembene Ousmane c-n be described as socialist realists. Socialist rea- lism desires thè "truthful historically concrete rep- resentation of reality in its revolutionary develop*?* UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 37 ment. 1 In other words, it is not enough for thè writer to represent life as it is; he must show that life is going towards thè inevitable future of thè Communist Society. Marx and Engels themselves wrote at length on literature and literary creation. However, it was Engels who posited some criticai theories which have become thè cornerstones of socialist realism. Accor- ding to him: thè bias should flow by itself from thè situation and action... A socialist based novel fully achieves its purpose... if by consciously describing thè reai mutuai relations, breaking down conven- tional illusions about them, it shatters thè optimism of thè bourgeois world, instils doubt as to thè eternai charac- ter of thè existing order, although thè atuitonh oro r dodeoso s nonto t oefvfeenr alniyn e duepf inoipteen lys oolnu­ any particular side. 2 On thè basis of this definition of socialist writing, Engels acclaimed Balzac as thè greatest socialist wri­ ter ever known; for despite his aristocratic background and bias, Balzac was able to represent a society in thè 12 1. Quoted by Fokkema D.W. (ed). Theories of Literature 1i9n 77t.hè Twentieth century. London, Hurst and Company. 2. Engels, Friedrich. "Letter to Margaret Harkness, Aprii 1888" in Literature and Art by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. N.Y. International Publishers, 1947, p 41-43. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 38 process of witnessing a cruciai historical change that spelt thè death of thè aristocracy and thè rise of thè bourgeoisie to economie and therefore politicai power in thè France of nineteenth century. However, Engel's statement on socialist realism was modified by Maxim Gorky (1868 - 1936), thè most in** fluential literary figure o‘f Soviet Russia in thè period between thè Russian Revolution and thè Second World War0 His major statements on literature in thè 1930? laid thè basis of a conception of thè writer as committed and with purposive social activity. He wrote that to him personally: realism would best cope with its task if, in analysing an individuai in thè process of finding his true place on thè road from petty bourgeois, animai individualism to socialismi it would describe man not as he is today, but a1so as he must be - and will be tomorrow.l The socialist novel can only achieve its purpose by de- picting thè bourgeois world realistically that is by breaking down conventional illusions and inducing doubt on "thè eternai character of thè existing order". The realism advocated by Gorky is termed by him as "revolu- 1. Gorky, Maxim. On Literature. Moscow, Progress Publishers, p= 138. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 39 tionary romanticism" or "active romanticism". It is romantic in thè sense that it dwells in part on what should be and not what is. In thè words of Gorky him- self : revolutionary romanticism - this essen- tially is a pseudonym for socialist realism, thè purpose of which is not only to depict thè paet critically, but chief* ly to promote thè consolidation of revo­ lutionary achievement in thè present and a clearer view of thè lofty objectives of thè socialist future. 1 A mixture of romanticism and realism is deemed nece- ssary since both are like thè two facets of a single being. The mixture is also inevitable if actuality must be depicted in its revolutionary development. This Gorky achieved in his novel Mpther (1906) a novel which has influenced Richard Wright’s "Bright and Morning Star" and Sembene Ousmane's O Pays. The doctrine of socialist realism was however not officially promulgated until thè First Congress of Soviet Writers in 1934, althou\ gh thè term had been discussed during thè founding of thè Writers Union in Soviet Russia in 1932. The Congress claimed descent from Gorky and resolved that: 1 1. ibid p.246. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 40 socialist realism, being thè basic method of soviet literature and li- terary criticism, requires from thè artist a truthful, historically con­ crete representation of reality in its revolutionary dtìvelopment. In addition, truthfulness and historical concreteness must be combined with thè task of ideolgical transformation and education of thè workers in thè spirit of socialism. 1 Socialist realism has come to be identified as a kind of art that is acceptable to thè socialist state. Chairman Mao in his^Yenan Forum on Literature and Art'* further expounded on thè politicai role of literature. Literature in his view should be created for thè masses and thè workers. According to him: Revolutionary literature and art are thè products of thè reflection of thè life of thè people in thè brains of revolutionary writers and artists. The life of thè people is always a mine for thè raw materials of lite­ rature and art, materials in their naturai form, materials that are crude, but most vital, rich and fun- damental... Writers and artists con­ centrate such everyday phenomena, typify thè contradictior.s and produce works which awaken thè masses, fire them with enthusiasm and impel them 1. Ovcharenko, A. Socialist Realism and thè Modern Literary Process. Moscow, Progress Publishers, 1978, p. 124. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 41 to unite and struggle to transform their environment. 1 Since socialist realism has come to be identified as politicai literature, some writers refuse to be de- signated socialist realists even when their works mani- fest some characteristics of typical socialist realist writings. They argue that they do not write Party li­ terature or that they do not create within a socialist state as Sembene Ousmane often States. Others object to thè ideological background of socialist realism it- self. Harry Levin argues,though one sidedly,that: socialist realism in attempting to gain control of thè realistic movement ten- ded to suppress thè realistic impetus, which presupposes full artistic freedom. True realism, like objective criticism, is empirical; socialist realism, like marxist ideology, is dogmatic. 2 Whatever thè position adopted in thè debate on so­ cialist realism,'it is undeniable that its basis is li— terary realism dince realism itself is never a question of pointless imitation of reality but thè revelation of1 2 1. Mao Tse Tung, "Yenan Forum On Literature and Art" in Selected Works of Mao Tse-Tunq, Volume III, Peking, Foreign Languages Press, 1967 pi è1-82« 2. Levin, Harry. Ground for Comparison. Massachussets, Harvard University Press, 1972, p= 260. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 42 a belief in an outer reality and thè possibility of describing this reality. The perspective from which thè description is done is entirely thè choice of thè author. Realism has always been adapted to new social realities and new philosophies. In thè 1940S in Eu­ rope, thè unsatisfactory politicai situation forced writers to represent thè world in a new way in thè light of existentialism which became a frame of refe- rence for thè exploration of contemporary reality and in that capacity was not incompatible with realism. Originally, existentialism had strong roots in thè French experience of thè forties. Nevertheless it was not confined to thè French experience alone. In thè words of F. Tempie Kingston: All of thè existentialists admit that human beings in this century are threa- tened to an unusual degree in their very existence by—abstract philosophies, by all powerful totalitarian states, and by thè misuse of scientific inventions. This awareness has been made especially vivid to thè French philosophers by France’s defeat in thè war and thè present tension between communism and American democracy. 1 1. Kingston, F. Tempie. French Existentialism: A Christ ian Critique, Toronto, 1961, p. 26-27. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY « - 43 Thus Richard Wright's realism could easily adopt an existentialist strain and like existentialist wri— ters, analyse moral issues, thè relationship of thè individuai to thè society, thè paradox of existence, freedom, ennui, responsibility, guilt, alienation, despair, death, anxiety and other tragic elements which are specific to black existence, such as racial discrimination, thè feeling of rootlessness, perpe­ tuai impoverishment both at thè individuai and group levels as well as what Robert Bone has termed thè black man's "unguaranteed existence".^ In generai, great social awareness has been aroused through realist depictions, since thè mal- functioning of institutions is inescapably a subject of observation and since realism has usually tended to pursue socially useful aims. It seems in this respect that there is no end to literary realism and J discussions about it especially in thè literatures of developing countries and thè black world in generai where social norms are in perpetuai flux and therefore need to be portrayed as they are portrayed by Richard Wright and Sembene Ousmane. 1. Bone, Robert. Richard Wright. Minneapolis, Univer­ sity of Minnessofa Press, 1969, p.46. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 44 CHAPTER II LITERATURE AND SOCIETY. Richard Wriqht: thè parable of thè black condition in America. The major theme of thè novels of Richard Wright and Sembene Ousmane is thè black condition» These novels are preoccupied with elucidating this same condition by highlighting its positive and negative aspeets. The black condition has both psychological and socio-economie dimensions. Resulting from thè peculiar historical circumstances of slavery and colonialism, thè black condition is first a feeling of inferiority and insecurity in thè presence of white people. It is also thè underdeveloped socio- economie condition which put thè black man whatever his social and economie status on thè lowest rungs • of thè social and economie ladder of thè world. . Slavery which began in thè sixteenth century and was abolished in thè nineteenth witnessed thè trans— portation of millions of /vfricans across thè oceans to thè plantations of thè New World. It is estimated that by thè end of thè Civil War in 1863, about four UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 45 million black people had been transported to America. Central to all slave legislations was thè fact that a slave was a piece of property. No matter his gricvances, thè slave could neither sue for redress nor act as a v/itness against any white man. He could be sold irrespective of family ties. In short, thè slave was an object devoid of human and civil rights. By thè beginning of thè eighteenth century slavery had become a social institution in America. The syllogism propagated thereafter was that all slaves were black; slaves were degraded and contemptible and should always be slaves, hence thè social stigma that was attached to thè black skin ever since. Slavery was practiced most ruthlessly in thè South. In thè Southern colonies, slavery had become thè corner stone of thè economie System. The plantation System had become thè basic unit of capitalist agriculture. More and more hands were needed in cotton plantations so that hand in hand with unmitigated capitalism went more ruthless slavery as well as thè most implacable race UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 46 consciousness in history. When Emancipation was finally proclaimed in 1863, it gave no guarantee that blacks would not remain as chattels. The freedom which Emancipation promised was rather ambiguous. Fiost ex-slaves like Wright's grand-father had no homes and no lands of their own= They had to remain wage earners or share- croppers who were glued to thè sanie plantations which their forefathers worked as chattels. Richard Wright’s father was all his life a share-cropper glued to thè arid lands of thè Mississippi. The last and indelible image he had of his father was that of a man standing alone upon thè red clay of a Mississippi plantation, a share-cropper, clad in raggod overalls, holding a muddy hoe in his gnaried, veined hands... he was standing against thè sky, smiling toothlessly, his hair whitened, his body bent... 1 Richard Wright's mind ached as he thought of thè simple nakedness of his father's lifej how completely his soul was imprisoned by thè siov/ flow of thè seasons, by wind and rain and sun, how fastened were his memories to a crude and raw past, how 1. Wright, Richard. Black Boy; A Record of Child- hood and Yputh. New-York, Harper, 1945, p.43. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY * «a 47 chained were his actions and emotions 'to thè direct, animalistic impulses of his withering body..». 1 The social status of thè emancipated slaves and their children did not improve. Hard core slavery was replaced by Jim Crow system especially in thè South where Richard Wright was born. The caste line between thè free and thè bonded was replaced by thè racial line between black and white. Total segrega- tion and disfranchisement by Jim Crow System went further than slavery in its rigid enforcement and total inclusion of all coloured people whether they were born free or bonded. Throughout his youth Wright was baffled by thè fact that his grandmother who could conveniently pass for white and who had never been a slave could be subjected to this System like all other formar slaves. Jim Crow System was based on thè same premise as slavery, that is thè belief of thè whites in thè in­ nate inferiority of blacks. Thus began in full force thè reign of racism in America. Having shed thè mantle of a slave, thè black man dee ned that of a person who 1. Wright, Richard. Black Boy, p. 43 . UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 48 was everywhere in chains. Richard Wright had bitter experienceè of thè Jim Crow System which he narrates in his autobiography> Black Boy, Érom these formative years, he cultivated a morbid dread of whites who became nightmare devils to him, and their habitations became "a Symbol of fear". A psycholo- gical barrier had been erected between him and thè white race because of his childhood experiences. At thè age of twelve, Wright had become conscious that a group of people existed against whom he was impotent, a group which could destroy him at wili; These fantasies were no longer a reflec- tion of my reactìon to thè white people, they were a part of my living., of my emotional life, they were a culture, creed, a religion. The hostility of thè whites had become so deeply implanted in my mind and feelings that it had lost direct connection with thè daily environ- ment in which I lived.... 1 Thus by thè beginning of this century thè prob- lem of thè black man in America was in thè words of W.E.B. Du Bois that of thè "color line". The caste System of slavery had given way to thè in- justices of class and racial oppressions and thè 1. Wright, Richard. Black Boy. p„84. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 49 centrai blight of poverty among thè majority of black peonie, Bnfranchisement, Education and housing were areas where racial discrimination bit hard into thè black American, all of which are documented in naturaiist terms in Black Boy. By thè age of seventeen when he finally left all formai education, Wright was equipped with enough knowledge for thè average black boy, a deep hatred for whites, as well as a suspicious and blighted personality, His life symbolised thè poverty which characterised thè life of thè black Americano Looking back on those years of hunger, of deprivation, of humiliation, he was to feci that it had been a period which bred distrust and dread of others as well as emotional instability in him. Home life for Wright symbolised not only poverty but a cog in thè wheel of his self-realisation. All his education amounted to was two years of American history, civics, botany, English; one year of Latin, one year of algebra, generai scic-nce, civil govern- ment and a little physiology and anatomy» 1 1. Webb, Constance. Richard Wright: A Bjography. New York,• Putrama and Sons, 1968, po67. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 50 The major events of Wright’s childhood were those of beating, hunger, lynching, injustices? illness and poverty. Because they happened at an irnpressionable age, they left an indelible mark upon ’nim and although he later related well to whites and married a white woman, it was not known that he ever outlived his distrust of white society. This distrust of white society is clearly manifested in his preoccupation with thè subject of racisrn. The subject of racism has always been centrai to black American literature from thè poetry of Phyllis Wheatley (1750-1784) to thè present day literary works of black nationalist' writers like Eldridge Cleaver in his Soul on Ice and Imamu Amiri Baraka in his Dutchman, The isolation and uncertainty of growing up as a b jc*£.ift ir. thè American society is also thè centrai theme of thè works of Baldwin and Ralph Silisono The black American cannot answer satisfactorily thè question "who am I?" because his socio-economie status has been pre-determined as a lowly one bv thè white group. In Baldwin*s fictional UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 51 works, thè black man is compelled to acknowledge his inferior status and respond v/ith hopelessness and self-destruction as does Rufus in Anotber Coun- try, Baldwin's heroes never fine any sense of belon- ging. They rctreat from society and forra an inti­ mate relationship especially thè homosexual kind with another individuai. Wright also treats thè sub- ject of race but from a psychological and sociologi- cal point of view. Thus he stands out as a more virulent social critic of racism in America» However there is an inherent danger in assuming an exclusively psychological or sociological approa- ch to thè question of race as Wright does in his Native Son. The writer tends to over ernphasise thè psychological vulnerability of thè black man. The combination of social and economie deprivation, thè conflict between thè desire for social acceptance and thè rejection by thè majority group definitely puts a great stress on thè oppressed people. How­ ever a larga majority succeed in creating an alter­ native life as Richard Wright did during his life. The overriding message is that lottìcic life is a mean- ingless psychological journey through Fear and Flight UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 52 into a tragic Fate as thè subtitles of thè novel suggest„ Such conclusions is untenable to rnost members of black American elite, who argue that rnanv other boys who lived at thè same period of which Wright wrote were not permanently bitter as Wright's heroes. This group's rejection of thè Bigger syndrome is ex- emplified by James Baldwin's complaint that * Bigger and all his furious kin, serve to whet thè notorious national tasta for thè sensational and to reinforce all that we now find necessary to believe» 1 This anti-Bigger attitude of thè younger generation was explicable» The black elite of thè fifties was becorning part of thè American social revolution,, After thè Second World War, thè polarisation between thè Communist East and thè Democratic West forced America to put her democratic house in order. The Trurnan era, which began in 1945, dealt with injusti- ces and inequality in social, economie and politicai life. lo Baldwin, James» "fcany Thousands Go'ne". In Notes of a Native Son. New York, Bentam, 1955, page 33, UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 53 Novelists of thè fifties therefore had wider pre- occupations and universal appeal because they could easily move into thè main-stream of American life, society, and literature - Baldwin and Ellison endea— \oured to convince America that thè black American Citizen was a complex human being and a loving indivi­ duai who should be allowed into thè mainstream of American life. Their novels eschewed violence and overt social commitment. Ellison felt, at esse to practice art for art*s sake for as he said, "I can only ask that my fiction be judged as art; if it fails, it fails aesthetically” and Baldwin opined in thè same vein that thè only concern of thè artist was ,,Jco re­ create out of thè dis—order of life that order which is art” ^ The white elite also joined their black counter— part in denouncing Native Son. The whites who had believed thè black American to be docile, happy and 1. Quoted by Chapman, Abraham. Introduction to Black Voices» New York, New American Library, 1968 2. Baldwin, James. ”Many Thousands Gone.” In his Notes of a Native Son. Boston, Beacon, 1955. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 54 indifferent to his social situation vofn, startled by thè stark naked, angry and uncomfortable revelations of thè novel. They denied thè probability of such a person as Bigger in an American context and called Bigger a figment of Negro imagination. David Little- john's caustic statement regarding Wright's novels summarises thè white elite's standpoint. Novels like Native Son, according to himj can teli thè reader about thè ir author, show him something of thè shapo thè war myth can take in Negro imagination. (Wright's) Negro world exists only in his books and in his angry unconscious mind. It is unlike thè "reai" Negro world, entirely devoid of tenderness, love, communality, music, religious faith and hope, all of thè solace and all of thè joy. 1 While these arguments have some measure of jus- tification, it is pertinent to signify their subjec tivity and one-sidedness. They do not take into con- sideration thè fact that Wright had a dislocated child- hood and domestic life and was more intelligent and more sensitive than many of his rnates. Besides, it is also pertinent to suggest that there might have 1. Littlejohn, David» Black On White: A Criticai BSounriv eya nodf LWivriet irniggh ib,y A1m9e25r/i6c5a.n Neqroes» New York, UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 55 been others who were permanently scarred by their American experiences but who did not bave Wright's fighting spirit which made him triumph over his sur- roundings and refuse thè subservient role thè society wanted him to play. Literary activity was not Wright’s only escape from Southern racism. His family, like many other Southern families moved from one city to another in his youth. He described his father as a man who had gone to thè city seeking life, but who had failed in thè city; a black peasant whose life had been hope— lessly snarled in thè city, and who had at last fled thè city. 1 The theme of flight from thè intruman racial situation became a leitmotiv in Wright's works. The same city which frustrated Wright’s father lifted young Wright "in its burning arms and bore (him) toward alien and undreamed of shores of knowing". 2 When he left thè South in search of liberty, his first stop was in Memphis, Tennessee in 1925 where he worked as an assistant in thè American Optical Company and experienced less violent acts of racism than in Missi- 1. Wrighto Black Boy, p.43 » 2. ibid, p. 43„ UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 56 ssippi. His visits to thè library gave him thè oppor— tunity to read H.L. Mencken’s entiro works. Thus be- gan his initiation into "thè strange and exciting world of books." He was fascinated by Mencken, Balzac, Sinclair Lewis, Conrad, Edgar Allan Poe and Dreiser and in fact Mencken was his gateway to these social novelists of thè nineteenth and early twentieth cen- turies. These books made him see society in a new pers- pective. He understood thè people around him better as well as relationships between people since what interested him most in thè works he read were thè characters’ point of view. Because thè authors views coincided with his, he felt a new assurance. This literature of rebellion gave him thè assurance that he was not alone, that he was not queer to ĵ ebel. In Chicago, Wright started experimental wri- ting of' disconnected sentences and paragraphs. He would fili pages with stream of consciousness folacfc- dialect, trying to depict dwellers of thè black belt as he felt them. This practice would prove useful in his literary works which manifest a strong bias for dialects of thè working class people especially in UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 57 his short stories in Uncle Tom's Children (1938) as well as in Native Son (1940). It was also in Chicago that he began to read Doe- toevski and Gertrude Stein. He was both shocked and delighted at thè winding snake-like sentences of Stein's "Melancths?'which very much resembled thè speeches of his mother, grandmother and friends in thè South. On thè other hand, Dostoevski taught him much about thè psychological state of thè modern man, a lesson he was later to put to profitable use in The Outsider (1953). These sociological and literary influences combined to determine thè nature of Wright's writings and led to an ambiguity which has plagued critics of his literary works who see him as both a social rea- list and an existentialist writer. This Janus-like face of Wright's writing is due to thè two ideologies to which Richard Wright was exposed in his life time - those of marxism and existentialism. Like millions of Americans during thè Great De- pression of thè 30s Wright had his due share of un- employment, hunger and suffering. This depression shook thè whole of America and Europe, but descended more heavily on thè Negroes than on thè white prole- UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 58 tariat. This was compounded for Wright by thè fact that his family had joined him in Chicago and he was thè sole-breadwinner» A stint as an insurance agent for a Negro burial society brought him in contact with thè poverty-stricken people of Chicago. His visits to thè welfare office brought him in dose con­ tact with thè stark reality of widespread hunger, po- verty and unemployment which characterised thè lives of thè black people. He listened to conversations as ho waited on thè queue to collect his rations and he felt at one with thè poor people. He slowly began to comprehend his environment and to get out of his ego- tism. He now knew he was not alone in feeling injus- tice and rage. He grew open and questioning. The American Communist Party saw in thè mciaen—' • tary weakening of thè capitalist System, an opportuni- ty to unite thè proletariat of America, regardless of race, against one common enemy which was capitalismi The Party's cali for full racial equality and its attempts to devise methods of achieving it were rare in thè history of American radicaiism. For once, thè io lu e k became thè centre of serious politicai concern and activity. The era saw for thè first time large UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 59 scale inter-racial and industriai unionism. Picketing rent-strikes and economie boycotts often led to racial violence in most cities» 'wright met several Communist speakers in Chicago who invited him to attend a John Reed meeting® The John Reed Club was founded and organised in several major American cities during thè Depression by thè American Communist Party to help unknovm writers and artists and to provide a stimulating milieu for ar- tists. In January 1932, thè cautious Wright, convinced of thè seriousness of purpose and thè honesty of thè Club towards thè cause of thè blacks finally became a member and in Iiarch he joined thè Communist Party officially. To Wright in 1932, thè Communist Party was thè only politicai organisation which expressed thè coun­ try’ s need for a drastic change. As far as he was con cerned, thè Republicans and thè Democrats were identi- cal in their treatment of thè black® The scope of thè activity of thè John Reed Club impressed him® It appealed to government to create jobs for thè un-em- ployed artists, planned and organised exhibitions, UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 60 raised funds for thè publication of thè Left Front, organised trade unions and sent speakers to Union meetings. A few weeks later, he became thè Executive Seoretary of thè Club. In his vi ew at that time, his life ambition was about to be realised at last. However, thè series of clashes between Wright and thè Communist Party began very early. The first quarrel arose over his writing activities. He had published a collection of short stories entitled Uncle Tom,s Children. Party leaders thought that most of his energy should be spent in bringing new members in, instead of concentrating on individuai development of thè Club members. Party members tagged him an inte— llectual and a petty bourgeois who prefered writing to action. The Party leaders were also putting a lot of de- mand on thè Club for speakers, sign painters and funds so that little was left for literary activities and thè publication of Left Front. As thè problem aggra- vated, a conference was summoned to discuss and out- line thè role of thè writer in relationship to thè Communist Party. Richard Wright believed that thè role of thè writer was to prepare thè revolution irnplicitly. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 61 When thè party leaders won thè day, Wright began to doubt whether his goals were entirely identical with those of thè Communist Party. He recalled later that at that pointy An invisible wall was building slowly between me and thè people with whom I had cast my lot. Well, I would show them that all men who wrote books were not their enemies. I would communicate thè meaning of their lives to people whom they could reach; then surely my intentions, would merit their confidence. 1 Richard Wright, like many others of thè black elite who embraced Communism realised thè achievement of thè Communist Party in awakening black militancy over their prevailing condition which was similar to that of thè oppressed peoples all over thè world. The American Communist Party had high aims for thè black workers who were expected to lead thè black li- beration movements within thè context of a much larger struggle of thè American proletariat against capitalismo As Ralph Ellison was to discover later, Wright realised that thè black man’s 1. Wright, Richard. "Why I left thè Communists". In Richard Crossman (ed.) The God That Failed. N.Y. Harper and Brothers, 1950. * UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY if ' - 62 major preoccupation was different from that of thè Party. There were limitations in thè Party’s handling of thè black situation. The black man, by his history and experiences constituted a special class in thè American society and his major concern was how to solve thè immediate and concrete problems of inade­ quate housing, disenfranchisement and segregated edu­ cational facilities. Richard Wright was thus not an orthodox Communist, and his position has been des- cribed as nearer thè Popular Front brand of socialism than that of officiai Communism. Vvright's disagreement with thè Communist Party carne to a head soon after thè publication of Native Son in 1940. One critic regretted "thè absence of characters who would balance thè picture by showing Negroes whose rebellion against oppression is ex- pressed in constructive mass action rather than in individuai violence". Furthermore, VJright was accused of making out thè communists in thè novel, that is Jan, Mary and 1. Quoted by Ray, David and Farnsworth F.M. Richard Wriqht: Xmpressions and Perspectives» p. 44 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 63 Boris Max, as insensitive fools. Yet more serious re- servations were held on ideological grounds. Party critics saw Bigger as: a frustrated, anti-social individuai who commits anarchie acts of violence in his blind rebellion against capitalist society. It is politically slanderous to contend that Bigger Thomas is thè symbol of thè Negro people. Consequently it is an aesthetic falsity to select a character who is atypical and to make him thè protagonist of a novel that deals with thè bitter persecution and exploita- tion of a minority people in bourgeois society. 1 The Party's quarrel with Native Son was understand- able since thè novel did not advance thè Party*s cause Bigger Thomas*s ethic is not that of communalism but that of individuai freedom, a strictly existential ethic. However and interestingly enough, Native Son and indeed Uncle Tpm's Children mirrored thè ambiguity which was present within thè Communist Party itself. The Party encouraged unionism yet it was undecided about thè nature of thè Negro*s dilemma. Hence it pre- sented thè blacks as fighting for freedom within thè Black Belt and as victims of thè class war like white 1. Ray and Farnwoarth. op cit. p.45 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 64 workers» In thè same vein there is a conflict between thè overt Marxist propaganda of thè lawyer in Native Son and thè hero's black nationalisrr. and existentia- list traits which is eventually resolved in thè fa- vour of thè latter two. However thè influence of Wright's adherence to thè Communist Party is so strongly felt in thè works he wrote before 1946 that this period is often refer- red to as his Marxist Phase as opposed to his existen- tialist phase. Marxism had been for Wright a means of discovering thè external world, his people and himself. Wright's Marxigt phase is characterised by his social realism which is not due simply to his objective des- cription of thè social background of thè novels but mostly in thè way he shows how it feels to be impri- soned by thè social facts of being a Negro. In short he is both a social and psychological realist. Richard Wright's Communist experience had also marked thè conception of some of his short stories in Uncle Tom's Children expecially "Bright and Morning Star". "Bright and Morning Star" treats thè race question in America from thè perspective of a black mother, Sue, whose two sons are deeply involved in UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 65 thè Communist movement which thè white poiice officers are trying desperately to annihilate. The first son, Snug, has already been arrested and probably impri- soned. The second, Johnny Boy, is out in thè country- side getting together white and black comrades for their next meeting. Like most black mothers, Sue has led a hard life of subordination which she has come to accept as her fate. However, her sons progressively open up her mind to thè world of Connmunism until she feels a strange power of self-will in herself. When thè white sheriff demands information about her only remainirg son, she resists with a feeling of intense pride and dignity despite thè beatings and insults thè sheriff's men mete out to her. Sy thè end, she is courageous enough to shoot down Booker, thè stool-pigeon in her son's group thereby barring Booker from giving out thè names of thè other comrades in thè group. When Sue herself is shot in retaliation, she is made to die like a martyr, Focused and pointed, she was buried in thè depths of her star, swailowed in its peace and strength and not feeling her flesh growing cold, cold as thè rain UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 66 that fell from thè invisible sky upon thè doomed that never die. 1 Wright'sCommunist years also inspired proletarian poems like "Rest for thè Weary", A Red Love Note” and I have seen Black Hands." In short, while thè expe-* rience lasted, marxism was a means of discovering thè external world, his people and himself. The novels of Wright which belong to his so- called marxist phase also demonstrate a strong sense of commitment and protest, two elements which are basic to black American literary tradition from thè slave era. The slave songs, work songs, gospel songs and preachers' sermons were all forms of protest. They opposed reality, talked about being uprooted and being dislocated and demonstrate thè idea that thè black man has been denied a place, hence such songs as "I’m rollin through an unfriendly worl". There were also dim memories of thè remote African past of thè slaves as in "sometimes I feel like a motherless i . * . *. w • « chUd, a long way from home" or in thè well known 1. Richard Wright. "Bright and Fìorning Star”. In his Uncle Tom’s Children. Harper and Row, 1938/76, p.188. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 67 "Swing low, sweet chariot, coming for to carry me home", The spirituals were not exclusively religious; they were documents on thè black people's lives. These people found biblical parallels to their lives, their experiences, thè lack of liberty and saw their lives as identical to that of thè Israelites in Egypt, hence they sang songs likej "Deep river, my home is over Jordan." I’m a poor pilgrim of sorrow. I'm trying to make heaven my home." The negro slave was not docile. He protested in these various forms against cruelty and thè hypocrisy of thè American pseudo-christian world. Even thè slave narra- tives were accounts of injustices and as such they were agents of freedom in that l thè man who narrates his own experience thereby possesses it, reclaims it from those who had asserted rights over all aspects of his experience. 1 Pnyllis Wheatley carried on this spirit of protest into her poetry. Her Poems on Various Sub jects Religious and Moral (1773) was thè first to be 1. Bradbury and Temperley. Introduction to American Studies. London, Longman, 1981, p.153. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 68 published in black American literary tradition» Al- though she wrote in strictly American mainstream tra- dition since she wrote for thè aristocratic society of London and Boston yet one can safely trace in her poems a subtle protest against thè condition of blacks in her times in her poem "On being brought from Africa to America»" She pleads thus: Twas mercy brought me from pagan land Taught my blighted soul to understand That there's a God, that there's a saviour too: Once I redemption neither sought nor knew» Some view our sable race with scornful eye; "Their color is a diabolic dye". Remember christians; Negroes black as Cain, May be refined and join thè angelic train» 1 In another poem, "To thè Right Honourable William, Earl of Dartmouth", she tells thè Lord an account of her life thus: I young in life, by seeming cruel fate was Snatch'd from Africa's fancied happy seatc Such, such my case» And can I then but pray, Others may never feel tyrannic sway? 2 1» Quoted by Robinson, W.H. Phyllis Wheatley in thè Black American Beqinninqs. Detroit, Broadside Press, 1975 p„60. 2. ibid, p»41 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 69 In thè first poem although Phyllis Wheatley was concerned more with her peoples religious Identification more than anything else yet she pleads against racial discrimination. The second poem is even more bitter as it is a recollection of her African past as well as a fervent prayer that her other kinsmen in Africa may not expe— rience thè inhuman condition of slavery. Phyllis Wheatley’s protest is that of a Christian whose indignation is tempered by Christian charity. The first quarter of thè nineteenth century produced a new climate of tension in American race relations which affected thè course of black writing in thè next century. The social intensity which gave rise to various uprisings such as those of Gabriel Prosser, Deamark Vesey and Nat Turner was also responsible for thè spirited protest in thè works of thè most important writers of thè period, among whom were George Moses Horton, James Whitfield and Frances E„W, Harper. The same period also witnessed thè maturity of black UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 70 autobiography whose militancy was undeniable. Notable among such autobiographies were Fre­ derick Douglass’ Narrative (1Ó45) as well as William Wells Brown's Clotel and The Narrative of William Wells Brown (1847)® Black protest took a new turn thè begin- ing of thè twentieth century® Although Booker T. Washington’s Up From Slavery turned back thè hands of thè clock in its cali for mutuai co- operation betweeh thè whites and thè blacks, yet thè pròtest tradition gained more impetus from thè writings of Paul Lawrence Dunbar (The Sport of thè Gods. 1902) as well as Charles Waddell Chesnutt’s The Conjure Woman and The Marrow of Tradition (1901)® However, ”the cul­ tural and psychological dualism” which these writeriencountered prevented them from being as overtly committed as thè next generation of writers were® In thè words of Dunbar. thè poet sang of love when earth was young UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 71 But ah, thè world, it turned to praise k jungle in a broken tongue. We smile, but 0 great Christ our cries To thee from tortured souls arise. We sing, but on thè day is vile: But let thè world dream otherwise, We wear thè mask. 1 C.W. Chesnutt,in his The Marrow of Traditjpn (1901);describes a black doctor who is abused and ill-treated, but who eventually wins support of thè better elements of thè white community. The doctor is portrayed as a black rebel who is willing to die rather than accept subservient role. Yet thè ambi- guity of Chesnutt’s writing is very glaring. Dumbar and Chesnutt wsre forced to write contrary to their feelings and experienceé because they had to mediate their experiences through white publishers to a white audience and so were compelled to please thè whites. There is a transparent feeling of shame rage and self-ha.;e at this dissimulation in Dunbar’s poems and Chesnutts novels. While with Dunbar and Chesnutt thè tradition of protest in black literature was stifled, there was a l.Paul Lawrence Dunbar, "The Poet" In Chapman (ed). Black Voices. p.355. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 72 Ione but courageous voice of disserri:, that of W.E.B. Du Bois. A Northern negro from a family of ante-bollum freedmen, he grew up in Massachussets experiencing only mild racial prejudice» It was when he visited thè South on vacation that he discovered thè force of thè color— line. In 1903, he published his classical collection of historical, socio-economie, politicai, mystical and literary essays, The Spuls of Black Folk. In a famous passage where he describes thè Negro's doublé conciousness, he affirms that black Americans were both black and American and that this status con- fers on them a privileged insight into America's moral weakness. It also encombered thè black with an ambi- guous identity which leaves him alienated both from so­ ciety and from himself. Du Bois concludes that thè "History of thè Negro is thè story of that strife" and it is this strife and thè sense of doublé conscioueness which is at thè heart of much black art in generai and literature in particular» Du Bois left an example of serious prolest both in action and writing» His "A li- tany at Atlanta" is a caustic pcCi-Oha modern psalm 44 addressed to God for sleeping while blacks were being killed UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 73 Doth not this justice of hell stink in •. thy nostrils, 0 God? How long shall thè mounting flood of innocent blood roar in Thine ears and pound in our hearts for vengeance? 1 he asked. Du Bois poetry was characterised by its exalta- tion and militant tone, its racial pride, thè violence of its hatred and protest and in all this he announced thè advent of thè Harlem Renaissance. One other great name in thè protest tradition of thè period was Marcus Garvey whose "Back to Africa" slogan and his Black Star Line enterprise which was supposed to transport black Americans back to Africa went far in rehabilitating thè black man. His rele- vance was to have conceived thè first great mass movement ever known by blacks as a protest against their condition. Although he failed to realise his aims, his theory, Garveyism, emphasised black racism and brought back thè pride of colour and became thè living symbol of thè black peoples deepest aspira- tions. The militant awareness of Du Bois and Garvey reached a ferment in thè 1920S in thè movement known 1. W.E.B. Du Bois, "A Litany in Atlanta", In Chapman (ed). Black Voices. p.360 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 74 variously as thè "Harlem Renaissance”, The "New Negro Movement" or thè "Awakening of thè Twenties." Although thè Harlem Renaissance was a complex politicai, social and literary phenomenon, yet its salient factors can be summarised. These consist of a concern for thè history of thè race, race-pride, destruction of thè myth of thè old Negro as a compla- cent, lazy underdog or thè Uncle Tom which was propa- gated by thè whites as well as militancy over thè condition of black people. The Renaissance rehabili- tated black history, blackness and everything it stood for. It exhumed folkhore, art, black spiri- tuals, African rhytWftin blues and especially in jazz music. Jazz was not simply a musical revolution, it also summarised a whole way of life, a revolt against conventions of thè past and a nostalgia for African roots. It was a rehabilitation of thè black Ameri­ can' s past itself in that thè black man became con- vinced that his art, rather than being inferior, had human values and universal appeal. Not only were themes of thè Harlem Renaissance literature radically different from what had gone be- fore, but also all thè wearing of thè mask, all stereo- UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 75 types, all conformism were consiclered anathema. Langston Hughes described succinctly this new spirit when he declared that: We younger Negro artists who create a - new intend to express our individuai dark-skinned selves without fear or shame. We build our temples for tomo- rrow, strong as we know how and we stand on top of thè mountain, free within ourselves. e o « o « o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o a o o o o o o o o o e o o o o o o The popular melodrama has about played itself out, and it is time to scrap thè fictions, thè great bogeys and settle down to a realistic facing of fact. 1 The chief writers of thè period were Claude Mckay Countee Cullen and Langston Hughes while Alain Locke made several comprehensive statements about thè aims of thè Harlem Renaissance as well as detailed social and aesthetic analysis in his The New Negro (1925). However thè two most important concerns of this group of writers were with thè past as well as thè urban black American. Many of thè writers had studied 1. Hughes, Langston "The Negro Writer and thè Racial Mountain", The Nation, 1946 No. 122, p.694„ UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 76 in predominantly white Universities and were deter- mined that a new image of thè black American as a man of culture, cìeanliness, intellect and overall respec- tability was primordial. Thus, thè short stories of Hughes dealt with thè experiences and view points of thè urban black American from thè mind and mouth of thè memorable J.B. Simple. Only Claude Mackay thè "enfant terrible" of thè Harlem Renaissance, to whom rebellion was more of a way of life, moved nearer thè masses and their social problems. Ir. each of his sonnets like "Lynching", "Tiger" and thè well-known and often cited "If We Must Die", we have dramatic presentations of thè pains and bitterness of centuries as well as thè extension of W.E.B. Du Bois' militant protest in literature. On thè whole thè mood of thè black writers was that of celebration. With thè exception of Jean Too- mer who suffered from racial ambiguity as well as Langs- ton Hughes, Renaissance poems were thè opposite of thè modernist concerns of Heming-way, Pound and Eliot who tended to dwell on images of sterility and unrealised dreamSo Rather it was a poetry of shared exporience and thè creation of new values. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 77 Nevertheless this celebration tended towards ro— manticism and was rather self-congratulatory. It prò— vided a distorted image of thè folk who was absorbed with thè exigencies of physical survival in thè post— war period of Ku Klux Khan and lynching. In thè words of David Littlejohn, these poets were detailing not "The Ethics of Living Jim Crow but thè Anxieties of Li.vm.g-.Hig h-Brown".1 Moreover, there was stili a radicai disagreement as to thè objective of black writing. While Jean Too- mer wanted to be "a writer" and not a "Negro writer", Langston Hvghes advocated a new breed of writers who would write "as Negroes". With Toomer, thè problem of identity was stili unresolved while with Hughes this problem was an assumed fact. The depression years of 1929 and 1930 dealt a death blow to thè Harlem Renaissance in omerica but not ur.til it had spread its influence across thè ocean. The twenties was a most propitious time because Negro art was just being discovered by thè West. In litera- ture thè blacfc was thè vogue on both sides of thè Atlantic especially in France. In 1920, Blaise Cend- 1. Littlejohn, David. Black on White: A Criticai Survey of Writing by American Negroes, p.6. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 78 rars published his Antholoqie Negre» 1921 was thè year of thè famous Batouala written by Rene Maran, The controversisi novel drew thè attention of thè Wes­ tern world to thè evils of colonialism in Equatorial Africa. In 1927,and 1929, Andre Gide published his Voyaqe au Congo and Retour au Tchad respoctively. All these brought thè black man to thè limelight and con- firmed in thè black American that France had made a return to thè reai and authentic culture, that is thè black culture. It explains as well thè vogue of black expatriation to France from this period onwards. While thè Depression proved fatai to poetry, ìt however had beneficiai effects on thè novel and on black protest literature. The period saw thè inf- luence of Works Progress Administration (WPA) created by Franklin Roosevelt to aid writers. The forum pro- vided old hands like ama Bontempts and Steriing Brown thè opportunity to continue their career while it pro- vided a solid beginning for younger writers like Ri­ chard Wright. The tradition of protest and indictment of thè white society resurfaced in Arna Bontemps and Sterling Brown's works especially thè latter's South­ ern Kansion but one notices that they only presented UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 79 thè facade of black American lite. The apogee of thè protest tradition in litera- ture was attained with thè publication of Richard Wright's Native Son in 1940. Two years earlier he had portrayed thè violence, thè oppression and thè warping of thè black man's spirit in his dramatic short stories Uncle Tom’s Children. Native Son went further and bacarne a milestone in thè history of black American letters for clear reasons. Evidently, thè novel is a protest about thè race problem and vio— lence. This as we have seen is not new in literature but Native Son was unique and was criticised by both white and black critics on thè grounds of social rele- vance topicality, and commitment. For thè first time, a black writer had thè cou- rage to teli thè "whole truth" from thè common blaoVc' s perspective. for thè first time, thè shame, thè terror, thè rage and thè self-hatred a black nmerican experiences in America as well as thè power structure in thè society were dissectod by Wright without inhi- bitions. This ruthless social realism marked a Sym­ bol ic turning point in black literature for as Irving Howerigfrtly remarked: UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 80 Wright's novel brought out into thè open, as no one ever had before, thè hatred, fear and violence that have crippled and may yet destroy our (nmerican) culture.»» A blow at thè white man, thè novel forced him to recognìse himself as an oppressor, A blow at thè black man, thè novel forced him to recognise thè cost of his sub- mission. 1 In thè same vein, David Littlejohn would want a firm symbolic line to be drawn in black American litera- ture at thè publication of Native Son for, according to him, this novel introduced thè "war element" into that literature and "it is this war element, this attack and with it a new kind of truth to suit a nevi situation" 2 which so distinguishes Native Son» Native Son is patently propagandistic and mora­ listico The marxist lawyer's speeches demand a more just society where crimes such as Biggers would be in- concetvable. This is very much in line with thè moral commitment of all social realist novels. For Wright, literature was a moral force for change as well as an aesthetic creation for as he wrote in his "Blueprint 1. Irving Howe,,,Black Boys and Native Sons'*, Dissent (New York) ^utumn 1965, X, 4. 2. Littlejohn, David, Black on White» p.6„ UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 81 for Negro Writing" in 1938: Every short story, novel, poem and play should carry within its lines, implied or explicit, a sense of thè oppression of thè Negro people, thè danger of war, of fascism, of thè threatened destruction of culture and civilisation and too, thè faith and necessity to build a new world. 1 Wright enjoined a collective commitment on thè part of thè black American writer of thè forties be- cause thè living conditions of thè black American then did not warrant any artist practising an art for art's sake. Thus he followed thè traii, blazed by all thè previous black writers we have mentioned most es- pecially Du Bois and Claude Mckay. Wright also created a precedent in thè use of thè black man as an uninhibited and assertive centrai character in thè novel» Since Harriet Beecher Stowe’s linde Tom's Cabin (1952), thè black man's portrayal in fiction has varied between dissimulation, pathos and humour. The black heroes were either "folksy, not too bright souls", Uncle Toms, forgiving Christians, or mask-wearing heroes. Wright created a cogent hero within a literary frame, who is a reai native son of America. As he him- self wrote in his explanatory notes on Native Son he 1. Wright Richard. "Blueprint for Negro Writing", In Chapman (ed.) Black Voices. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 82 felt that; Bigger, an American product, a native son of this land, carried with him thè potentialities of either Communismn or Fascism.... he is a product of a dislocated society; he is a disposseSSed and disinherited man; he is all of this, and he lives amid thè greatest possible plenty on earth and he is looking and feeling for a way out. 1 Bigger Thomas has nothing in common with thè Suffering Hebrew children of thè spirituals. The grand-son of Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom is no longer docile, long suffering and stupidly loyal to thè status quo. Rather he is well armed to meet violence with violence. Wright took his novel very seriously. He was aware of thè importance of its message to thè black people hence his attempt to put Native Son both on stage and in thè movies. Unfortunately, lack of experience and of capitai led to thè failure of this venture. Following Wright's literary success, a Wright school made up of Chester Himes, Ann Petry, William Attaway developed. For this school, 1. Wright Richard "How Bigger was Born", Introduct— ion to his Native Son. New York,. Perennial Clla- ssics, 1965 edition. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 83 li.terat.-nre is an emotional catharsis, - a means or dispoiij.ng thè inner ten- sions of race; their noveis <->ften amounted to a prolonged cry of anyuish and despair. Their principal theme, reminiscent of Bherwood Anaerson is how thè American caste System breeds "gro- tesques”. The white audience on per- ceiving its responsibility for thè plight of thè protagonist is expected to alter its attitude towards race» 1 These writers were committed to highlighting thè social ills of their time because they felt they had social and moral obligation to do so. Inequality, injustice, segregation, racism, dehumanisation of thè industriai process, destruction of family life, American mer- cantilist spirit were some of thè themes in thè novels of Himes, Jittaway and Petry. Because they adopted thè realist mode, their observations about society became social protests like Wright's Native Son. Despite thè reservations of critics about Native Son, thè black American spirit can stili be ider.tified in Bigger Thomas* s arnbitions and frustrations if not in his methods of achieving visibility in a society which treats him as an invisible man. Even Baldwin, despite his scathing remarks about thè novel as well as 1» Robert Bone, "Black Boys and Native Sons", op cit UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 86 . (Dutchman) and Angela Davis (Angela Davis: An Aittobioaraphv. 1974) have set a new tone for racial revolt as they tended to emphasise racial separation rather than thè radicai revolt of Richard Wright. T They have kept alive thè virile black American litera. ry tradition of protest and commitment which blossomed with Wright for as Imamu Arniri Baraka says: a Negro literature, to be a legitimate product of thè Negro experience in America, must get at that experience in exactly thè terms America has proposed for it in its most ruthless identity. 1 If Richard Wright has become accepted as thè wri- ter of realist literature, there is however another vital dimension to his career which is often overlooked. Samuel Omo Asein in his aptly titled article "Richard Wright's Existentialism: The Neglected Phase", remarked that an interesting example of Wright's literary inf- luences "is to be found in thè development of his ex- istential outlook, thè origin's of which have remained an unresolved issue in three or so decades of Wright criticism". 2 1. Le Roi Jones. *'The Myth of a Negro Literature", In Black Expression. op cit. 2. Asein, S.O. "Richard Wright's Existentialism. The Neglected Phase", Modern Language Association of Nigeria Annual Conference, University of Ife, 22-24 February, 1979. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 87 The issue of Wright*s existentialism has been con- trovertial. Critics like ^obert Bone affirm that he ov;ed thè existentialist strain in his novels to his association with French existentialists during his self imposed exile in France. In 1946, Wright visited Paris for thè first time at thè invitation of thè French Government. He walked freely in thè streets without "any nervousness or strictures" ■i as he said. Wright definitely had no intention of exiling him- self when he visited P ris in 1946 but his growing fear for thè security of his family finally decided him to leave. In July 1947, he finally chose exile, even though he maintained his American citizenship and per- formed his civic duties. The literary atmosphere pro- vided by his existentialist-writer friends, Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir contributed immensely to thè crystallisation of his novel The Outsider (1953) which Nathan A. Scott Jr. has described as "thè one emphatically existentialist novel in contemporary Ame- rican literature." 2 1. Wright, Black Boy, op cit, p. 245. 2. Scott, Nathan A. ”The Dark and Haunted Tower of Richard Wright", In Gibson (ed). Fjve Black Writers New York, New York University Press, 1970, p, 21 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 88 Wright identified closely with thè aims of thè French existentialist write.r, He remarked that one of thè most remarkably gifted men I've met in Paris is J«PC Sartre.... Sartre feels that it is his right rather than his duty to defend, on purely humanistic grounds, thè interest of workers, to castigate antisemites, racism, imperialism. 1 Wright's existential consciousness however ante- dates his exile years. As Michel Fabre adequately por- trays in his magistral book on Wright, The Unfinished Quest of Richard Wright (1980) that thè reader should seek thè roots of Wright's existentialism in E.E. Cum- mings The Enormous Room whose, "absurd, almost existen­ tial overtones attracted Wright in thè thirties", in Nietsche and in Dostoevski whom Wright himself claimed had moulded his plr losophy - concerning modern man. In addition Wright's exile years saw thè publica— tion of Savage Holiday (1954) Black Power (1954) Paqan Spain (1957) as well as thè writing of Lawd Today and Eight Men both of which were published posthumously. Wright shifted his focus to thè Third World, He had met many Africans from thè French speaking areas of lo Wright, R "I choose Exile", MSS UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 89 West Africa in Paris. He had helped his friend Alioune Diop in launching thè Negritude journal Presence Afri- caine. At first he had been very enthusiastic about Negritude which he considered a regrouping of forces among intellectual ^fricans. He believed fervently that to rediscover thè old culture which was shredded and torn by thè colonialists who had paralysed thè black man for centuries was a worthy ideal. To search for what was uniquely African meant that thè black man was at last ready for self-evaluation and was ready to re-organise his life in accordance with his basic fee- lings. Nevertheless, Wright soon disagreed with thè Neg­ ritude poets on fundamental points. He disliked thè Negritudist apologias for blackness. He felt that "raciai" qualities were myths spurned by prejudiced minds. He prefered Negritude to take a more politi­ cai and militant stand because he did not believe in pacificism as a means of achieving politicai indepen- dence. Wright continued to be friendly but never in­ timate with his /ifrican friends. Black Power comple- ted his estrangement with thè Africans in Paris. Unlike most black Americans, Wright was never ro- UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 90 mantic about Africa. He went out of curiosity to see how a new ^frican nation was coping with self-govern­ ment in a modern world and he reported what he saw - thè wretchedness of life, filth, thè arrogant elite, Wright saw in Gold Coast, thè human misery which made him run away from America and he could not but de- nounce it as he had denounced human misery in his own country. Because he wrote as a naturalist would, his African friends did not forgive him for being fascina— ted by thè seamy side of things in thè former Gold Coast. On November, 28th, 1960, Wright died mysteriously at thè clinique chirurgicale Eugenie Gibez; in Paris. His quarrel with iberica was never resolved in his life- time. His restless life had been a long picaresque journey, a parafale of thè black condition, just at a time whan thè black protest in thè United States against which he had so consistently warned thè nation was breaking out. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 91 Sembene Qusmane: thè qriot of thè black conditlon in Africa. In Africa, thè black condition donned a new apparel, that of coionialism which metamorphosed intp neo-colonialism. Sembene Ousmahe's life i r and career like that of Richard Wright has followed closely thè social and historical con- ditions of Africa in generai and Senegai his country in particular. In 1848, France finally abolished thè slave trade and turned her attention fully to Africa for economie gains. She explored and claimed for herself thè coasts of present day Guinea, Ivory Coast, Benin and Malagasy and between 1854 and 1865, her troops moved into thè interior of West Africa under thè command of thè legendary colonial conqueror, Louis Faidherbe, who extended French rule up to thè Senegai River. For a long time after that, Senegai was to be an exemplar of French coio­ nialism even though thè French preS enee would not be strongly felt until after thè 1884 Berlin conference which shared out Africa UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 52 among thè various European powers» In thè final de- cades of thè nineteenth century, thè need for markets became acute for all European powers after slave trade had been abolished» Africa thus became thè scene where thè drama of European economie imperiaiism was played out, Despite thè humanitarian motives often advanced for colonialism in Africa, it is clear that each Euro— pean nation ventured into africa in order to solidify her economie interest and impose her national stamp on Africans- The French employed thè term "civilising mission" to describe their venture in their territo?» ries in West and East Africa known respect1'vely as Af- rique Occidentable Francaise and Afrique Equatoriale Francaise. This term as well as thè policy of assimila- tion which thè French practàced in Africa had thè same ideoi’ogical basis as slavery and racism. It was based on thè same prejudiced notion of thè innate inferiority of blacks„ It was therefore not surprising that Afri- cans reacted sharply and sometimes violently like their 1 l.ack American counterparts against all forms of pre— judice against them. France practised thè economie theory of "la mise UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 93 en valeur!f, an expression which clearly meant thè ex- ploitation of thè colonies» /Albert Sarraut, twice French colonial minister from 1920-24 and from 1932—33 summarised colonial economie venture as a relationship between thè exploiter and thè exploitedc According to him \ Economically, a colonial possession means to thè home country simply a privileged market whence it will draw thè raw materials it needs, dumping her own manufactures in return. Economie policy is reduced to thè rudi- mentary procedures of gathering crops and bartering them. This is literaiiy a policy of exploitation, 1 he con- cludedo By thè time thè First World War broke out, colo- nialism with all its attendant evils had Leen firmly established and Senegal where Sembene Ousmane was born in 1923 had become thè model colonial territory and thè headquarters of French colonial administration in '/■aet Africa, Since he was born in thè Casamance a remote Southern part of Senegai, and not in thè four privileged communes, Sembene Ousmane did not qualify as a French citizen. 1 1. Hargreaves, J.D. (ed) France and West Africa. London, Macmillan, 1969 p. 206= UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 94 The Cesamance region, famous for its fishermen and thè problem of monoculture is thè social context of Sembene Ousmane's short stories and 0 Pays Mon Beau Peuple. Sembene Ousmane insists in all his li- terary writings that thè economie basis of coloniali- sm must be emphasised and that it is thè European eco­ nomie exploitation of Africa which is responsible for her total ineptitude at all levels. Like Richard Wright, Sembene Ousmane was an auto- didact and like Wright he was a non-comformist. As a boy, he manifested a very rebellious and independent spirit, a spirit which was not tolerated in an Afri- can context where age was equated with wisdom». He was sent out of school before he could finish his primary education for what his headmaster referred to as his insubordination. Next he movec to Dakar where he :ried his hanos on a variety of jobs like plumbina, bricklaying and motor-vehicle repairing among others. The implications of his lack of formai education were doublé. First he could not become a citizen by reason of his western education as Leopold Sedar Senghor did. Secondly, as a self-taught man, he was open, like Wright, to a variety of literary influences. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 95 The subject as opposed to thè "citoyen", was open to many of thè abuses of thè colcnial System. He was disenfranchised, excluded from participating actively in thè administrative process, and was subject to ex - •«orbitant taxes as well as to thè obnoxious and noto- rious native law called thè "indigenat". The peasants who constituted thè vast majority of thè population and were subjects, suffered from thè breach of thè in- digenat which curiously resembled Jim Crow laws. Among thè possible infractions were songs, false ru- mour, disrespectful act, speech or remarks made to weaken respect for French authority and culture. The hero of Sembene Ousmane's A0 Pays Man Beau Peuple (1957) suffers series of humiliation because he dares to marry a French woman. His wife is victimised for allegedly degrading thè white race. One white man derìdes her by asking: Cela ne vous fait donc rien de coucher avec un Negre? Moi, à votre place, j* aurais honte. 1 On a more positive note however, Sembene Ousmane1s lack of formai education prevented him from being alie- 1. Ousmane, Sembene. 0 Pays Fion Beau Peuple. Paris, Le Livre Contemporain, 1957, p.43. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 96 nated from bis culture and from thè African masses* Colonial francophone education, j.ike thè Christian re— ligion, was an agont of deculturisation which produced a new class of elite who considered themselves as su- perior to thè masses and whose loyalty to thè colonial government was more deep-rooted than their loyalty to their people. Sembene Ousmane, on thè other hand has closely identified with thè masses and their aspira-tiors, By thè eve of thè Second World War itself,. Africa had become"a dying land", and was economically and politically stagnante Peasants did not have thè means of improving their rudimentary agricultural techniques» The French government was neither interes- ted in investing on agriculture» When thè war even- tually broke out, thè peasant was at thè end of his patience. His purchasing power diminrshed, aggrava- tec’ as it was by war subscriptions, black market, poor prices as well as conscription for "national defence". The post Second World War saw thè beginnings of nationalism in Africa in generai and witnessed thè re- sounding impact in africa of Pan-Africanism which had gathered momentum in Europe in thè previous decade through thè efforts of W0E„3. Du Bois and George and UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 97 Dorothy Podmore. After thè war, educateci Afrrcans began to agitate for reforms in thè pre-war System of autocratic French rule as a recompense for Africa*s large contribution to thè victory of thè Allied Forces during thè war. In 1938, an estimated 30,000 Africans served in Trance, Syria and North africa while another 15,000 served in tropical Africa,, In 19 39, 12,000 men, of whom Sembene Ousmar.e were added to this number through a special draft. Sembene Ousmane saw Service in Italy and Ger- many and in 1943, he returned home to Senegai armed with a new vision of Africa and Europe like all other ex~comba't,ants. These ex-servicemen joined thè edu- cated /ifricans in dennanding reforms and their agita- tions marked thè beginnings of nationalist movements and politicai parties in francophone Africa. Politically, thè Second World War signalled thè end of thè colonial era. In thè words of Ruth Morgen- thau : The Second World War marked a new stage in international politics, indicating that thè colonial era was over. Then Africa became involved in thè universal attempts of thè poorer nations to re­ duce thè gap separating them from thè richer. The bir4-H of thè parties can UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 98 be seen as a step in this direction., Africans first sought to become poli­ ticai ly independent becaust they be- 1ieveH rhat only thus could they take active part in their own aevelopment. 1 The most broadly based politicai party within this geographical area was thè Rassemblement Democra- tique Africain (R«D.A) which grouped rican elites who were almost all graduates of thè famous elitist William Ponty School in Dakar. Rather than press for politicai independence as it was being done by Kv/ame Nkrumah in Ghana, these elites colled for reforms which was granted by thè terms of thè Brazaville Con- ference of 1944, which eradicated thè indigenat, re- commended freedom of assembly, thè expansion of educa­ tional tacilities as well as thè organisation of trade unions. However, rather than calming thè .ifricans, these reforms raised expectations and stimulated fervent po­ liticai activity in thè form of trade unionism and violent demonstrations especially in Ivory Coast, Gui­ nea and Cameroun. More radicai Africans wanted their1 1. Schachter Morgenthau Ruth. "Introduction", Politi­ cai Parties in French Speaking West Africa. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1964. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 99 representatives in thè French assemblies to demand po­ liticai independence but were disappointed by thè atti— tude of tne intellectual politicians like Leopold Seng- hor and Houphouet Boigry who in fact were some of thè most Frenchified Africans and who favoured a gradua- list approach. Sembene Ousmane had hoped that France would grant democratic self-rule to African colonies after thè former had fought thè war against fascismo He was even more disappointed that thè Senegalese elite was settling for half-measures. Between 1943 and 1948, he travelled widely in West Africa to see thè colonial situation for himself and to gauge thè feelings of thè masses, In 1946, he participated in thè great Dakar- Niger railway strike which he was to commemorate in his Les Bouts de Bois de Dieu (1960No Disillusion at thè politicai turn of events made him return to France in 1948» Sembene Ousmane1s years in France provided him with thè opportunity to educate himself in thè evenings after his Works in thè port and be in contact with Neg— ritude writers as well as black American writers like Claude Mackay, Richard Wright and Chester Himes. He UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 100 was fascinateci by thè uncomproming and almost savage rcalism as weìi as thè coturnitrnent to thè cause of thè common people in their novels. When in 1948 Sembene Ousmane returned to France, Wright had been in Paris for almost two years and had already made a significant mark on thè French litera- ry scene» Translations of bis major works were avail- able in French» Native SQn which was trans lated as Un Enfant du Pays was particularly successful in that it opaned thè eyes of thè public to thè racial problems in America. Sembene Ousmane must have read Wright*s Un Enfant du Pays for his Le Dockor Noir has striking resemblances with thè formar both in conception and execution. Diaw's story is not exactly identical in setting, scope of narrative and temporal span with that of 8i -ger Thomas, vet thè personalities of thè two heroes reveul certain similarities. Both are black adoles- cents, secor.d class citizens in predominantly white societies» Both are stunted and devoid of politicai social and economie rights. 3y their race and social class, they belong to "thè wretched of thè earth". In dative Son •'r ’ T ̂ Porger Noxr racism is a by- UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 101 product of economie and cultural oppression. Therefore race and social class are portrayed as being insepara- ble in thè two novels. Both lawyers for thè defence in thè novel are marxists who highlight thè heroes* crimes from a marxist point of view. They argue that Bigger and Diaw Falla are victims of thè capitalist society both by their race and social class» Since racial pre- judice is thè bane of thè black man, Sembene Ousmane like Richard Vvright, returns to it ceaselessly in his novels which describe thè colonial situation. As a dockworker in Marseilles, Sembene Ousmane, like Wright, joined thè Communist Party and was a mem- ber until Senegai gained her politicai independence in 1960. He was also an active leader of dock-workers within thè context of thè Confederatìon Generale du Travail, playing leading roles in worlvers' demonstra- tr'ons which were rampant in thè late forties and early fifties. His adherence to Marxism has also modified his conception of contemporary African reality. His successive novels have reiterated that writing is a form of social action. Rather than highlighting so­ cial and politicai problems in isolation as do many African writers, he dw < 122 those who watched and waitedo In a Christian society which did not recognise his personaìity, he felt he did not bave to adhere to thè morality of Christian ethics. Later in life he was able to diagncse thè reasons why he refused Christia- nityj I knew about thè meaning of religion, thè hunger of thè human heart for that which is not and can never be, thè thirst of thè human spirit to conquer and transcend thè implacable limita- tions of human life 2 wherever I found religion in my life, I found strife, thè attempt of one in­ dividuai or group to rule another in thè name of God. The naked will to power seemed always to walk in thè wake of a hymn. 3 Society did not offer Wright any succour. The scenes of poverty, illness and injustice continuously made him withdraw into himself very early. He knew he would have to face things alone. Explaining further thè existential basis of his life, he wrote: ... I had an attitude toward life that was to endure, that was to make me sceptical of everything while seeking everything, tolerant 1. ibid, p223 * 2* ibid, p.132 . 3. ibid, p.150 * UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 123 of all and yet criticai, The spirit I had caught gave me insight into thè sufferings of others like my own, made me sit for hours while others told me of their lives, made me strangely ten­ der and cruel, violent and peaceful. It directed my loyalties to thè side of men in rebellion. It made me love talk that sought answers to questions that could help nobody, that could only keep alive in me that enthralling sense of wonder and in thè face of thè drama of human feeling which is hidden by thè external drama of life. 1 All forms of domination and naked show of power were horrible to Wright because they assaulted his ego. He knew, however that this sense of freedom en- tailed responsibility and courage. Àt tirnes, there carne to him moments of doubtS It was inconceivable to me that one should surrender to what seemed wrong and most of thè people I had met seemed wrong. Ought one to surrender to authority even if one believed that authority was wrong? If thè answer was yes, then I knew I would always be wrong, because I could never do it. Then how could one live in a world in which one's mind and perceptions meant nothing and authority and tradition meant everything? There were no answers. 2 It was generally accepted in Wright*s days that blc limitation but thè hero did not, His 1. ibid, pp 111 - 113 2. ibid, p. 182 , UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 124 major problem was contained in thè one nagging ques­ tione "How can I change my relationship with my en- vironment?" This environment which denied blacks thè worth of thè ir humanity. Richard Wright equated hu- manity with thè full development of his potentialities. Many choices were possible in this tension between thè self and thè environment. Resignation, role playing, indulging in simple pleasures of life, self assertion and open rebellion were some of them. Wright chose self - assertion through literary creativity because he knew all other avenues were futile, though they existed in reality. American Hunqer óontinues thè autobiographical strain wellintothe hero's Communist years. It deals also with more examples of his various experiences of racism. He had felt caged and mentally imprisoned during those yearsó The heritage of free thought - which no man could escape if he read at all - thè spirit of thè protestant ethic which one suckled, figuratively with one's mother’s milk, that self regenerating energy that made a man feel, whether he realised it or not, that he had to work and redeem himself through his own acts, all this was forbidden, taboo. 1 1. ibid, p. 120 •’ UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 125 Wright tried successfully to overcome thè irra- tional forces of religion, racism and Communism but never completely mastered bis environment hence bis exile in France. Black Boy and American Hunqer there- fore explain thè Nietzschean as well as thè Dostoev- skian bases of his novels. Fear, dread, discomfort and anxiety in thè face of thè world in Black Boy and American Munger are all reiterated in Native Son and The Outsider, Wright personally never transcended his own existentialism which in fact underlies all his ma­ jor novels. Existentialists have a way of putting themselves in their works since thè basic question which Existentialism asks is thè very meaning of one’s existence. The social backgrounds of thè heroes of Native Son and The Outsider as well as their relation- ships with their mothers which bred an ineradicable feeling of dread and guilt in them are very much those of Wright. Native Son:- The hero of Native Son. Bigger Thomas, is a black American existentialist hero. Bigger is doubly an oub sider to thè mainstream of American life. First he is an outsider by reasons of thè blackness of his skin. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LI RARY Im*** 126 ~ The theme of thè black man as an outsider was not new in Black American literature. At thè beginning of thè century, VAE.B. Du Bois aptly described thè ambiguous and therefore psychologically traumatic position of thè btack within thè American society in his The Spuls of Black Folk. He said: After thè Egyptian and Indian, thè Greek and thè Roman, thè Teuton and R‘ongolian, thè Negro is a sort of seventh son, born with a veil, and gifted with second-sight in this American world, a world which yields him no true self-consciousness but only lets him see himself through thè revelation of thè other world» It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one's self through thè eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by thè tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity» One ever feels his two-ness; two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder» 1 Bigger is also set apart by reason of his social class» Since a large number of blacks in America occupy thè lowest rungs of thè socio-economie ladder by reasons of history and skin colour, they belong to 1. Du Bois, W.EoBo The Souls of Black Folk: Essays and sketches» Chicago Crest Paperback, Ì961”- Chapter 1» r UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 127 thè vast majority of thè under-privileged peoples of thè world to whom Richard Wright addresses himself in The Color Curtain: A Report on thè Bandunq Conference, (1956). f The sartie theme of thè black outsider is also sym- bolically treated by Ralph Ellison in his Invisible Man (1952). This novel, an epic of modern American Negro life, is a profound and uncompromising interpre- tation of thè block*s anomalous position in thè Ame­ rican society. It is thè story of a young man*s search for identity. The hero encounters various situations which attempt to blind him to his image as a black man. In thè end, he is convinced that he exists although thè white society pretends he doesn't. Addressing thè reader, he declares: I am an invisible man... I am not a spook like those who haunted Edgar Allan Poe; nor am I one of your Holly­ wood movie ectoplasms. I am a man of substance, of flesh and bone, fiber and liquids and I might even be said to possess a mind. I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me... When they approach me, they see only my surroun-* dings, themselves, or figments of their imagination - indeed, everything except me. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 128 Nor is my invisibility exactly a matter of a bio-chemical accident to my epidermis. That invisibility to which I refer occurs because of a peculiar disposition of thè eyes of those with whom I come in contact» A metter of thè construction of their inner eyes, those eyes with which they look through their physical eyes upon reality. I am not complaining, nor am I protesting either. It is sometimes advantageous to be unseen, although it is most often rather wearying on thè nerves. Then too, you* re constantly being bumped against by those of poor Vision.. Or again you often doubt if you really exist. 1 The symbolic nature and thè all-inclusiveness of its experience for thè black race is poignantly expressed in thè last sentence of thè novel: "Who knows but that on thè lower frequencies, I speak for you." Much later John A Williams in his The Man Who Crjed I am (1968) was to put thè question of negro invisibility into a more frightening yet originai and convincmg perspective. The hero Max does^nBpetlong' to thè working class as Ellison’s hero. Neither is he trapped in thè ghetto like Wright's Bigger Thomas. Rather he belongs to thè black elite, who, so to say, 1. Ellison, Ralph. The Invisible Man. New York, Vintage Books Edition, 1972, p. 3.- UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 129 ”has made it" as a successful novelist, a Presidential speech writer and an editor for a major-American maga— zine, thè Pace. Williams’s novel rolates how Max flies to Boll and to meet his estranged Dutch wife Margrit, learns of thè death of his friend Harry Ames (who curiously resembles Richard Wright) and accidentally discovers a C.I.A. pian, nicknamed King Alfred which aims at exterminating leading blacks. Needless to say thè knowledge of this pian leads to his own extermination by black agents. The Man Who Cried I am is a work of pride.anger and passion of a man who accepts thè responsibility to- teli ”those people (Communists, American Presidents and whites in generai) to stop lying not only to us, but to themselves". 1 The novel relates with terrifying poig- nancy what it is to be a black American in America, to be denied of one's rights, of job opportunities, of family union and to be hounded to death for knowing too much. The merit of John Williams* novel lies in thè proud affirmation of Max Reddick despite thè oddsthat ”1 am - a writer, a man, somethmg". 2 1. Williams, John A. The Man Who Cried I am. New York, New American Library, 1968, p. 46 2. ibid, p .47. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 131 birth to him: Bigger, sometimes I wonder why I birthed you.... We would'nt live in thìs garbage dump if you had any manhood in you.... All you care about is your own pleasure! Even when thè relief offers you a job ; you won’t take it till they thbea- ten to cut off your food and starve you! Bigger, honest, you thè most no-countest man I ever seen in all my life.... You*11 regret how you living someday. 1 This continuous assault upon his ego finally makes him surrenderi As he ate he felt that they were thinking of thè job he was to get that evening and it made him angry; he felt that they had tricked him into a cheap surrender. 2 Bigger sees thè poverty in which he was born as thè cause of this lack of freedom he experiences and thè ghetto to which he is confined since this poverty makes thè whole family dependent on him. He rages at that social situation which makes any choice impossible in his life» Day in and day out there was nothing but shouts and bickering. But what could he do? Each time he asked him- self that question his mind hit a 1. Wright: Native Son pp 11 and 13- 2. Wright, Native Son p. 15. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 132 blank wall and he stopped thinking.... Yes he could take thè job at Dalton's and be miserable, or he could refuse it and starve. It maddened him to think that he did not have a wider choice of action. 1 The relationship with members of his family who con- stitute thè first group of "Others" in his life is saturated with fear, lack of understanding and finally hatel He hated his family because he knew that they were suffering and that he was powerless to help thern. He knew that thè moment he allowed himself to feel to its fullness how they lived, thè shame and misery of their lives, he would be swept out of himself with fear and despair. So he held toward thern an attitude of iron reserve; he lived with thern, but behind a wall, a curtain. /Ind toward himself he was even more exacting. He knew that thè moment he allowed what his life meant to enter fully into his consciousness, he would either kill himself or some- one-else. 2 The mother-son conflict is thè first indication of Bigger as an outsider, as an alienated being or at worse an outlaw. The second group of "Others" in Bigger*s life is thè whites. In order to escape his feeling of 1. ibid, p. 17 • 2. ibid, p. 14 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 133 self-hate and hate for his family, he !,acts tough", by joining a gang and fighting, stealing, in short breaking thè white man's law. There is a cruciai monologue which exemplifies his attitude to whites. One of his gang's dreams is to rob Blum's shop. On his way to thè Dalton's he reflects on this plani They had thè feeling that thè rob- bing of Blum's would be a violation of ultimate taboo; it would be a tre.'S-passing into territory where thè full wrath of an alien white world would be turned loose upon them; in short, it would be a sym- bolic challenge which they yearned to make, but were afraid to» Yes; if they could rob Blum's, it would be a reai hold-up, in more senses than one. 1 Robbing Blum is for Bigger a form of catharsis. It is a revolt against all forms of constraints to his ego. He has a basic distrust for thè white people. Before leaving for thè Dalton's he makes sure he has his knife and gun, which invest him with a sense of manhood^ He was going among white people, so he would take his knife and his gun; it would make him feel that he was thè equal of them, give him a sense of compietenesse 2 1. ibid, p.18 ' 2. ibid, p.44 ° UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 134 Standing before thè iron fence of thè Dalton’s how- ever his '■ ■V -*«)e*cting tough" disappears» Only his basic feeling of fear and emptiness resurface especially at thè Sharp contrast between this world and his£ This was a cold and distant world; a world of white secrets carefully guarded. He could not feel a pride, a certainty, and a confidence in these streets and houses.... He grew angry. Vihy had he come to take this goddam job? He could have stayed among his own people and escaped feeling this fear and hate. This was not his world; he had been foolish in thinking that he would have liked it»... He had not expected anything like this, he had not thought that this world would be so utterly different from his own that it would intimidate him. 1 If Bigger feels this way towards thè white Daltons whom he has not even met, it is because he already possesses some negative stereotyped ideas about whites. f’or him, thè whites are responsible for his poverty and lack of opportunity in life» Bigger Thomas is perpetually disgruntled about his frustra- tion» "Goddammit, I'm always broke!" he mumbles. I could fly a piane if I had a chance, he complains 1. ibid, pp 45-47 • UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 135 at another time but his friend Gii is quick to re- rnind him of thè barrier to his aspirations If you wasn't black and if you had some money and if they'd let you go to that aviation school, you could fly a piane. 1 While play-acting at "whites" with his friends, Bigger unconsciously reveals his dreams. He would like to be a General, directing thè attack on thè enemy with tanks, gas, planes and infantry. He would also like to be thè President of thè United States directing cabinet meetings. However, each time he has to return firmly to earth from his day- dream world. He exclaims/ Goddammit! They don*t let us do nothing, They don't let us do no- thing.... The white folks.... Naw. But I just can't get used to it « I swear to God I can't. I know I oughtn't think about it, but I can't help it. Every time I think about it I feel like some body's poking a red-hot iron down my throat. Goddammit, look! We live here and they live there.... Everytime I get to thinking about me being black and they being white, me being here and they being there, I feel like some- thing awful's going to happen to m e . . W h y they make us live in one corner of thè city? Why don't they let us fly planes and run shipso... I reckon we thè only 1. ibid, p.20 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 136 things in this city that can't go where we want to go and do what we want to do.... 1 Unlike his friends, Bigger cannot forget his status as an underdog and as a socially and economi- cally deprived person. He cannot "get drunk and sleep it off". When asked where thè white people live, he replies symbolically, "Right down here in my stomach. Every time I think of 'erri, I feel em„... It's like fire." 2 Bigger's brief association with thè Daltons brings fully into his consciousness thè meaning of his life. Full to thè brim with hatred of thè whites he decides to accept thè driver's job-for want of any better. He walks through thè quiet and spacious white neighbourhood, registering enviously its poi- gnant contrast with thè one-room apartment in which his family squats in thè South Sideó He carne to Drexel Boulevard and began to look for 4605. When he carne to it, he stopped and stood before a high, black, iron picket fence, feeling con- stricted inside. All he had felt in thè movie was gone^ only fear and emptiness filled him now. 3 1. ibid, pp. 20-24 » 2. ibid, p. 24 ' 3. ibid, p. 45 * UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 137 The gaze is one of thè tools with which thè Other overpowers Bigger. He is particularly sensi­ tive to thè white man's gaze which in his view redu- ces him to nothingness, to thè status of an object. In Sartrean terms, he is objectified and reduced to thè existence of an "etre-pour-autrui." His first meeting with Mr. Dalton is a trying, tense and un- easy encomtter/ Grabbing thè arms of thè chair, he pulled himself upright and found a tali, lean, white-haired man holding a piece of paper in his hand« The man was qazinq at him with an amused smile that made him conscious of every square inch of skin on his black body.... He hated himself at that moment. W'hy was he acting and feeling this way? He wanted to wave his hand and blot out thè white man who was making him feel like this. If not that, he wanted to blot himself out. He had not raised his eyes to thè level of Mr. Dalton's face once since he had been in thè house. He stood with his knees slight- ly bent, his lips partly open, his shoulder's stooped; and his eyes held a look that went only to thè surface of things. There was an orgaric conviction in him that this was thè way thè white folks wanted him to be when in their presence; none had ever told him that in so many words, but their manner had made him feel that they did. 1 1. ibid, pp. 49-50 * UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 138 This scene between Mr. Dalton and Bigger exernplifies thè psychological stereotyping inherent in racial so­ cieties. Bigger is constrained to assume this hypo- critical attitude of thè dumb, unintelligent boy before Mr. Dalton because this is what thè society expects from a black boy. Mr. Dalton's interview further explicates thè white man's views of thè black as hardly competent, as a liar and a thief» By con- stantly hinting at his humanitarianism in employing Bigger, he surreptitiously puts Bigger squarely in his place in thè social set-up: that of thè underdog. He announces with self-justification that: The pay calls for twenty dollars a week, but I'm going to give you twenty-five dollars. The extra five dollars is for yourself for you to spend as you like. You will get thè clothes you need and your meals. You're to sleep in thè back room, above thè kitchen. You can give thè twenty dollars to your mother to keep your brother and sister in school. How does that sound? 1 Though this paternalistic attitude infuriates Bigger, he is forced to hide his feelings under a string of "Yessirs!" There is another scene which demonstrates even more poignantly thè tenseness (which is due to his forcefully repressing his 1. ibid, p.52 * UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 139 emotion of hatred) Bigger experiences when he Comes closely to whites. This time thè éensè at play is not that of sight but of touch. Bigger has to take his boss's daughter, Mary, out on his first night at work. Mary introduces Bigger to Jan, her boyfriend: -Oh, Bigger, this is Jan. And Jan, this is Bigger Thomas. Jan smiled broadly, then extended an open palm toward him, Bigger*s entire body tightened with suspense and dread. He felt Jan's fingers tighten about his own. He tried to pulì his hand away, ever so gently, but Jan held on, firmly, smiling...» Jan stili gripped his hand and Bigger held his head at an oblique angle, so that he could, by merely shifting his eyes, look at Jan and then out into thè Street whenever he did not wish to meet Jan's gaze. He heard Mary laughing softly. "Its all right, Bigger," she said. "Jan means it." 1 However Bigger who believes in thè hypocrisy of whites who treat blacks well sees nothing to smile about in this short but meanigful drama of racial en- counter. He flushed with anger. Goddam her soul to helli Was he laughing at him? Were they making fun of him.... Maybe they did not despise him? But they made him feel his black skin by just standing there looking 1. Richard Wright, Native Son, p.67 - UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 140 at him, one holding his hand and thè other smiling. He felt he had no phy- sical existence at all right then; he was something he hated, thè badge of shame which he knew was attached to a black skin, It was a shadowy region, a No Man's Land, thè ground that sepa- rated thè white world from thè black that he stood upon» He felt naked, transparent. 1 As in thè case of his Mother, Bigger*s feelings for Mary and Jan evolves from fear into implacable hat- red. However, these are only two members of thè white group he confronts in thè novel. Mrs. Dalton for her own part wants to order Bigger's life by su- ggesting he continues his education in a night school to which he objects. Conclusively he sees all thè members of this family as "a part of thè world of people who told him what he could and could not do". 2 Now Bigger resents anyone who encroaches on his sense of freedom. He believes he is basically free and can determine his own lifeó He felt that same way toward everyone. As long as he could remember, he had never been responsible to anyone» The moment a situation became so that it exacted something of him, he rebelled. That was thè way he lived; he passed his days trying to defeat or gratify 1» ibid, p» 69 » 2» ibid, p. 60 » UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 141 powerful impulses in a world he feared. 1 His major problem, that of affirming his existence recurs this time within thè context of a white domi- nated world from which he is alienatedo His first day lived closely with whites has been an unpleasant association with thè "Other." The taunting, thè probing questions, Mary's putting her arms around his shoulder, his being forced to sit so closely between Jan and Mary in thè front seat, his eating and drinking with them against his wishes are unsettling experiences for him. He feels thè pre­ ssure, thè "crowding" is unbearable for one night, especially his first night with whites whom he does not understand! he distrusted them, really hated them,.., How on earth could he learn not to say "yessuh” and "yessum" to white people in one night when he had been saying it all his life long?.... When he tried to chew he found his mouth dry. It seemed that thè very organic functions of his body had altered; and when he realised why, when he understood thè cause, he could not chew thè food. 2 1. ibid, p. 44 . 2. ibid, p. 73. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 142 Eigger's alienation provides thè motivation for his reactions to thè whites. Blindness is thè meta- phor which thè author uses most frequently to des- cribe thè relationship between Bigger and his bosses. In Bigger's morbid hatred and fear of whites, he is blind to thè white humanity thè Daltons offer as well as thè Communist corneradeship which Jan and Mary offer him. Bigger like Cross Damon in The Outsider believes he ought to be supremely free and that he is not responsible to anyone. However thè author shows concretely how social realities destroy Uto- pias. Bigger's Utopian dream evaporates in thè first insteance at thè touch of economie reality. He must accept a job in order to live and make others live. He is therefore a subject of economie determinism. In thè second place his choice is determined by thè racial set up in thè society, thè narrator there- by adding a socio-cultural dimension to thè existen- tial form. When Bigger, out of fear smothers young Mary, his spontaneous reaction is to think of what thè "Others" wili think and how to absolve himself from their judgement. He is instantly aware that he is not just any murderer but a "NEGRO" murderer of a UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 143 white womani She was dead and he had killed her. He was a murderer, a Negro murderer, a black murderer. He had killed a white woman. He had to get away from here... In thè darkness his fear made him live in him an element which he re- ckoned with as "them" „ He had to con- struct a case for "them".... But he would teli "them" that that was not true.c. They can't say I did it. If they do, they can’t prove it. 1 When Bigger refers to "they" and "them", he means thè Others, thè Hegelian "das man", thè faceless ano- nymous power that governs us all, that dominates our lives and determines standards of taste and morality. Bigger’s flight (described in elaborate and dramatic details in Book II) is thè second major act of "mau vaise foi" he commits. The first act is his accept* ing thè stereotyping and thè consequent dehumanisa- tion that are part of thè racial confrontation, thus robbing himself of his unique humanity and reducing himself to thè state of an "etre - pour - autrui." However, thè murder revolutionises his cons- ciousness as an individuai. He acquires a sense of 1. ibid, pp. 90-91» UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 144 freedom and for thè first time in his life he lives as a whole human being who is energetic, and active. The author describes in detail thè calculating pre- sence of mind with which Bigger puts Mary's body in a trunk, carries it downstairs, severs off thè head, pushes thè corpse into thè blasting furnace and turns on thè exhaust fan which will suck thè air out of thè basement so that there will be no odour. Bigger even comes to feel a sense of pride for having killed a white girl. The next morning, pondering over his actions of thè previous nightj thè thought of what he had done, thè awful horror of it, thè daring asso­ cia ted with such actions, formed for him first time in his fear-ridden life a barrier of protection between him and a world he feared. He had murdered and had created a new life for himself. It was something that was all his own, and it was thè first time in his life he had anything that others could not take from him. His crime was an anchor weighing him safely in time; it added to him a certain confidence which his gun and knife did not. He was outside of his family now, over and bey onci them ; they were incapable of even thinking that he had done such a deed. And he had done something which even he had not thought possible. 1 1. ibid, p. 101 . UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 145 Murder becomes a revolutionary act as far as Bigger is concerned because it is after committing it that he realises his humanityi Like a man reborn, he wanted to test and taste each thing now to see ho w it went; like a man risen up well from a long illness he felt deep and wayward whims. 1 In his hide-out, he coldly and lucidly examines his act without feeling any remorse, "He ’nad commited murder and had created a new world for hirnself." He resists arrest courageously, shooting at as many of his assailants as he can and when he finally gives up, it is with thè satisfaction that he has done his best. He is not afraid any more though he has not been able to create a world which would obey his own orders. However, he is shod of all his hate. He simply waits for thè imminent end, thè inevitable judgement of thè "Qthers" whom he has so consistently evaded all his lifeJ Having been thrown by an accidental murder into a position where he had sensed a possible order and meaning in his relations with thè people about him; having accepted thè moral lo ibid, po 106 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 146 guilt and responsibility for that murder because it had rnade him feel free for thè first time in his life; having felt in his he art some obscure need to be at home with people and having demanded ransom money to enable him to do it - having done all this and failed, he chose not to struggle any more. 1 With death staring him in thè face as thè con- sequence of his action however, his old fear surges back, "thè fear of death before which he was naked and without defense." Doubts about his identity re­ surf ace5. Maybe thè confused promptings, thè excitement, thè tingling, thè ela- tion - maybe they were false lights that led nowhere. Maybe they (thè whites) were right when they said that a black skin was bad, thè co— vering of an apelike animai. Maybe he was just unlucky, a man born for dark doom, an obscene joke happening amid a colossal din of siren screams and white faces and circling lanes of light under a cold and silken sky.2 Even now he is stili preoccupied with how "they" (thè whites) would watch him go to his deathi How could he go to his death with white faces looking on and saying that only death would cure him for having flung into their faces his feeling of being black? How could 1. ibid, p. 255* 2. ibid, p. 256 • UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 147 death be vie tory now...»1? He fel t he wanted to live now - not escape paying for his crime - but live in order to find out, to see if it were true, and to feel it more deeply (i.e. his feeling of excite— ment and elation) - and, if he had to die, to die within it,,,. 1 Bigger is defended by thè Communist lawyer Max who tries to put thè criminal's murder in thè pers- pective of a class as well as a racist struggle because within thè social context defined in thè novel, race and class are strictly intertwined. Mr. Dalton, Bigger’s employer is a white man. He also owns thè South Side Reai Estate Company which owns Bigger*s mother's apartment. In other words, whatever Bigger may earn from his job as a chauf- feur goes back eventually to Mr, Dalton as rent. Max pleads that Bigger is thè naturai product of thè American racist and capitalist System, a victim of oppression, poverty, injustice and inequa- lity, As thè narrator explains: He had been so conditioned in a cramped environment that hard words or kicks alone knocked him upright and triade him capable of action - action that was futile because thè world was too much for him, It was 1. ibid, pp,289, 336 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 148 then that he c.losed his eyes and struck out blindly, hitting what or whom he could, not looking or caring what or who hit back» 1 Addressing thè jury, Max pleads thè guilt of thè state and emphasises thè svmbolic nature of Bigger's revolt against thè law. He describes Bigger's life as' a mode of life in our midst, a mode of life stunted and distorted, but possessing its own laws and claims, an existence of men growing out of thè soil prepared by thè collective but blind will of a hundred million people.o». a human life draped in a form and guise alien to ours, but springing from a soil plowed and sown by all our hands. The all- important thing for this Court to remember in deciding this boy's fate is that, though his crime was acci— dentai, thè emotions that broke loose were already there; thè thing to re­ member is that this boy's way of life was a way of guilt; that his crime existed long before thè murder of Mary Dalton; that thè accident..al nature of his crime took thè guise of a sudden and violent rent in thè veil behind which he lived, a rent which allowed his feelings of resentment and estrangement to leap forth and find objective and concrete form. 2 Max's argument is that Bigger's crime is a symbolic gesture of thè black race at war with thè 1» ibid, p. 225 » 2. ibid, pp 359-361, UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 149- white race. The whole novel has tended in parts towards this major conclusion that Bigger*s biz- arre murders are thè logicai outcome of his absurd position in American social and economie System. Max would want thè whole nation to feel a sense of shared guilt and social responsibility for this crime. Max's attempt to incorporate Bigger*s revolt into thè conceptual framework of thè class struggle remains incomprehensible to thè latter. He has no feeling of brotherhood for anyone, whether black or white. Nevertheless, Max is thè only one he opens his mind to because for thè first time, a person has treated him like a man and an equal. Bigger confronts his reai self by lucidly analysing his solitary personality to thè only person who will listen to him even though he may not understand him: Sounds funny, Mr. Max, but when I think about what you say, I kind of feel what I wanted. It makes me feel I was kind of righto... I ain't trying to forgive nobody and I ain't asking for nobody to forgive me. I ain't going to cry« They wouldn't let me live and I killed„ May— be it ain't fair to kill. But when I think of why all thè killing was, I be— UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 150 gin to feel what I wanted, what I ame o , o 1 In thè final scenes, Bigger discards bis "mauvaise foi" and lives out thè consequences of his action. He rejects Max's sociological alibi for his crime, accepts responsibility for it in thè full belief that only through violence could he have realised his full potential. To accept Max’s defence would amount to cowardice not only in relation to thè "Others" but al so to himself. He will thus have lived in "mauvaise foi" all his life. Man must accept thè consequences of his action, Bigger’s last words are an affirmation of this belief in him­ self: I didn't want to kill But what I killed for, I am! It must've been pretty deep in me to make me kill! I must have felt it awful hard to murder,.,, 2 By this assertion Bigger proves himself a lucid in­ dividuai who is convinced that human decisions are not dictated by thè inexorable logie of events or thè "immanent dialectic of history". The author gives an interesting and lucid account of thè exis- 1. ibid, p. 391 2, ibid, p. 392 / UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 151 tential man just before thè hero ’ s death. Bigger realises that every man's fate is death and no-one can flee from it. The composition and division of thè novel into sections on Fear, Flight and Fate de- monstrate even further this existential dimension of Native Son. Fear or dread at thè meaninglessness of life makes Bigger commit two apparently "senseless" murderSo He tries to flee from his actions and his lawyer tries to absolve him from thè responsibility of such acts. Both attempts, flight and refusai of responsibility, amount to "mauvaise foi". However Bigger transcends this cowardice, realises his No- thingness and thus achieves authenticity which con- sists in thè realisation of one's isolation and one's inevitable orientation towards deathó There was no day for him now, and there was no night; there was but a long stretch of time, a long stretch of time that was very short; and then - thè end... there was no fear of death before which he was naked and without defense; he had to go forward to meet his end like any other living thing upon thè earth..., Passively, he hungered for another orbit between two poles that would let him live again; for a new mode of life that would catch him up with thè tension of hate and love. There would have to hover above him, like thè stars in a full sky, a vast configuration of images and symbols UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 152 whose magic power could lift him up and make him live so intensely that thè dread of being black and unequal would be forgotten; that even death would not matter, that it would be a victory. This would have to happen before he could look them in thè face again: a new pride and a new humility would have to be born in him, a humility springing from a new hope that would function in him as pride and dignity» 1 The most enduring and convincing picture of Bigger is that of an individualist. Bigger cannot relate to anyone in thè novel. He has lived all his life outside thè mainstream of thè lives of Others. The Sartrean proposition: "L’Enfer, c'est les Autres" perfectly accords with his relationship to Others. He has therefore created his own ethos, owing no allegiance either to his family, his fellow men or thè State» Their mode of communication, their sym- bols and images have all been denied him. Not only this, he has always felt stifled by Other’s presence. Explaining this feeling to Max just before his death, he says: I hurt folks cause I felt I had to; that's all. They was crowding me too dose; they wouldn't give me no room. 1. ibid, p» 256 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 153 Lots of times I tried to forget ’em but I couldn’t. They wouldn’t let me. 1 The Outsider. When Richard Wright moved to France, he ga- thered more insight into existentialism as a move— ment and as a mode of writing. 2 He became aware that thè existential man which he had portrayed in Native Son could be to some extent a universal phe- nomenon. In fact his Bigger had been an existen­ tial hero. He was therefore an existentialist "avant la lettre". According to Wright, thè break from thè United States was more than a geographical change. It was a break with my former attitudes as a Negro and as a Communist.3 Thus his hero Cross Damon, like Bigger Thomas, feels no affinity either with blacks or whites. He is thè "modern man" par excellence, existing all by himself. Wright himself had said that he wanted to examine thè psychological state of thè modern man and its consequences for society’s survival 1* ibid, P&, 388 2* See Aaron Ford, "The Ordeal of Richard Wright", The Black American-Writery ed: Gibson, New.York Ì970; A » Scott, Jr., "The Dark and Haunted Tower of Richard Wright", ed Hill, Anger and Beyond, New York, 1966. 3. Gardner Smith, Williams. "Black Boy in Paris, Interview with Richard Wriqht", Ebony Vili July 1953, p. 40 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 154 using thè Negro of thè United States as thè meta- phor of thè dilemma of thè twentieth century man. Cross Damon himself at various points in thè novel describes thè state of alienation of thè modern mani In modern industriai society we try to steer our hearts by improvised, pragmatic rules which are in thè end no rules at all.^ . He further explains that thè world of Science is unacceptable to modern man who continues to live by his own "totems and taboos".2 The conscience of twentieth century man is split and he continues to live in bad faith, "daily stif- ling his sense of terror in thè face of life... pretending that life was tending toward a goal of redemption". 3 When thè novel opens, Damon is as tightly tra- pped and efltrenched in bad faith as any modern man. As thè title reveals, like Bigger Thomas he is an Outsider at many levels, thè most superficial of which is that of his race. Ely Houston, his dis- trict Attorney friend understands thè marginai place of thè Negro in American society,, He says: 1. Wright, Richard. The Outsider, p. 358/ 2. Wright, Richard. The Outsider» p. 357. 3. ibid, p. 187 » UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 155 I know what it is to be an object out- side of thè normal lives of men. In omerica thè Negro is outside. Our laws and practices see to it that he stays outside. 1 Hov/ever thè problem of race is not theo^nmlavjor issue here. Cross Damon lives on a piane different from that of anyone around him. His friends are often alarmed at his queer ways. One of his friends ex- claims thus after Cross has successfully tricked all of his friends: Cross, how in God's name did you dream up such stuff? Any man who can do things like that is a man standing outside of thè worldl Know what I mean? Like some- body out of your window is looking into your house and poking out his tongue at you. 2 Like Bigger Thomas, Cross Damon cannot relate with others, whether they are his friends or members of his familyi He knew that they liked him, but he felt that they were outside of his life, that there was nothing that they could do that would make any difference. Now more than ever he knew that he was alone and that his problem was one of thè relationship of himself to himself. 3 1. ibid, pp 133-134 » 2. ibid p. 6 - 3. ibid p. 8 •* UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 156 At first he finds a profound tide of identity between himself and his wife Gladys who herself has an ingrained sense of not belonging, of an out— cast. But with marriage, children and thè medio- crity which often accompanies married life, he gets tired of his maritai life. He longs for an association with outcasts like himself who will understand him: Weren't there somewhere in this world, rebels with whom he could feel at home, men who were out- siders not because they had been born black and poor, but because they had thought their way through thè many veils of illu- sion? But where were they? How could one find them? 1 Damon lives this early part of his life in bad faith as a son, a husband, a father, a worker and a lover, doing things not because he wants to but because thè society demands it. The drudgery, routine and unthinking humdrum of domestic life made up of day to day pedestrian responsibility eventually becomes unbearable for him. Today was like yesterday and he knew that tomorrow would be thè same.... His life v/as a delicate bridge span- 1. ibid p. 28 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 157 ning a gaping chasm and hostile hands were heaping heavy loads v upon that bridge and it was about to crack and crash down-» . ward. 1 He therefore decides to end thè "farce**.w * And if thè pressure from within or without become too great he would use it (his gun); his gun would be his final protection against thè world as well as against himself.2 A fortuitous train accident in which a body is mistakenly identified as his provides him thè means of changing his monotonous life. He decides to break entirely from his past, assume a new iden- tity as Lionel Lane and leave Chicago to begin a new existence. He will give up thè life his mother and Gladys ordered for him for "a restricted but more intense future'*. He now believes himself freer from thè strangle-hold of thè past, from all promises and responsibility to others. Now, he could act according to thè philosophy of his men- tors Dostoevski and Nietzsche whose books he had read as a student of philosophyó Others took their lives for granted; he would have to mould his with a 1. ibid, p. 15 * 2. ibid pp.12-13. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 158 conscious aim. Why not? Was he not free to do so? That all men were free was thè fondest and deepest conviction of his life. And his acting upon this wild pian would be but an expression of his perfect freedom. 1 He is now going to dernonstrate that man has no essence, that he is thè sum - total of his actionsJ He had to discover good and evil through his own actions which were more exacting than thè edicts of any God because it was he alone who had to bear thè brunt of their consequences with a sense of ab- soluteness made intolerable by knowing that this life of his was all he had and would ever have, For there was no grace of mercy if he failed. 2 Cross Damon departs for New York where he settles in Harlem. Despite his sense of freedom from thè external world, he is stili plagued by a sense of dread, a fear of himself and thè feà^ of sudden surprises. He is even more plagued by his burden of non-identity« This sense of dread * was from within himself, within thè vast and mysterious world that was his and his alone, and yet not 1. ibid, po 75 - 2. ibid, po 123 » UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 159 really known to him, a world that was his own and yet unknown» And it was into this strange but familiar world that he was now plunging. 1 Damon always muses gropingly about thè mean- ing of human existence especially his own existence without finding a concrete answer: Maybe that's thè terror of it. Man may be just anything at all. 2 In New York, Damon Comes in contact with thè Communist couples Èva and Gii, Bob and Sarah who introduce him to thè Communist circle. He at first feels a psychological relationship with their revolutionary spirito "They, like him were out- siderso They were psychologically akin", but he fir.ds out very soon that somehow he is outside them/ Cross had had thè illusion of feeling at home with these outsiders, but now he felt himself being pushed more than ever into that position where he looked at others as though they weren't human. 3 Damon believes in his freedom from authority, thè impersonai "Others", which he guards jealously. His character had been so shaped that his struggle was a personal fight for 1. ibid, po 117 • 2o ibid, p. 136 • 3. ibid, po 171 ' UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 160 thè realisation of himselfo 1 He cannot therefore allow his freedom to be under— mined by Party discipline» Gil's definition of Communism is frightening enough. He says: We're Communists. And being a Communist is not easy» It means negating yourself, blotting out your personal life and listening only to thè voice of thè Party. The Party wants you to obeyl The Party hopes that you can understand why you must obey; but even if you don’t then thè Party will toss you aside, like a broken hammer, and seek another instrument that will obey. 2 Although Damon realises that Communism*s to- talitarian nature constitutes an insult to human life and intelligence, he decides to live with thè Communists, a decision which is an act of bad faith in itself. With time, he realises that Communists are little gods trying to wrest power from each other'i What these men wanted was something much harder to get and thè mere get- ting of it was in itself a way of keeping it. It was power, not just thè existence of bureaucratic control, but personal power to be wielded 1. ibid, p. 142 . 2. ibid, p. 183 v UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 161 directly upon thè lives and bodies of others. 1 Although he is at first offended by thè Corri— munists* struggle for power, he himself is compell- ed to kill several times for thè same motive» He also tries to impose his own judgement on others thereby becoming "a little god who trafficked in human life". Granted that he had to kill his first victim, Joe, in order to conceal his identity or as he himself puts it because he was "confronted by thè unexpected", he has no cogent reason to kill Blount and Hendon. Blount represents for him fas— cisrn while Hendon represents communism. When he stumbles on them fighting, he promptly puts thè two in thè perspective of thè struggle of two to- talitarian systems at war with each other. He decides to wipe out both of them from oxistence. The mechanism of his killing resembles all totali- tarian murders. He kills out of a supreme convic- tion that he alone is right and others wrong; he engages in "killings whose logie led on and on into thè grav, deadening reaches of inhuman meaning". 1. ibid, p. 199 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 162 Ely Houston, whose personal situation in life as a hunchback has given him a vantage point from which he has gained insight into thè problems of other excluded people explains thè nature of thè man who can kill wantonly as Damon does. Such a man is a metaphysical rebel who kills for no motives defined or known in thè realm of law. He is a man with demonio feelings who plays godo He belongs to thè clan of thè rebellious and he kills because others have outraged his existence. This is thè man Albert Camus calisi 1*homme re✓ voltey, un homme qui se dresse contre sa condition et la creation toute entière.» 1 The metaphysical rebel is a man of lawless im- pulses living in a society which seeks to restrain instincts for thè common good. He is an inverted idealist who wants to impose his own meaning on life,. He is a man plagued by "a spiritual malady", suffering from thè dilemma of thè ethical criminal, thè millions of men who lived in thè tiny crevices of industriai society completely cut off from humanity, lo Camus, Albert. "L'Homme Revolté", Sssais. Paris, ed« Gallimard, 1965, p. 433. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 163 thè multitudes of little gods who ruled their own private worlds and acknowledged no outside authority,! Cross Damon is such a mano He has run away from everything but himself. He realises late that it is not easy to break with one*s life, that it is more difficult to see that "one is always much more than what one thought one was". He had not believed he could be a murderer but on four occa— sions, he has killed because, as he says, thè situa— tions necessitated thè act. There cannot then be thè question of free will in human act as he earlier believed. Human freedom is conditioned by facticity. In his final moment of explanation to Èva, thè only person he seems to ever really care for, he says You see, Èva, I don't believe in any- thing. When you’re just here on this earth and there’s nothing, nothing elsec.o. You know what it means to live senselessly? When everyday is a foolish day? 2 Damon is thè individuai man, thè man who has gone beyond "thè pale of little feelings, who can do any- thing, who has been through all ideologies, frauds 1„ Wright, R. The Outsider, p. 346 * 2. ibid, pp. 398-399 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 164 and pretenses but cannot see through himself and there lies his limitation. Although he is an exis- tentialist man par excellence, he pushes things too far. The disciple of Nietzsche, Hegel, Jaspers, Heidegger, Husserl, Kierkegaard and Dostoevsky, thè man who has wallowed in guilty thoughts all his life, ends as a nihilist. Lawd Today Lawd Today is based on thè model of Albert Ca- mu's alienated man and on thè notion of thè absurdi— ty of human existence as expounded in his Le Mythe de Sjsyphe (1942). The first paragraphs of Lawd Today form thè core of thè novel, all that follows constituting a development or explication of these paragraphs. It describes a vivid and dramatic dream whose texture is very revealing. The protagonist, Jake Jackson is running up an endless flight of steps while some- one whose voice resembles that of his boss in thè Post Office keeps calling him^ He was flying up steps now, mounting whole blocks of steps, but even at that thè end was not in sight... He stopped, sighed, wiped sweat from his forehead, and looked to see how UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 165 many steps he had covered. He was right where he had started! He shook his head, mumbling to himself, Jeesus, all that running for no- thing.... 1 Upon waking up, Jake tries to reassemble thè substantive content of this dream and impose a sig- nificance on it£ He had been going somewhere in a great hurry, he had been thirsting, longing for something. But each time he had almost got it, each time it was almost his, somebody had called. 2 Jake has recently left thè rural South (Missi­ ssippi) for Chicago and he is working in thè Chica­ go Post uffice as a postai clerk, like most black workers. The novel seeks to portray a typical day in thè life of this uprooted man. The reader follows every step of his dressing, all of which are described in minute details. Every gesture, in from "fingering" his suit, to stepping out^his out- fit like a "Maltese Kitten" are spelt out carefully. Jake subsequently takes his breakfast, reads thè dailies, goes through his mail and finally goes 1. Wright, Richard. Lawd Today. New York Walker Publications, 1963, p. 9 2. ibid, p„ 10 » UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 166 out into thè streets. As ha ioiters around movie houses, he reads and comments on lurid postersT Jake stood on thè corner of 47th Street and Forestville Avenue. Sunshine was spread everywhere and thè intense light hurt his eyes.... He had full three hours before worktime. He wanted to go somewhere, but he could not think of a suitable place. Above all, he did not want to go home. Jake’s dream is construed by Wright to be a literal transposition of Jake’s daily life of drud- gery made up of rising reluctantly from bed, cur- sing and yelling at his wife, washing, having break­ fast, reading newspapers, opening thè mail, loiter- ing in thè streets, resuming work at thè Post Office and going back home only to repeat thè same actions thè following day. The working place itself, thè Chicago Post Office, is an "ocean of gloom"r It was a huge, dark grey build­ ing, almost thè color of thè sky, occupying a square block. Just to look at it depressed Jake. 2 These workers complain about thè monotony and unre— munerative nature of their job. The hand-stamping 12 1. Wright. Lawd Today, p. 47 • 2. Lawd Today, p. 117. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 167 exercise poignantly portrays thè process of automa- tisation in thè workers.' In thè faces and attitudes of thè clerks thè strain of thè workday had begun to teli. Limbs moved with increasing listlessness. Slight puffs appeared beneath eyes that looked out with beaten, hang- dog expressions.... Lips grew stiff and dry from thirst. Nervously ex- hausted from years of racking labour, some worked with spasmodic jerkings of arms and shoulders. 1 Work in thè post Office symbolises Jake1s frustra- ted ambition as well as thè absurdity of his exist- ence. Most blacks were fortunate to get a job in thè Post Office when they had a job at all/ As he mounted thè steps he wondered, if he would have to go on this way year after year ’til he died. Was this "all''? Deep in him was a numb yearning for something else; some— where or other was something or other for him. But where? How? All he could see right now was an endless stretch of black postai days; and all he could feel was thè agony of standing on his feet till they ached and sweated, of jerking his body when a voice yelled. 2 Jake's negative revolt against society is manifesf ted in his ceaseless beating of his wife, in his21 1. ibid, p. 149' 2. ibid, p. 117 » UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 168 indulgence in drink, sex and gambling and in his desire for a total breakdown of law and order. On reading in thè newspapers that thè police are after some gangsters, he comments thus^ Now what's wrong with them Govern­ ment? What they want to bother them poor guys for? They aint doing nothing but robbing a few bankse... Jeesus, it takes nerve to be a gangster! But they have plenty of fun. Always got a flock of gals hanging on their arms. Dress in sporty clothes. Drive them long sleek automobiles. And got money to throw away..,. They don't live long, but I bet they sure have a hell of sweet time while they do live. Better time than a lot of us who work hard every day for a measly living. 1 VJright endeavours to make language lay bare thè monotony and banality of Jake's existence. By jotting down events as they happen an authentic picture of life in all its formlessness is undoub- tedly suggested. Moreover, this presentation su- ggests an openness, thè idea of thè daily routine of life. There is quite apparer.t in thè novel a ruthless aim at creating banality through form. Itemisation - thè hero at home, in thè bedroom, in 1. ibid, p. 34 . UNIVERSITY OF IBAD N LIBRARY 169 thè bath, in thè streets and so on does not stìbstan— tiate reality. Rather itemisation debunks reality’s banality. Endless pages are filled in order to des— cribe inconsequential activities. The expression "Lawd Today!” a swear word and an expression of fatigue as well as thè novel’s title recurs several times in thè novel especially where fatigue and boredom are evidente The sub- titles of thè three books into which thè novel is subdivided are "Commonplace", "Squirrel *'s Cage” and "Rat’s Àlley”„ They srggest thè inescapable banali­ ty of thè life of black workers as well as thè fact that they are like blind people who are mentally, physically and spiritually imprisonede The overall pattern of Lawd Today thus calls attention to banality and to flatnesso It is an Àfro-^merican expression of thè tragic awareness of life's absurdity. Jake's ideology of revolt is that of an alienated man. His typical day has por- trayed thè frustration, tedium, meaninglessness and utter senselessness of an alienated man. Like Sisy— phus, Jake is condemned to an absurd existence and in thè words of Camus, "il n'est pas de punition UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 170 plus terrible que le travail inutile et sans es- poir">; 1which is that of thè black Americano However, Lawd Today suffers from serious structural lapses. Here and there in thè novel, it is suggested that Jake's alienation is thè re- sult of thè inequalities and injustices inherent in a racist and capitalist society. This is done mainly through sterile complaints made by Jake and his friends on several occasions in thè novel.' - iiint it funny how some few folks is rich and just millions is poor? - And them few rich folks owns thè whole world... - ... and runs it like they please. - ... and thè rest ain't got nothing... - I wonder is there anything a white man won’t do? - They make us live in one corner of thè city... - ... like we was some kind of wild animals.... 2 Jake wants us to believe that no metter how hard he tries, he will always be dragged back into thè quag- mire of poverty. Yet this is not adequately port- rayed in thè novel. The sociologial background which lends credence to thè racist and capitalist1 2 1. Camus, Albert. Le Mythe de Sisyphe. Paris, Gall­ imard, 1942, p. 161 2. Wright, R« Lawd Today, pp.172 - 173 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 171 thesis and provides concrete and dramatic $upport to thè theory of thè absurdity of existence is thinly painted, though presento Jake Jackson, thè black model of thè alienated rnan's character is very hollow. Wright makes co- pious use of animai imagery to describe Jake. His "fat black feet spread like cobra heads upon thè carpet5'.. 1 He "slouched heavily on thè chair" 2 while his voice dropped to a lowgrowl. 3 These ne­ gative animai images evidently reduce thè character Right from thè first paragraphs it is clear that Jake is all body and no soul. Everything about him is physical - fatigue, hunger, pleasure and sexual relations. Obviously this fickle-minded protago- nist lacks thè psychological dimension which charac terises Bigger Thomas and Cross Damon. The Long Dream Wright1s next novel, The Long Dream seems to redress thè structural flaws which are noticeable in Lawd Today. 123 1. Richard Wright, Lawd Today p.12. 2. ibid, p. 14 > 3. ibid, p. 20 ' UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 172 In The Long Dream which reminds thè reader of Dreiser's American Dream thè experiences of thè protagonist, Fishbelly Tucker lends credence to a critique of a racist and capitalist society. Fish leaves school to become apprenticed to his father Tyree who is an undertaker. His graduai initia- tion into thè world of affairs opens his eyes to thè fact that blacks who "make it" are in reality castrated human beings, thè modern version of Uncle Tom, like b0c, thè barber in Lawd Today/ The money he had, had been made by a black buzzard of a Tyree, a craw- ling scavenger battening upon only thè black side of human life, bury— ing only thè black dead, seliing only thè living black female bodies to thè white or black world, buying justice, protection, comfort from those sordid dealings and calling it business. 1 In his daily rounds of rent-collection, Fish gets an insight into thè wretchedness of black life. He learns that: thè reai reality of thè lives of his people was negated; thè reai world lay over there somewhere - in a place where white people lived, people who had thè power to say who could or could not live. 21 2 1. Wright, Richard. The Long Dream. New York Doubleday, 1958, p. 27» 2. ibid, p.67 , UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 173 As he says again elsewhere: Papa, this rent collecting's showing me something.... Our folks is "sick", Papa. All thè black folks I meet's worried to death about white folks - talking about 'erti all day and all night» They laugh, sing, and dance, bue they "worried - ” 1 Fish graduaily realises from concretely dramati- sed events like rent-collecting, thè fire inci- dent, lis trial and incarceration, that behind thè black man's laughter is thè self-abrogation of his manhood. Tyree, on thè other hand, instils thè lesson of thè American dream in his son. Like Jake, he believes in thè omnipotence of thè bollar to wipe out any type of shante. He therefore counsels his son to forget about equality and instead to accu­ mulate money, for this is thè black man's version of thè American dreami Fish, forgit that stuff. Your job's collecting rent» Git enough dollars, and you'll never have to worry none» There ain1t no problem a dollar can’t solve» Just git you a million dollars, and then teli me what you worried about» Till then, stop talking race» 2 le ibid, p» 198? 2» Wright, Richard» The Long Dream» p» 178 -■ UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 174 Tyree's assertion is however disproved in thè novelo Fish watches helplessly as Tyree is hounded to death by thè forces of thè law in order to pre— vent thè exposition of their corrupt practicesl Fishbelly now realised that had it not been for that fire he would ne- ver have known thè reai attitude of thè Chief (Police Chief). White people lived with niggers, shared with them, worked with them, but owed thern no human recognition. 1 He learns in a bitter way that no black man can win against whites. "They have thè law, thè guns, thè juries". ? The same fact is demonstrated by Bigger's trial in Nativo Bon that thè odds are against thè black man in omerica. Finally, as Fishbelly flees America to go to Paris, thè meaning of his life dawns fully on him, "he had been born in America and found a night- mare". 3 His American dream has not materialised. Despite Fishbelly's yearning for a better fate, "A black man's a dream, a dream that can't come true". 4 Herem lies thè absurdity of his existence.*3 2 1» ibid, p . 253 - 2. Wright, Richard. The Long Dream, p.253 . 3. ibid, p. 380 » 4 « ibid, p. 199 ' UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 175 Through thè depiction of dramatic situations fraught with tension, Wright is able to present a convincing picture of an alienated black man in an American society» The structure of exploitation v/hich frustrates thè black man* s version of thè American dream is realistically portrayed through concrete situations and actions» Tyree and Fish- belly a: a versions of thè mythical Sisyphus in thè same way as Jake Jackson is but they are more rea lised than Jake, The Long Dream thus proving thè most structurally balanced of Wright's novels. Native Spn, The Outsider, Lawd Today and The Long Dream, constitute an organic existential oeuvre both in their themes, structure and overall message. The protagonists of these novels are alienated black heroes who revolt against their continuous dehumanisation by thè American social structure. Bigger's and Cross Damon's murders, Jake Jackson* s defiance of social norms as well as Fishbelly*s flight from America are all forms of revolt and their own ways of breaking out of their stereotyped existence. They create their own value systems and live or die by them. It is UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 176 in this respect that Margolies's description of Bigger applies to thè four protagonists. Theyi Challenge thè very condition of (their) being, thè needless suffering, thè absurd contrast between (their) inborn sense of justice and thè morality and in- justice of thè external world. (They) try to’ bring thè world into accord with (their) sense of justice, but if this fails, (they) will attempt to match in (themselves) its injustice and chaos. In either case, thè pr.inciple is thè sartie» (They) attack a shattered world in order to demand unity from it. 1 Wright's heroes are symbolic of a specific social reality; they constitute a metaphor of a specific historical situation, that of thè black man's tragic human existence in thè twentieth century. The overall significance of these novels lie in their realism, in theii representation of everyday occurrences in a definite period of contemporary history, in making language to lay bare thè very wretchedness, and thè senselessness, of thè black man's existence. 1. Edward ‘"‘argolies, Native Sons: A Criticai Study of Twentieth Century Negro American Kuthors. New York, Lippincott, 1968, p. 161 . UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 177 The four novels are uniteci by thè same exis- tentialist strain and by thè same portrayal of thè growing extent of alienation in thè contemporary worid especially among thè black underprivileged. They are linked by thè same portrayal of thè domi- nation of life by thè mechanism of capitalism and finally by thè implicit protest against thè dehu- maniS iMon of man. The rejection of contemporary reality is cha— racteristic of existentialists in as much as mo- dern man in generai and thè black man in particu- lar is alienated within thè society. However no major existentialist writer has taught that every- thing is permitted. In Sartre’s case, a control is exercised by thè notion of responsibility which in fact redeems Bigger before he dies. Wright analyses thoroughly thè social, econo­ mie and psychological dimensions of thè phenomenon of alienation among thè black people, thè outsi- ders of thè American society. However, thè author realises that man is not toally free, that there are moral and social determinants which limit human freedom. Wright's social realism resides in this fundamental realisation. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 178 CHAPTER 4 SOCIALIST REALISM IN SEMBENE OUSMANE * S NOVELS Les Bouts de Bols de Dieu In many of bis works Sembene Ousmane des- cribes thè class struggle between thè working and thè bourgeois classes. In thè short story entitled "La Noire de...," a young Senegalese maid, Diouana serves a French couple in thè Antibes. All thè housework, gardening and child- care devolve on her for thè paltry v/age of three thousand francs C.F.A. per month. As time goes on, her illusions and euphoria about a comfoirt- able life in France is dampened as she realises that she is no more than a beast of burden in thè hands of her egocentric bourgeois bosses» Diouana abattait encore plus de travail qu’en Afrique ici. Elle n' etait qu’un objet utilitaire. 1 1» Ousmane, Sembene,, "La Noire de... . f t Votaique Paris, Présence Africaine, p.5 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 179 Unable to bear thè persisterà humiliation to which she is subjected, she commits suicide. Apart from depicting thè humiliating condition under which Diouana works, this story emphasises thè dignified long-suffering and self-respectabi- lity of thè wcrking class to which Diouana belongs. In Le Dpcker hoir (1956) thè hard, miserable lives of thè African working class who live in Marsct.lle's ghetto is depicted in thè adventure of thè hero, Dictw Falla. Workers are shown as stunted and cevoid of politicai, social and eco­ nomie rightSc They belong to that class of people whom Frantz Fanon rightly describes as "thè wret- ched of thè earth", thè down-trodden rnasses who are exploited by thè capitalist class. Diaw Falla, in an attempt to improve his con­ dition of living writes a novel on which he bases all his hopes for a better future. Unable to afford thè sum of 150,000 Francs for publication, he entrusts his manuscript to a wealthy and in- fluential French lady Ginette Tontisane, who ex- propriates it, publishes it in her name and re- ceives a prize for thè novel. When Diaw Falla UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 180 learns of thè deceit, he takes a train to Paris, confronts Ginette with her theft and accidenta- lly smothers her in thè scuffie which ensues. Sembene Ousmane paints a relentless pursuit of thè hero who represents thè under-privileged working class by thè combination of all thè forces of bourgeois justice - thè police, thè courts, thè press and thè generai public. He is literally hounded to thè gallows. In "La Moire de».»»" and Le Docker Noir thè class struggle is characterised by thè exploita- tion of thè worker whose destiny thè novelist sympathetically describes. However, thè treat­ ment of this subject suffers from an overwhelming sense of tragic loss and futility of thè life of thè working class. Besides, Le Docker Noir suffers from serious aesthetic flaws which under- mine thè overall significance of thè novel. Ousmane also implies that his hero is justi- fied in killing because he has been provoked. Diaw Falla sees thè French society as racist. He sees thè same society as being an obstacle to his naturai development and human progress. His UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 181 life in Paris is made up of a series of humilia- tions and choking hate. Ousrnane asserts that racism and racial pre— judice are thè end products of economie exploita- tion which is a direct result of thè capitalist System. The murder of a white woman brings all thè forces of thè capitalist society - thè Press, thè La f, thè Crowd and Religion - against Diaw Falla, thè black murderer. The chapter entitled "Le Proces" in thè novel is directly influenced by Bigger’s tr^al in Native Son. All witnesses for thè prosecution are agreed on premeditation. There are leading questions to prove that thè mur­ derer is a racial bigot and a savage liar. The lawyer for thè defence is marxist and he highlights thè hero’s crime from thè marxist point of view. The hero, Diaw Falla sees himself as thè vic- tim of racial discrimination. If Ginette Tontisane robs him of his manuscript, it is because she takes him as a "nigger"ó Tu m ’as pris pour un Noir... Il avait fini par le dire. Le "Noir" pour lui signifiait l’ignorant, la brute, le niais. C'é'tait plus qu’une lutte entre voleur et vole. Les deux races UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 182 s’affrontaient, des siècles de haine se mesuraient. 1 Throughout thè novel, thè white characters make highly prejudiced speeches or testimonies about Diaw» The doctor-witness affirms that blacks are sexually obsessed. He cites pseudo- scientific evidence to support his claim. He declares: Chez les Noirs, c'est une chose na- turelle, et surtout quand il s'agit d June femme bianche. Ils sont fas- cinés par la blancheur de la peau qui est plus attirante que celles des Négresses.... La Science a déterminé que les hommes de couleur ont des psychoses devant une femme bianche. 2 The Press also whips up thè age-long prejudi— ces against thè black man as a rogue, an ape, and an indolent rapist in order to prove Diaw's culpa- bili ty : L ’accusation repose sur la haine qu* ont provoquée les journaux, qui ont deforme les faits pour mieux toucher le coeur des honnètes gens. 3 1. Ousmane, Sembene. Le Cocker Noir. Paris, Debresse, 1956, p. 193. 2. ibid, pp. 54 — 55 , 3. ibid, p. 72 . UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 183 What Sembene Ousmane depicts in Le Rocker Npjr is thè black workers' experience in thè French so­ ciety, thereby trying but in vain to unite thè subjects of race and social class withmthe frame- work of this novel. Les Bouts de Bois de Dieu (1965) on thè other hand rectifies thè flaws in Sembene Ousmane's mai- den n;vel. It is ethically and aesthetically thè keystone to Ousmane's Vision of thè class struggle, thè struggle between workers and thè employers, between thè eXjplo iters and thè exploited. Here, thè author gocs beyond mere descriptions and illu- sions and takes thc- reader directly to thè thea- tre of war itself, to thè "economie battlefield" on which thè struggle is fought out to its bitter end. The novel opens with an apparently objective description of thè landscape as one enters Bamako* Against thè background of a chain of hills stands out thè resplendent residence of thè European go- vernor, "dresse comme un pain de sucre blanc au sommet de koulouba". Further to thè centre of thè city are thè miserable lodgings, thè "concessions UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 184 de torchis" where thè Africans live» Borrowing thè "travelling" technique of thè camera, Sembene Ousmane’s lens further focusses on a particular household, that of Bakayoko and finally closes in on thè oldest n.ember of thè household, thè aged Niakoro. She ? s apparently in a contemplative mood, worried . y thè actions of thè tempestuous young 2. ibid, p. 42 9 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 192 sera bientot notre tour; et où sont nos economies? Quant aux ainées des toubabs, ceux qui nous ont appris le métier, les Henri, les Delacolline, les Ede- uard, où sont ils? Ils sont chez eux avec leur retraite. Pourquoi ne pouvons nous pas l'avoir, cette retraite? Voila ce que disent les j&unes. 1 The unjust disparity between thè working conditions of African and thè European is highlighted here as one of thè reasons for thè strike* Despite thè initial preparations for and dis— cussions on thè strike it explodes unexpectedly and takes on an unimaginable dimension of violence as thè soldiers attack railworkers and thè latter respond with a counter-attack. The attack ends fatally with eight dead and many more wounded. This second scene installs thè strike physically in thè plot. The exposition , made up of forty pages contains many extensive circumstantial des- criptions with details about place and atmosphere. All these present a complete picture of thè physi- cal aspects of thè world in which thè course of action will take place as well as thè physical le ibid, p. 43 , UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 193 and at times psychological details of thè charac- ters who play out thè ensuing struggle» The planning strategy of thè strike, thè en­ suing battle between thè two opposing forces are given extensive descriptions. So also is thè counter-offensive of thè railway bosses. Dejean thè regional director of thè rail company has just refused to see any of thè miners' representatives when he receives a phone cali from Dakar thè re­ gional capitai» His hard uncompromising stand is manifested in his decision not to hold any talks and also to invite in more troops. After serious deliberation with his men, Isnard, Victor and Leb- lanc, it is decided that thè answer is to buy thè leaders and create an opposing unioni On pourrait, soit acheter les princi- paux dirigeants, en ymettant le prix, soit en travailler o^elques-uns et essayer de creer un syndicat concurre- nt. 1 By thè end of thè exposition, thè lines of battle are drawn0 While thè bosses will adopt divide and rule tactics and occasionai use of force, thè mi— ners adopt that of active resistance. The doubts, lo ibid, p. 49o UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 194 hesitations and fears over thè decision to embark on thè strike are all convincingly portrayed. The old people who have wider experience like Niakoro, Keita and Bakary are torn by this problem more than thè youths. Their reminiscing in thè form of flashbacks to thè abortive strikes of 1938 serve a coherence function. The remembrance of past strikes, thè references to heredity and tra- dition, thè summary of events, references to other cities and reports of cruciai meetings are all con- stituents of thè coherence structure which Sembene Ousmane gives thè story. Events are also motivated in terms of one ano— ther so that there is a sense of causaiity. Injus— tice in social and economie conditions lead to a strike which turns out to be violent and thè vio- lence in turn leads to thè resolution of thè con- flict. This in simple terms provides thè thematic progression in thè novel. The desire to achieve a realistically objec— tive description makes Sembene Ousmane adopt thè panoramic technique of "unanimism” in thè descrip­ tion of events. Describing events which take place UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 195 simultaneously in three cities not only authen- ticates but underlines thè unity of purpose and action over one thousand and five hundred kilo— metres of geographical space. Ainsi la grève s*installa à Thiès. Une grève illinitée qui, pour beaucoup, tout au long de la ligne, fut une occasion de souffrir, mais, pour beaucoup aussi, une occasion de réfléchir. Lorsque la fumèe s'arrota de fletter sur la savane, ils comprirent qu’un temps était révolue temps dont leur parlaient les anciens, le temps oè l’Afrique etait un potager. C ’était la ma­ chine qui maintenant règnait sur leur pays. En arr'ètant sa marche sur plus de quinze cents kilo- metres, Ils prirent conscience de leur de^pendance. En veri te", la machine, était en train de faire d’ eux des hommes nouveaux. Elle ne leur appartenait pas, c’etait eux^qui lui appartenaient. En s1 arretant, elle leur donna cette le^on. 1 The plot is developed further to describe thè strike in all its ramifications. The strike it- self reaches epic dimensions both in its narration and in its consequences. The first quality of thè epic imagination is ex- pansiveness, thè impulse to extend its own 1. ibid, p 0 63 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 196 luminosity in ever - widening circles. This is a unique quality of Les Bouts de Bois. The impor- tance as well as thè symbolic quality of thè strike is exemplified in thè epic aura which surrounds it. The initial note of optimism contained in thè "De— dicace" and thè "Avertisement", this rejoicing at thè advent of thè working class determines thè epic composition of thè novel which starts with a quest and ends with victory. The author has drawn up a triangle of action which is thè basis of thè compoSctiOn- The action which swings between Bamako, Thies and Dakar are at times complementary, at others simultaneous. This totality of approach is thè hallmark of epic narration. "Ethical" episodes •» in which thè reader is given a sense of thè passage of time and is moved backwards and forwards in his- tory alternates with "pathetic" episodes, which lay stress on activity and movement. Domestic scenes are made to alternate with vivid events such as thè decision-taking process, thè bloody but decisive clashes, thè women's march from Thies to Dakar as well as Diara's trial. The overwhelming effect of such a presentation is that a formai and contextual UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 197 harmony is provided by thè creation of an effect of totality as well as thè eradication of mono- tony. Life is presented in its multifariousness, Each scene in each city corresponds to epic episode which is indispensable to thè unfolding of thè narrative. In thè words of George Lukacs: The epic presentation of thè totality of life - unlike thè dramatic - must inevitably include thè presentation of every important object, event and sphere of life belonging to thè thema,.l The impression of "a totality of life” is created as thè author gives thè strike an omnipo- tent and omnipresent quality. The strike plays a decisive part in thè plot, in thè characterisa— tion as well as in thè destiny of thè actors. Sembene Ousmane paints broadly and in such detail that each episode stands out as a separate picture within thè framework of an organic whole. Each section contains some decisive points which make it a necessary factor in thè evolution of one or more characters in thè novel. The battles fought by thè fighters demons- trate their heroic energy and their superabundant 1. Lukacs, George. Studies in European Realism. p. 154. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 198 vitality. At Thiès, thè first day of thè strike, violence erupts abruptly between thè forces of order and thè strikers who are aided by their wives. The description of thè clash reaches epic heights and its language communicates energy and excitementi Alors les soldats chargèrent. La mèlée fut immediate: coup de ero»* sses, còups de pointes, coup de godasses dans les tibias, bombes lacrymogènes. Les cris de rage, de colere, de douleur, faisaient une seule clameur qui montait dans le ciel du matin. La foule recul- ait, se scindait en troncons terr- ifies, se regroupait, oscillait, vacillait, reculait encore. Diey- naba, la marchande avait ameuté les femmes. Telles des amazones, elles arrivèrent à la rescousse, armées de batons, de barres de fer, de bouteillesc..» la melee était partout à la fois. 1 Despite thè human and material destruction • which ensues, thè description of thè bàttle is re— plete with a senso of euphoria on thè parfc of thè strikers. Evén thè repressions in which many lives are lost are construed as inevitable sacri- fices in thè course of this epic struggle. 1. Ousmane, Sembene. Les Bouts de Bq ìs de Dieu. p. 49. i :: * .. ' .. < i ' . . c ■. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 199 The narration goes on to describe thè effects of thè strike on thè inhabitant especially thè wo— men and thè children. The dilemma of Houdia M* Baye, a widow who has eight children, thè last of which is symbolically named Grève, is depicted with great convictiono All thè tragedy of thè strike is crystallised in thè woman's destiny» Widowed as a result of thè strike, her children become thè victims of thè sane strike. The picture of Greve clutc’ning in vain at a dry breast is not only made realistic but also pathetic by thè gra- phic details of thè descriptionj Paupières closes, il tétait feroce- ment par brusques secousses, et cela faisait mal: le sein était parcouru de picotements, de bru- lures, cornine si on y enfoncait des epingles. Houndia-Mbaye changea de mamelle, sans plus de resultato ^on lait eiait^tari, elle le savait bien. La pensee de la grève la rongeait corrane un mal. 1 The famished and weak Children are concrete representations of thè strike in Mbaye's conscious— nesso The mere sight of their malnourished bodies sends her mind back to thè pasto 1. ibid, p. 94o UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 200 Catte faim qui faisait grossir le ventre des enfants, maigrir leurs membres et voutait leurs epaules, faisait revenir, dans son esprit des images d*autre-fois, des im- ages des temp.s heureux. 1 The remembrance of things past plays thè role of emphasising thè hardships of thè presente It brings into prominence thè nothingness and aridity of thè present times» Recollection of her sump- tuous marriage feast of yesteryears emphasises thè fact that'r le quelquechose qui manquait, c' etait tout simplement le pain quo- tidien. 2 For Houdia Mbaye, thè strike is not an ideological abstraction» It presents itself in concrete, hu­ man and domestic terms that is lack of food, hun- gry and disease-ridden children, and sore-nipples. The workers are shown as acting and suffering humanity* It is a credit to Sembene Ousmane's rea- list depiction that he does not portray thè strike as a long period of euphoria. The hesitations which accompanied thè decision-taking process and thè planning of thè strategy as well as thè fact le ibid, p, 92 -• 2» ibid, p. 92 * UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 201 that the strike unleashes itself in a violent out­ burst unprepared for by the strikers themselves have been noted already„ There is the perplexity of the masses at first, the apathy of the weak ones like Sounkare, those like Daouda Beaugosse who ex­ pend their energy on useless quarrels all of which sharpen the edge of the despair and anger which lead eventually to bloody revolt. Trying moments and obstacles are lived concre­ tely by individuals in the text. The woman acti­ vist, Ramatoulaye, despite her strength of charac­ ter is spiritually broken by the death of her sis­ ter-in-law, Houndia-Mbaye during one of the clashes with the police. She complains, though secretly that the women's strength of fo:f~bearance is being overstretched„ Addressing Alioune, she sobsi - Alioune, il faut arr^ter. Si vous ne le faites pas pour vous, faites - le pour nous. Nous n'en pouvons plus, il y a trop de morts. 1 Dieynaba, also a frontline woman activist wants a stop put to the strikei Je ne sais plus ce qui est juste ou ce qui ne l'est pas. Ca devient 1. ibid, p. 199 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 202 aussi difficile que de separer beau froide de I'eau chaude dans le meme recipient..o Pour la dernibre dis­ tribution, c'est Bakayoko qui a envoye les fonds de Kaolack. Si nous ne recevons rien, leshommes devront reprendre, voila tout ce que je sais. 1 It is not only the women-folk who show that their courage is overstretched. Among the menfolk, Doudou, the Secretary-general experiences the same spiritual depression. Forty days after the beginning of the strike action, it is obvious that responsibility weights him down. However, Isnard’s offer to him of three million francs to betray the cause of the strikers and his courageous refusal of such blood money serves as a leaven to his spirit. Deserters or "renegats" as Tiemoko calls them also begin to manifest themselves. Diara*s trial, apart from serving as a lesson to others, also de­ picts the difficulties engendered by the strike. In the words of Tiemoko\ Pourquoi devonsnous juger Diara qui, comme vous le savez, est mon oncle? Ce pourquoi appelle le pourquoi de la greve et le pourquoi des touba».. bous et celui des machines. 2 1. ibid, p. 209 ‘ 2. ibid, p. 134 J UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 203 This brings us to the depiction of women and their roles in the text. It is pertinent to refer to the sympathetic manner with which Ousmane port­ rays the women. Since the breadwinners no longer bring home any pay-packets, the duty now devolves on the women to fend for the family. This is against the traditional norm in this society where the woman's place is the home and where her duty is subservience to the husband. Assitan, the pro­ totype of these women, is Bakayoko's inherited wifeX Elevee selon les anciennes coutumes, Assitan etait toute reserve et vi- vait en marge de la vie de son mari, une vie de labour, de silence et de resignation, 1 Although they have not been consulted as to the decision of the strike action, they nonetheless manifest a strikingly active participation in all the cities. The first day of the strike at Thi’es, they spontaneously join the men in repulsing the police attack, under the leadership of Dieynaba, the foodseller. Dieynaba, la marchande avait ameu te les femmes du marche. Telles des amazones, elles arrivaient a ...................... 1 1 ■ ■'jg'i '- .jr Liv.""—a . '— — " n - .... ■- 1« ibid, p.365 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 204 la rescousse arrnees de batons, de bornes de fer, de bouteilles. 1 When the clash subsides, the same Dieynaba turns her house into an emergency nursing home where the wounded are treated. As the strike begins to tell on the miners and the women's duty becomes increa­ singly onerous, they begin to gain consciousness of the possible functions they can assume for the benefit of their families. They realise that they must go out of their traditional docility, depend­ ence and resignation in order to be active. Des jours passferent et des nuits passferent. Dans ce pays, les hommes ont plusieurs epouoes et c'est sans doute pour cela qu’au debut il ne songerent guere a l’aide qu'elles apportaient. Mais bient&t, lei encore, ils decouvri- rent un aspect nouveau des temps a venir. i*o;csqu' un homme ren- trait d'un meeting, la tete basse, les poches vides, ce qu'il voyait d'abord c'etait la cuisine eteinte, les mortiers culbutes, les bols et les calebasses empiles, vides. Alors il allait dans les bras d'une epouse, que ce fut la premiere ou la troisieme. Et les epouses, de- vant ces epaules cassdes, ces pas trainants prenaient conscience que quelque-chose etait en train de chan­ ger aussi pour elles.... 1. ibid, p.49 • UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 205 Un matin, une femme se leva, elle serra fortement son pagne au- tour de la taille et dit: - Aujourd'hui, je vous apporterai a manger. Et les hommes comprirent que ce temps, s’il enfantait d’ autres homines, enfantait aussi d'autres femmes. 1 Under the influence of necessity, tradition is forced to change its norms about the place of women, without the need for overt feminine revolu­ tion. In Dakar, the same is also true. The women's support for the strike is even greater than that of their husbands despite the sufferings and incon­ veniences they undergo. Deune reports that his wife has threatened to castrate him if he defects* Like the women in Thies, they have come to assume the responsibility of fending for the family* They are even more conscious of their newly acquired status as responsible members of the society. Marne Sofi, addressing Ndeye Touti remarks with a touch of pride: Tu verras qu’a la prochaine greve, les hommes nous consulteront. Avant ils etaient tout fiers de nous nour- rir, maintenant c’est nous, les femmes, qui les nourissons. 2 1* ibid, pp.54-55. 2. ibid, p. 88 • UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 206 The person of Bakayoko serves as an effective link between the three cities of Dakar, Thies and Bamako. He is presented as the epic hero of the class struggle. He is "superior in degree to other men” in the novel. In each city, the impression is given that Bakayoko is the soul of the strike as well as its theoretician. Members of the vanguard lament or await impatiently his arrival since he has the answer to the problems arising from the strike. Old Keita in Bamako regrets his absence at the all-important meeting where the decision to embark on a strike action is taken. Ce qu'il nous faudrait aujourd' hui c'est qu’Ibrahima Bakayoko soit parmi nous. II sait nous parler et nous l'ecoutons tous. 1 Tiemoko expresses the same sentiment during Diara’s trial. What could they not have achieved through Bakayoko’s eloquence. Explaining the "raison d'etre" of the trial, he says: Ce que j’ai a dire est tras difficile pour moi. Si Bakayoko etait la, _il m’aurait compris et m'aurait aide a 1. ibid, p.27 , UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 207 vous faire comprendre. 1 When the first conflict eventually explodes, it is his absence which is greatly lamented. Dieu soul sait quand nous reverrons Ibrahima Bakayoko^ 2 says one of the organisers. At Dakar also, his name is on the lips of the stri­ kers! Beaugosse is forced to exclaimi Bakayoko, Bakayoko, je n'entends plus cpe ce nom 'a longueur de la journee, comme si cetait un proph- ete! 3 Evidently Bakayoko is portrayed as a prophet and messiah of the masses of railway workers. His words are quoted quite often as a source of encou» ragement in time of crisis and as "parole de 1’ evangilet" Bakayoko a dit: Ce ne sont pas ceux qui sont pris par force, enchaines et vendus comme esclaves qui sont les vrais esclaves, ce sont ceux qui acceptent moralement et physiquement de l’etre, 4 says Samba M’Doulougou during the stormy debate preceding the strike decision in Thies. Further­ more, Bakayoko*s library furnishes relevant reading 4123 1. ibid, p. 134 . 2. ibid p, 54 • 3. ibid p. 74 * 4. ibid, p. 45 - UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 208 materials* In fact the conception and execution of Diara's process was found by Tiemoko in a mar— xist book he borrowed from Bakayoko*s library* There is thus a myth which surrounds Bakayoko* This overwhelming strike can only be stopped by Bakayoko as the rumour goes. Arame asks Ndeye Touti, one of the female characters in the novel: Dis cette greve, quand finira-t-elle? On ne parle pas de la reprise? Tu connais ce type - la .... ce Bambara? J’ai son nom au bout de la langue. On dit que s il voulait, il pourrait ̂ mettre fin a la greve c'est vrai, ca? 1 In the imagination of the masses, Bakayoko is the purveyor of answers to all problems. However what is crucial for the structure of the novel is Bakayoko*s shuttling between the three centres of action - Thies, Bamako, Dakar thus link­ ing together the geographical space over which the actions are spread. One of the final episodes is entitled *'Le Retour de Bakayoko", a timely return to Thies which begins the untying of the knotty prob­ lems which the strike has caused. Doudou, the sec?* retary-general would have given in to the railway 1* ibid, p. 104 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 209 bosses, had Bakayoko not arrived. His words re­ kindle the dwindling hopes and energy for resis­ tance, revamps the flagging interest in the strike and thus propels the plot on to its desired logi­ cal end. He asks* Sommes-nous, oui ou non, respon- sables de ce que nous avons entre- pris? Nous avons pu commettre des erreurs et sans doute en ferons- nous encore, mais est-ce une rai­ son pour abandonner ceux qui nous ont suivis, ceux qui subissent la famine, ceux que l’on emprisonne, ceux que l'on tue?.... Nous sommes sur la voie et devant nous nous croyons voir un obstacle qui nous fait peur. Allonsnous arreter et dire aux voyageurs. "Je ne veux plus avancer, j’ai peur de quelque- chose, la-bas?” Non, nous avons la responsabilite du convoi, nous devons foncer jusqu’a voir s’il ya vraiment un obstacle. 1 Bakayo plays the role of the leaven required to stimulate the miners to action in their struggle against the bosses. He becomes almost a mythical figure by his omnipresence. In the words of M.T. Bestman: Sa forte personnalit^ stimule a 1* action et exerce une influence determinante sur les autres per- sonnages.... Ce qui frappe chez lui, 1. ibid, p. 271 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 210 c’est son omnipresence; il se trouve a la fois, partout et nulle part si l’on peut dire.... A travers les espaces des deux pays ou se deroule simulta- nement 1'action romanesque, le souvenir des reflexions de Baka- yoko ne cesse de ranimer les autres; ces derniers se compa- rent a lui, c'est grace a lui quils prennent conscience d' eux-m§mes, de leur faiblesse, de leur progrds. En effet, tout est en fonction d’Ibrahima II est comme le centre d'attract­ ion, le champ magne-tique vers lequet tout converge, se polarise, reflechit. 1 The climax of the strike action is the deci­ sive march of the women from Thies to Dakar. Like some other vital scenes in the novel, (for example Ramatoulaye's ritualistic slaughtering of Vendre- di), the march to Thies is painted with the rich­ ness of true epics. The women’s anthem, apart from encouraging the male folk also describes the epic dimension of this struggle. For them, this is a historic battle and its victory is signifi­ cant as the hope of their families and that of the working class in general. It is the dawn of a historical era, a ray of hope from the dark hori- 1 1. Bestman, M.T. Sembene Ousmane et l'Esthetique du Roman Negro-Africain. Sherbrooke, ed. Naaman, 1981, pp.179, 183. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 211 zon of History’ II fait jour et c'est un jour pour I *Histoire. Une lueur vient de 1'horizon, II n'y a plus de Fumee dela Savane, De Dakar a Koulikoro. C'est le Dix Octobre, journee decisive, Nous l'avons jure sur le "Grouille Yaram" Nous vos femmes, vous soutiendrons jusqu'au bout Pour surmonter les duretes de la lutte, Nons vendrons boubous et bijoux. Vous avez allume le flambeau de 1' espoir, Elle n'est plus loin, la victoire. II fait jour et c'est un jour pour 1'Histoire, Une lueur vient de 1'horizon. 1 The march itself is presented as a monumental sacrifice on the part of the women who have to leave their family to embark on such an arduous journey. Despite its overwhelming success, it is not without its difficult moments. Its effects tell on the women not only in terms of fatigue but also in terms of short tempers and silly quarrel The picture of a human mass, moving like sea- waves and breaking against the soldiers in order to pour into Dakar is a highly impressive "pathetic" scene. The forces of light break through the 1. ibid, p. 267 , UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 212 forces of darkness.' Et deja, la pousseede la masse hu- maine faisait reculer les soldats. De partout maintenant des renforts arrivaient mais ce n’etait pas des uniformes. Des crosses se leverent auxquelles repondirent des batons et des jpierres. Les tirailleurs s’affolerent, des coups de feu claquerent, deux corps tomberent: Samba N’Doulougou et Penda. Mais que pouvaient quelques chechias devant ce grand fleuve qui roulait vers la mer? 1 The deaths of Penda and Samba N’Doulougou are construed as inevitable sacrifices to the cause of the class struggle. The euphoric march also leads the women to a deep consciousness of their importance and role in the society. As Lahbib reports in his letter to Bakayoko on the subject of the march: Le retour des marcheuses a ete bien accueilli, mais les hommes ont du mal a les dompter. Moi-meme au debut, elles venaient m ’assaillir comme des lionnes, elles voulaient tout comman­ der. Lnfin tout est entre dans l'or- dre, les enfants ne sont pas encore revenus et tous les jours elles vont au lac. Mais a l'averir, il faudra com­ pter avec elles. 2 21 1. ibid, p. 313 - 2. ibid p. 348 / UNIVERSITY OF IBADA LIBRARY 213 The women's march leads to the expected "de­ nouement", that is the capitulation of the bosses and the granting of the workers' demands. The last achievement of the women is their forcing the odious colonial exploiter, Isnard, out of Thies by besieging his house and singing abusive songs at him. Evidently the women have evolved far from their usual domestic roles in the open­ ing pages. Meanwhile, the structure of the novel itself, its progression from the exposition to the develop­ ment, on to the climax and finally to the resolu­ tion points to the ideology of the text. This ideology is clearly revealed in the novel's mate., rial description, characterisation and point of view of narration. Certain realistic elements observable in the depiction of the primary narrative world in Les Bouts de Dois de Dieu are pointers to the ideology of the text since realism is a singularly direct way of taking issues with historical reality. The first indications of the particular textual ideology are the social context of this novel as UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 214 well as the choice of subject* Ousmane makes use of a concrete historical event in a datable and locatable frame* The "Avertissement" constitutes the magahistory which doubles and predetermines the text as well as providing a clear pattern of expectation in the reader's mind* Sembene Ousmane saysj Les hommes et les femmes qui, du 10 Oc\t obre 1947 au 19 mars 1948- engagerent cette lutte pour une 7 vie meilleure ne doivent rien a personne; ni a aucune mission civilisatrice ni a un notable, ni a un pairlementaire. Leur exemple ne fut pas vain: depuis l'Afrique progresse. 1 The "Avertisement" is a prediction device which sounds a note of happy ending to the text right from the onset in the words "depuis l’Afri- que progresse". It is also a guarantee of truth in its reference to contemporary event as its point of departure. Furthermore, it explains the "Dedicace" rf A mes freres de syndicat et a tous les syndicalistes, et a leurs com- pagnes dans ce vaste monde, je dedie ce livre. 2 12 1. ibid, "Avertisement" 2. ibid, "Dedicace”. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 215 Both the "Avertisement" and the "Dedicace" have an authenticating function as guarantors of truth in this story. They are pointers also to the an­ gle of vision from which the author reconstitutes history« The question: "Whose story is the author writing" is answered. The basis of the ideologi­ cal relationship of the text to contemporary rea­ lity is also laid. Sembene Ousmane also employs this same method of composition in L» Harmattan. Its "Avertisement" lays down the material basis of his writings which is also pertinent to any discussion on Les Bouts de Bois de Dieu. Sembene Ousmane wants to be like the griot who is "non seulement 1’element dynamique de sa tribu, clan, village, mais aussi le tomoin patent de chaque e,v e,n ement". i He would also like to remain faithful to the truth of the collective life of the people; as he says: "rester au plus pres du reel et du peuple". His aims and literary methods are very clear - as a poetic historian of his people, he will engage in realistic representation of contemporary his- 1 1. Ousmane, Sembene. L* Harmattan. "Avertissement de 1*Auteur. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 216 tory from the point of view of the people, that is the peasants and the working class. The aesthe­ tic consequence of this stand is that Sembene Ous— mane’s novel serves as a poetic means of reflect­ ing reality from a marxist ideological perspective. Quite early in the novel, Bakayoko, the my­ thical, epic hero, puts the struggle into its pro­ per historical perspective when he declares on be­ half of his co-railwaymen that: Nous savons ce qu’est la France et nous la respectons, nous ne sommes pas antifranqais, mais encore une fois, il ne s'agit ni de la France, ni de son peuple, il s’agit d'emp- loyes qui discutent avec leurs em- ployeurs. 1 What Bakayoko is proving is that theirs is not a racial but a class struggle. The central questions which are posed and answered fully in the novel are these: In what ways are the lives of the strikers based on exploitation and what problems do these so­ cial and economic basis produce in their lives? The novelist demonstrates the thorny road along which the railway-workers, who are portrayed as victims of alienated labour, have to tread in order to eli- 1 1. ibid pp. 281-282 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 217 minate the misery which has hitherto governed their lives in order to build a brighter future for themselveso The class struggle is therefore central to Les Bouts de Bois de bieu just as it is central to the marxist ideology. According to the marxist critique of society, the capitalist society, like the slave and feudal societies, contain within it inner contradictions which will eventually lead to its fall. As workers become more and more alive to their rights and as their lives become more and more uncomfortable, they begin to form unions against the bourgeoisie. The concentration of workers and better means of communication facilitate the massing together of workers which eventually leads to one "national struggle between classes". In other words, the bourgeoisie produces Its own "grave-diggers". Evidently, the social vision contained in Les Bouts de Bois de Djeu is that of the working class. This choice of subject matter is not fortuitous. Neither is it an accident that the major conflict is pitched between the exploiters and the exploited the victory belonging eventually to the latter. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 218 With its emphasis on group awareness and solida» rity, Les Bouts de Bois de Djeu is the epic of co­ mradeship, of courage, of the union of the exploi­ ted workers and of human dignity. Since the novel demonstrates how the rail- workers are no longer willing to live in the old way, the building components of the novel obey the same principle. Consciousness replaces dramatica­ lly the previous apathy which was manifested at all levels of the society. The strike opens up the eyes of the workers to the fact that they are alie­ nated, that they have no real hold on their lives and that their lives depend on the whims and cap­ rices of the capitalist class which is represented by the railway bosses and Hadrame, the usurer. However, the strike reveals to them their innate strength and courage. Through the strike, most of the workers divest themselves of their egotism and achieve dignity and fulfilment within the context of collective commitment. Penda, Doudou, Ramatou- laye, Ndeye Touti, Maimouna, Samba N'Doulougou all outgrow their personal foibles. They merit not only the group's admiration but that of the reader UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 219 also o Characterisation is also an index to the ideo­ logy of Les Bouts de Bois de Dieu. The characters who are given the greatest latitude of development are the workers. They are the characters who att­ ract the reader’s attention and admiration. The writer's own position is very clearly expressed in the way in which he presents the primary starting point of these characters and subsequent changes in their personality and behaviour. While the workers evolve, the representatives of the exploi­ ting class do not. While the positive heroes adopt a problematic attitude to life and they struggle to achieve human dignity, negative heroes receive a strait-jacket portrayal. Sounkarej the old railguard is one of those negative characters. He adopts a fatalistic attitude to life and refuses to join in the strike action. His isolation in the rail-yard and his eventual disgraceful death from starvation is portrayed as a just punishment for his cowardice. The white bosses are also negatively portrayed. Only two chapters are devoted to them and even then UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 220 in those few pages they are prejudiced bigots* Beatrice, Isnard’s wife demonstrates an incredi­ ble heartlessness towards the murder of two black boys by her husband. For her, native lives are worthless, "ce sont des enfants, c’est tout". 1 In the eyes of the bosses the blacks are mere beasts of burden and it is worthless trying to understand them. Because of this lack of communi­ cation between the two groups it has been impossi­ ble for the groups to understand each other. Each group therefore lives by the stereotyped image of the other. If the bosses are portrayed as stereo­ types it is because the major angle of vision in this novel is that of the railmen and it is their view of the bosses which is strictly emphasised. While this depiction is realistic, it is at the same time obviously partial. This partiality must be put at the door of Ousmane's adherence to the marxist point of view in the novel. Sembene Ousmane’s sympathetic portrayal of women’s role is not gratuitous either. Never has the subject of the feminine role in African lite­ le ibid, p. 257 t UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 221 rature been treated with so much respect and under­ standing,, Although in reality, African women may not have reached the high level of consciousness portrayed in Les Bouts de 3ois and in lesser pro­ portion in 6 Pays and L1Harmattan, yet the typica­ lity of it rests in the possibility of the attain­ ment of such a level. What matters is not the falseness or otherwise of the women1s position. Rather it is the social movement of which the picture is an ideological expression. In this portrayal of the latent strength of the women-folk, Sembene Ousmane, like Maxim Gorky in his Mother has created not only important types of the present but he has prophe­ tically created types which are only just in their embryonic forms. It is a credit to his deep ideo­ logical vision of social reality that he has been able to achieve this. Like all true socialist rea­ lists he links up all human qualities with: the great social process of man's struggle for freedom, with the pro., cess in the course of which men by their own efforts grow to be more human. 1 1. Lukacs, op cit. 217 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 222 As to Sembene Ousmane's portrayal of positive characters he makes them grow out of definite cir­ cumstances which they encounter., He also shows how the turning points in their lives are inter­ twined with the conditions prevailing in their time. The characters’ conflict with the external world afford a latitude of development whose im­ pact depends on the importance of the role which the character is supposed to play in the text. It is the movement of these characters which gives them very well defined outlines. This method of characterisation has for its basis a progressive and marxist conception of hu­ man beings. The development of Ramatoulaye's cha­ racter is a case in point. Her changing role and mooc is typical of that of the women-folk at this time. As the strike becomes increasingly unbear­ able and her responsibility becomes onerous, her mood changes. She no longer indulges in idle wo­ men's talks. It is now her role to fend not only for her immediate family but also for that of her dead brother. Her visit to Hadrame, the shopkeeper is described in pathetically succinct terms. It UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 223 /involves a debate between her sense of pride and necessity for survival„ Her request for a credit of few kilos of rice is made in a few, dry, terse words which portray the battle between anger and pride that rages within her* Hadrame, je veux cinq kilos de riz. Pas d'huile, ni de sucre, du riz seulemento 1 When the shopkeeper refuses, she plants her im­ posing figure rigidly in his shop, hoping to make him capitulate* Si je reste, se dit-elle, je le flechiraio II faut que je tienne. 2 Her silent but eloquent presence is even weightier on Hardame's conscience than lengthy pleadings. When all else fails, she explodes with a threat.* Ramatoulaye etait a bout, sans qu' elle s 'en rendit compte, sa voix seleva: - Pour nous il n'ya rien, pour nous il n’y a rien, mais pourMabigue, ouii o.o. Lui et toi, vous etes avec les toubabs, mais la greve finira, Hadrame, il n’ya rien d'eternel! Je reviendrai, Hardrame, je re.ViS-Adl.rai si on n*a nien apporte de la ville, et alors ferme bien ton Ngounou, sinon j'aurai du riz! 32 13 1. ibid, pc 79 - 2. ibid, p. 79 > 3. ibid, p„ 81 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 224 This is a surprising gesture from an otherwise peace-loving woman. She suddenly realises that Hadrame has a vicious hold on her life. She has to pawn her things to him in order to feed herself. Moreover, most of the pay-packets go back to this usurer. She reiterates: - Hadrame, tu sais que je t'ai toujours paye mon du. Et puis, c'est toi qui nous as achete nos bijoux. Tu peux me donner deux kilos au moins. 1 This realisation that she is exploited through and through infuriates her sense of justice and she re­ volts not only against Hadrame but also against her opulent brother, El Hadji Mabigue. Both of them have become in her consciousness the symbols of ex­ ploitation, of corruption, of the causes of other peoples' misery. As she justly remarks: Nous sommes bien miserables, car le malheur, ce n'est pas seulement d' avoirfaim et soif, le malheur, c'est de savoir qu'il ya des gens qui veu- lent que tu meures de faim. 2 After an enervating but unsuccessful round in search of food, Ramatoulaye directs her steps back21 1. ibid p. 80 2. ibid, p. 94 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 225 to her house. As she walks her weary way, she turns over the events of the day in her mind. She as well as the reader, can hardly recognise her old self* Ah, je ne sais plus oil j' en suis. Comment ai - je pu dire a Hadrame que je reviendra^? Et si je reve- nais, que pourrais - je faire? Je ne suis pas capable d'incendier son n’gounnou, jai du dire ca dans un moment de colere. Pourquoi ai- je profere ces menaces? Tout ca, c'est a cause de cette greve.„..ou alors, c'est peut-etre que je suis mechante? Mon, je ne suis pas me- chante, c'est parce que nous avons faim.... Ah, c'est a devenir folle, une situation pareille: plus d'eau, plus de malo! Je ne peux pourtant pas rentrer les mains vides, avec toute une famille sur les bras? Autrefois jaurais pu me debrouiller, vendre des bougies ou nimporte quoi, mais maintenant.... cette greve est .trop dure, et elle nous donne trop a penser. 1 The strike has acquired a new and total dimension in the lives of the inhabitants and no one can ignore it. It is also the visible and logical cause of the radical change in Ramatoulaye*s be­ haviour. She subsequently becomes the leader of the female group not by imposing herself on others but, by force of circumstance, her innate 1 1. ibid, p. 84 • UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 226 leadership qualities are exteriorised. If she cannot burn down Hadrame's shop as a form of pro­ test, she vents her anger on Vendredi, her nephews over-fed ram. TKe epic struggle with Vendredi is doubly symbolic. First, her new role as a leader dictates that she must be fearless. As the ram lies dead on the ground: Ramatoulaye essuya son arrrse en la passant sur lepaisse toison, puis elle se redressa. II n'y avait dans son regard ni fierte, ni or- gueil, simplement une sorte de sa­ tisfaction comme si son acte n' avait ete qu'un devoir dicte par la fatalite. A ce moment, elle s'apercut qu'elle saignait et rentra dans la maison principale. 1 Ramatoulaye’s mates are surprised at her apparent but newly acquired audacity and courage. Les autres femmes etaient proches de la panique. Elies ne reconnai- ssaient plus leur compagne, habi- tuees, qu’elles etaient a la voir simple, sociable, douce avec les enfants. Jamais, ai la borne-fon- taine elle ne prenait part aux dis­ cussions, jamais elle ne medisait comme les autres. D'ou lui etait done venue cette force neuve, oil etait la source de cette force qui se de'chainait soudain? ce n'etait pas a la guerre, Ramatoulaye n' etait pas un homme, n'avait pas ete 1 1. ibid, p. 115 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 227 soldat, elle n'avait pas connu les longues marches sac en dos aucours desquelles on anaasse les rancoeurs. Ce n'etait pas a l'usine, Ramatoulaye n' avait jamais et<£ soumise aux inhu- maines cadences du travail ouvrier. Ce n'etait pas dans de multiples 6treintes d' hornrnes„ Ramatoulaye n’ etait pas de celles qui dilnpident leur tendresse. Ou done alors? La reponse etait simple comme elle 1' etait elle-m^me: dans les cuisines aux foyers eteints- 1 Ramatoulaye's violent gesture has a cathartic effect on her since she has been weighed down by the burden of responsibility° The strike has given her a newly-acquired courage and sense of responsi­ bility- In her own words: Quand on sait que la vie et le cou­ rage des autres dependent de votre vie et de votre courage, on n'a plus le droit d'avoir peur.... Meme si on a tres peur! Ah! nous vivons des ins­ tants cruele, nous sommes obliges de nous forger une duretd", de nous rai- dir„ Plus ca va, plus les temps de- vienment durs- 2 The slaughtering of Vendredi should also be seen as having a ritualistic import- The slaughtering of the ram not only provides meat for the homes, it also provides a "scape-goat" which appeases the women who feel they have adequately revenged aga- 1 1. ibid, p, 124• 2a ibid, p» 117« UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 228 inst the feudal istic El Hadji Mabigue, the owner of the ram. The positive heroes in Les Bouts de Bois de Dieu are products of an evolutionary process and of concrete historical circumstances. Realism of depiction is achieved for these characters never say, feel or do anything which does not arise from their actions and social being. Tiemoko sums it all up when he says "Cette greve est une ecole". It has been a learning forum not only for the wo­ men but also for the men. The romantic - idealist strain which runs through the novel is yet another aspect of the marxist dimension of the novel. An air of optimi* sm pervades the novel. This optimism is at the basis of the epic aura which envelopes the strike despite the great sufferings it engenders. The author himself had experienced the emergence and maturing of the industrial problems of the forties and he has tried to immortalise the period in the pages of Les Bouts de Bois de Dieu. It is signi­ ficant tnat no other francophone writer has thought of this strike as a worthy subject of UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 229 serious literature as well as the harbinger of the class struggle. This optimism is also noticeable in Sembene Ousmane's two other novels namely 6 Pays Mon Beau Peuple and L* 1Harmattan. Despite the fact that Ou- mar Faye and the members of the Front are portrayed as being larger than life, they identify closely with the masses and share in their hopes and aspi­ rations, Because they are profoundly optimistic, even when they are seen to have failed temporarily, they do not lose hope. Addressing white merchants who are his commercial rivals, Oumar Faye declares: Je vivrais cent ans, rien que pour voir une seule fois les cultiva- teurs fixer eux-m£mes le prix de leur labeur,., 1 Je veux simplement lutter. Si je perds d’avance, cola ne fait rien, Ceux qui viendront apres moi vous tiendront t£te jusqu’ a ce que vous soyez assis a la meme table. 2 Leye, the poet-painter in L* Harmattan des­ cribes the harmattan as the symbol of hope and op­ timism. Commenting on a painting he has just pre­ pared and depicting the black condition, he says: 1. Sembene Ousmane, A0 Pays Mon Beau Peuple, p, ISO- 20 ibid, p. 125 , UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 230 Ce tableau, c'est l’harmattan, II y a dans ce sujet, le passe et 1' avenir. L'Afrique est une tombe pour les Africains. Et au-dessus des tetes, ce roux-violet, comme un nuage, c’est l’harmattan,, Ce n'est un sangloti Un sanglot de quatre siecles, souffle par des millions de voix ensevelies. Un cri intarrissable a nos oreilles, venu des nuits anciennes, pour des jours radieux. Voila ce que dit l’Harmattan.0.. L'Harmattan est le coeur de lame. II git en nous, comme le foetus dans la mere. Et nous, nous ne nous sevrons jamais d’elle. 1 The myth which surrounds Bakayoko lends a ro­ mantic - idealist dimension to the story of the strike for Bakayoko is the prototype of the male positive hero and visionary leader. Bakayoko is necessary in the class struggle to bring out the latent qualities in the people, in order that they may be transformed into truly positive human beings. The ritualistic import of the death of Penda and Samba N’Doulougou as well as the slaughtering of Vendredi as a ’’sacrificial lamb" further expa­ tiate on the romantic - idealism of the novel. Their deaths are construed as necessary sacrifices 1 1. Ousmane, Sembene. L’Harmattan, pp. 202-204 ' UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 231 towards the success of the strike. Thus it is the marxist or better still the socialist - realist posture which determines the overall conception and execution of Les Bouts de Bois de Djcu. Serious realism and proletarian hu­ manism are aesthetically blended. Through the realistic method of presentation, ideology loses its abstractness and becomes a relevant part of the life process. The ideological struggle is played out in the streets of Dakar, Thies and Bamako by the two antagonistic forces. The rea­ der is aware that the proletarian revolution is not only a hope for the future as in 0 Pays Mon Beau Peuple and L1Harmattan but a possible pre­ sent reality which transforms men into positive beings. Thus it is demonstrated that the working class movement: in plucking men from the unconscious dullness of their lives and turning them into conscious fighters for the emancipation of mankind, trans­ forms them into harmonious, conten­ ted, happy beings in spite of the hard fate which they have to bear as individuals. 1 1 1. Lukacs, op cit. 237. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 232 In this wise, Les Bouts de Bois de Dieu must be regarded as a product of the social struggle, as playing a very important part in that struggle. Los Bouts de Bois de Dieu is a novel of universal significance in that it describes in marxist terms the preconditions as well as the carrying out of a revolutionary struggle of the masses. The same has been done in Russian literature by the great realists Tolstoy, Gogol and Maxim Gorky and will continue to be done in any litera­ ture of the oppressed peoples of the world. Se­ condly and most important also, the novel is an artistic success. The referential power of the novel operates simultaneously both on the sociolo­ gical and artistic levels, in its ability to grasp and define social realities through a gifted mani­ pulation of literary techniques. It thereby de­ monstrates that literature, in order to awaken consciousness need not be propaganda. It performs the task best by digging down to the deepest roots of human suffering, feelings, thoughts and actions. In the words of Friedrich Engels, a socialist based novel fully achieves its purpose...„ if by consciously des- UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 233 cribing the real mutual relations, breaking down conventional illusions about them, it shatters the optimism of the bourgeois world, instils doubt as to the eternal character of the existing order, although the author does not offer any definite solution or does not even line up openly on any particular side,, 1 Les Bouts de Bois de Pieu is a classic of socia­ list realism, remaining topical, understandable and aesthetically satisfying at all times. LE MANDAT and XALA In two of his works Le Mandat (1966) and Xala (1973), Sembene Ousmane employs the symbolic mode in order to lay bare the dynamics of contemporary society. It is important to understand why Ous­ mane adopts this mode and why he does so particu— larly in his post-independent novels instead of limiting himself to straight-forward realist de­ piction of society as in Les Bouts de Bois de Djeu. L* Harmattan and 0 Pays. Plekhanov in his description of Ibsen's works said The history of literature shows that man has always used one or the other of these means (symbolism or realism) to transcend a particular reality. 1 1. op cit® UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 234 He employs the first (ice. symbols) when he is unable to grasp the mean­ ing of that particular reality, or when he cannot accept the conclusion to which the development of that rea­ lity leads. 1 It is the duty of the critic to find out if Le Mandat and Xala explicate Plekhanov’s assumptions. Symbolism itself, with its concentration of mean­ ing and richness of reference is not incompatible with realism. Symbols add a supplementary and combinatory potentiality to the realist text, the function of the symbol is to represent a reality or a truth either instantaneously or gradually. Symbol, like image and metaphor designates stand­ ing for something else and suggests the idea of analogy between the sign and the signified. The relationship of a symbol to reality has either a denotative or a representative value. Le Mandat probes the nascent capitalist world with much the same artistic methods as in Xala. However since Le Mandat is a short story, its realism is much more concentrated than that of Xala. Le Mandat presents a single stressed in- 1 1. Quoted by James Frederic. Marxism and Form, p. 337. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 235 dividual fate, a method most appropriate for showing particular aspects of social trends. The author concentrates on the protagonist Dieng. Polygamy which will be portrayed in Xala as a divisive factor is favourably portrayed here. This is not however due to any ambivalence in the attitude of the author to the subject of polygamy. Rather it is a technical device which does not allow the reader's attention to be caught by any other side issues. Sembene Ousmane uses the Money-order as a symbol of "arrivisme". The protagonist, Ibrahima Dieng has just become a proud recipient of a Money-order worth 25,000 Francs CFA. In order to cash the money-order, Dieng needs an identity card. In order to obtain an identity card, ha must produce a birth-certificate. Lost and con­ fused by the eternal queue he confronts everywhere, he asks one of the characters who is also waiting for his certificate to explain things to him. The carpenter's answer is not encouragingi Cela depend sx tu es connu ou si tu as des relations. Sinon, il n'y a qu'ci ne pas se decourager. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 236 Mais si tu as de 1*argent, alors, q.a va vite.... Cuand m^me, il est bon d'avoir des relations par les temps qui courent, finit par repeter le maî on. 1 It is not only the carpenter who is disillusioned about the corrupt and cumbersome administrative process. Others join in the discussion Des confidences en critiques, les connaissances s'elargissent. Les deux derniers arrivants s'y asso- cierent. L'un d'eux, le plus trapu, venu chercher l’acte de naissance de son fils, demontrait par ses propos 1*incurie des bureaucrates, le manque de conscience civique. Tous, pourtant, se taisaient lors- que s'approchait quelqu’un. Le macon distribua a la ronde des mor- ceaux de kola. II obtint satisfaction. 12n par- tant, il serra les mains. 2 However, Bieng ^ails to obtain his certificate* Tired of the whole process, he plays into the hand of a relation who promises to help him cash the money-order. The latter eventually dupes him of the Money-order pretending it has been stolen. What confers an overall importance on the 12 1. Ousmane, Sembene. Le Mandat, p. 138* 2. ibid, p. 138. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 237 Money-order is the general poverty of the majo­ rity of the people in the story. Everyone builds his hope on a money-order which does not even be­ long to bieng. Some invoke religious injunctions while others invoke the ethics of traditional co­ mmunal ism to buttress their demand for loans. When Dieng honestly refuses their demands, they become vicious. As Mety says'; Ici, dans le quartier, tout le monde croit que nous sommes des individua- listes. Que nous faisons fi de la solidarite du voisinage. 1 Another woman however explains the root-cause of their viciousness. It is the rampant poverty from which the people are suffering. She pleads with Mety: - Mety, ne nous accable pasJ Tu nous blesses. Vrai, nous avons entendu parler de ce mandat. Que veux-tu, quand on a ur.e famille et qu'on a faim, on croit a ce qu'on raconte. Tu sais que nos esprits sont plus agiles a condamner qu'a etre in- dulgents.... - Parce que nous avons faim, ajouta une autre femme. 2 Money is shown to have become the ruling ethos in 12 1. ibid, p. 168 « 2. ibid, p. 169. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 2?8 the society- described in Le Mandat, Mety revolts against this trait in her neighbours- She in­ dicts them in strong termsl Des vers, des qu'ils entendent que quelqu'un a de 1*argent, les voila comme des vautours. 1 One of the characters observes that this reign of money coincides with the advent of independences En fait dans notre pays depuis 1f independence, 1*argent tient lieu de la morale. 2 Another person adds bitterly: c’est fou ce que les gens se baga- rrent pour les sous depuis notre independence. 3 And yec another laments the negative changes in Dakar -Je ntj compte plus mes annees et jamais je n*ai quitt^ Ndakaru, pourtant je confesse que je ne reconnais plus ce pays. Dans quel pays sommes-noust 4 The apparently simple tragi-comic story of Le Mandat has wider dimensions. Sembene Ousmane1s dissatisfaction with the present provides the foundation for his portrayal of the present with a profound and sharply satirical realism. The 1234 1. ibid, p. 138; 2. ibid, p. T76- 3. ibid, p. 1161 4. ibid, p. 169. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 239 presentation of everyday life is only a means of throwing the contradictions of such life into bol­ der relief and giving a total picture of a society in motion complete with all its determinants,, In faithfully depicting the everyday destinies of men, Le Mandat demonstrates the great problems agitating the society. As Ousmane himself explains Dans Le Mandat, je ne traite ni du milieu rural, ni du milieu urbain. J ’etudie devolution d'un individu dans un contexte social donne. L' histoire d'lbrahima Dfeng est celle d’un cas particulier qui, en abor- dant beaucoup de petites questions, soul'eve evidemment des problemes plus generaux.... Ibrahima Diong represente bien sur un habitant de Dakar avec ses caracteristiques pro- pres mais il represente aussi un phenomene beaucoup plus general, celui de 1 individu plonge dans une societe dont il ne comprend pas les rouages. Les malheurs' d'lbrahima Dieng sont dus a la mal-honn£tete de ceux qui profitent de son ignorance et de sa naivete. De la son impui- ssance. 1 Dieng believes at first that he is suffering from a personal fate; that everything is the work of Yallah. Il faut comprendre Ibrahima Dieng. Conditionne par des annees de 1 1. Quoted by Vieyru, Paulin. Sembene Ousmane, Cineaste. pp 182/186. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 240 sourde soumission in-consciente, il fuyait tout acte pouvant lui porter prejudice, tant physique que morale Le coup de poing recu au nez etait un "atte Yallah" volonte de Dfeu. L'argent perdu aussi.... au plus profond de son desespoir, de 1* affront subi, la forte conviction qu'il avait de sa foi le soutenait, degelait un ruisseau souterrain d1 espoir. 1 However his experiences have since the arrival of this money-order also taught him lessons. Like an "eclair de lucidite", it has put some doubts in his eternal optimism. He realises that there is a general suffering among the masses which is responsible for their viciousness. A un homme, il faut de quoi faire vivre sa famille, Lorsque tout le rrtonde aura a manger, de partout s' elevera la paix des coeurs. Personne ria de quoi faire vivre decemment sa famille. Cette nouvelle conduite (menterie) n'est pas le fruit de notre mechancete', c'est plutot que la vie n'est plus conine du temps de notre jeunesse a nous, les parents d’au- jourd'hui. Combien sont ils ceux qui font rentrer leur sac de riz la nuit venue? Et pourquoi? Pour ne pas par- tager. 2 «. In his simple way, Ln'eng gives a recipe which is tantamount to the marxist credo, "To each accord- 21 1. ibid, p. 166 » 2. ibid, p. 171. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 241 ing to his needs". For a moment Dieng revolts against his condition declaring angrily: C^est fini, moi aussi, je vais me vetir de la peau de l’hy^ne. Farce qu'il n’ya que fourberie, menterie de vrai. L ’honne-tete est un de'lit de nos jours. 1 Dieng is disillusioned by the capitalist reality exposed in the story which to him is a distortion of the proper humane reality. As he remarks sig­ nificantly in his letter to Abdou, the nephew who sent him the money-order from France, De nos jours, l’etoffe de la con- fiance s’ê ffrite. Je te demande de ne pas considerer 1’argent comma 1'essence de la vie. hargent comme essence de la vie ne te con­ duit que sur une fausse route oh t&t ou tard, tu seras seul. L1ar­ gent ne solidifie rien. Au con- traire, il detruit tout ue qui nous reste d’humanite.... 2 However another character raises Dieng’s morale by suggesting to him that he can still change things for the better. The following conversation ensues between him and the postman. - Tu crois que tout est pourri? - Non - cela changers. Demain nous changerons tout cela. 12 1. ibid, p. 189 ’ 2. ibid, p. 182 , UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 242 - Qui, nous? - Toi. ~ Moi? - Qui, toi Ibrahima Dieng., toi. 1 The symbols Sembene Ousmane employs is "Xala", in the novel of the same title. The mere fact of recurrence pushes "Xala" in the direction of a symbol. The word is used several times in the novel and in each reference it is written in italics, which denotes that particu­ lar attention must be paid to the lexical item, "xala". Some of these references are: - Ce n'est rien le xala 2 - J'ai le xala. 3 - El Hadji a le xala. 4 - Le xala.... etait devenu sujet de conversation generale. 5 - Pas de doute, il voyait 1*auteur du xala. 6 - El Hadji souffrait atrocement de son xala. 7 - II etait tout absorbe par son xala.8 - II decrivait les mefaits du xala. 9 - Pourquoi ce xala? etc. 10 The world "xala" becomes a recurrent visual and graphic perception. In the words of Wellek and 1. ibid, p. 189- 2. Ousmane, Sembene Xala, p. 45 - 3. ibid, p. 51. 4. ibid, p. 55 • 5*. ibid, p. 66 • 6. ibid, p. 67 • 7. ibid, p. 67 • 8. ibid, p. 88. 9. ibid, p.115 • 10. ibid, p.164 o UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 243 Warren^ an image may be evoked once but if it persistently recurs, both as presentation and representation, it becomes a symbol, may even be­ come part of a symbolic system. 1 Sembene Ousmane himself has explained both the cul tural meaning and intended signification of "xala" Etymologiquement, "xala veut dire en langue oulof, "impuissance sex- uelle temporaire". Nous sommes ici dans une "zone culturelle" diffe- rente, meme si nous sommes conti- nentalement solidaires. "Xala, qa peut arriver a tous les hommes, qu' ils soient riches ou pauvres; ca peut etre la consequence d'un Senti­ ment agressif de jalousie et de ri- valite", ca peut provenir d ’un vice, ou d' autre chose. Le "xala", en oulof usuel veut dire aussi - arc, cette arme qui tire des filches. Or le sexe de 1 *homme en repos est toujours courbe, comme un arc. Co— mme larc il se tend, a moment donne, pour un acte, puis il reprend sa forme defendue, qui est alors courbe. D ou le sens du mot, sur le plan culturel: impuissance sexuelle temporaire. Avoir le "xala", c'est avoir "l1arc au repos". Et si c'est h un moment o& il ne le faudrait pas, cela peut etre tres regrettable, evidemment$ (̂ a c'est une premifere donr.ee, d'ordre culturel, une donr.ee linguistique. 2 12 1. Wellek and Warren. Theory of Literature. London, Penguin p. 194 2. Cheriaa, Tahaar. "L'nrtiste et la Revolution", op cite UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 244 The cultural-semantic significance to be attached to the word "xala" is therefore "temporary impo­ tence". The symbolism of sex and of the life cy­ cle is well known. It performs a function simi­ lar to those of time and eternity since it indi­ cates the permanence of the cycle of sexual func­ tions and the return and renewal of individual and collective physical life which those func­ tions bring about. This endless renewal of life is often represented by the phallus. Loss of virility is always viewed with se­ rousness in African culture. Chief Toje Onovwak— po a character in Isidore Opeviho's The Last Duty (1976) laments bitterly the loss of his virility: How shall ie be told, how reported that I cannot lie with a woman?.... What use is this flab cf flesh, if it cannot perform the function with­ out which a man is not worth the classification. 1 Thus the imagery of the "arc en repos" is evi­ dently that of the inability to procreate. This poses a great problem to the protagonist and explains why he is obsessed by his "xala". 1 1. Opewho, Isidore. The Last Duty. London, Longman, 1976, p. 27. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 245 The "xala” is a structural device which serves as the focal point around which the whole story revolves. Four periods can be clearly de­ lineated in the novel; periods which correspond to the evolution of the xala. The first period lasts one day and the one night. It is the apogee of Beye’s weaLtli which he wastes in sensuousness and merry-making. He is about to acquire a third wife therefore, like all the invitees, he is in high spirits and in the words of the omniscient narrator: Le Jerk et le Pachanga alternaient, Les danseurs-rien que des jeunes gens-ne quittaient pas la piste de danse. . La noce avait perdu sa so- lennite pour retrouver une atmos­ phere de bombance. Le "Groupe des Hommes d' Affaires” faisait bande a part. La, une vive discussion s'animait, bondissait d'un sujet a l'autre, de la poli­ tique a la limitation des naissan- ces, du communisme au capitalisme. Sur leur table d'honneur tronait toutes les marques d'alcool, des bouteilles de formes variees, le reste du gateau de mariage, les reliefs du mechoui. 1 The euphoric party works El Hadji to a crescendo and leads to the climactic moment when, in the 1 1. ibid, p. 41 , UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 246 evening? the hero contemplates his newest acquisi­ tion, greedily impatient to consumcnate. his third marriage. He is unable to do so because he su­ ddenly discovers that he has become impotent. He has xala. From then on, Beye becomes physically, mentally and spiritually disorientated. He spends the rest of his money in an effort to cure his xala. The second episode though unspecified extends over some months. It is a period of cruel disi­ llusion which begins on the night of his marriage and ends on the night he regains his virility. From the moment the hero realises his impotence the tempo of the novel changes to reflect his gloomy mood. The quick tempo of the first epi­ sode, translated by short se*ntences and copious conversations gives way to long descriptions instead of dramatic presentations and to interior monologues. This change translates the hero’s long effort to get himself cured as well as his psychological and physical depreciation. The hero's first reaction is that of unbelievable shock. he next morning, the hero is mentally UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 247 confused: "El Hadji etait affreusement deprime". Days later, the hero is fetill very worried and in a very poignant manner, the narrator describes the wounded rapacious male: Le regret et la colere emplissait son coeur. Du fiel traversait son corps. Sentant et mesurant le poids de sa situation presente de msile blesse, il etait desoriente. Dansles bras de I'une ou 1*autre de ses epouses il avait reve de cet instant: etre seul avec N' Gone\ Il avait desire N'Gone au plus profond de lui. Vainque tel un oiseau rapace, il avait emporte sa proie jusqu’au nid.... Mais la consommation lui semblait impossible, sinon interdite. 2 Then begins his series of nocturnal visits to me­ dicine men and with each fruitless trial, his bi­ tterness increases towards everybody and towards life itself. Cette amertume s'etait muee en un complexe d’inf^riorite devant ses pairs.... Il ne supportait plus les rires apres son passage, les apartes, les regards insistants. Cette infirmite - peut-etre passa- gere, le rendait incapable de toute communication avec ses em­ ployes, ses femmes, enfants et 21 1. ibid, p. 47- 2. ibid, p. 65 • UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 248 - / . • * ‘ homologues. Lorsqu’il s'accordait des lui, ii se voyait enfantin, leger. Les remords 1’envahissaient comme une marree de boue recouvre une riziere. 1 El Hadj becomes absent-minded, ridiculously tou­ chy and reserved. Tell-tale signs begin to show on him: La lassitude engourdissait ses epau- les d'un poids supplementaire. 2 Modu, le chauffeur, avait bien remar- que" le deperissement de son patron: la voix, les regards fuyants, la de­ marche lourde, hesitante. 3 The third episode begins with the restora­ tion of Li Hadji's virility by the Serigne Maida. It is a parallel to the first episode, lasting one night and one full day and is characterised by a euphoria that equals that of the first epi­ sode. The hero is revitalised. He is beside him­ self with joy and he can hardly wait to prove his mettle with his wives just as he has been impa­ tient on the night of his marriage.’ II etait au faite de la joie. II decouvrait qu’il avait des oreilles. 123 1. ibid, p. 67 . 2. ibid p. 86 , 3. ibid, p.?l * UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 249 Tout son corps etait traverse par des ondes vivantes. El Hadj etait presse de retourner a Dakar. Re- vigore', il pensait a la troisieme epouse.... Sur le chemin de retour, nageant dans l’euphorie, il cau.sait avec le conducteur. Son sang etait chaud. 1 However this cure constitutes a "faux-denouement", a break in the reader's perception as well as an aesthetic device to retard the moment of truth* For once, the reader nearly believes that the problem is over, that the hero has now re-entered vigorously into the process of procreation* But then, there is a fore-boding. El Hadji issues a cheque to cover the Serigne’s fees. The latter warns him of the consequences of a dud cheque. ,4 "J’ai ton cheque! Ce que j1ai enleve, je peux le remettre aussi rapidement". 2 The following day at Dakar, Beye's euphoria is quickly brought to an end by his realisation that he has become totally bankrupt. The reader watches him make fruitless attempts to redress his economic situation and by the evening, he has been expelled from the "Group". This is the logical 12 1. ibid, p. 114. 2. ibid, p. 114. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 250 denouement the novel has been working towards,, By the end of the day, as if in a classical tra­ gedy,, his race has been run, a chasm opens around him, "le vide se fait autour de lui"o The fourth episode re-echoes the second. The xala is restored but the protagonist is economica­ lly and physically ruined. The vestiges of his ephemeral wealth are removed one after the other until, in the last scene, there is in Becketian manner a complete reversal of situation. The hero stands naked before the scum of Dakar who spit at him. En un fil discontinu se devidait dans sa mdmoire son ascension. II avait lutt̂ T fievreusement pour avoir pignon sur rue, 'etre quelqu'un. Et voild que tout sebranlait, s'ecroulait. 1 Both thematic, temporal and spatial organisa— tion is all woven around the symbol of xala. All the characters respond in their various ways to this xala. As the narrator says: Le xala, hier objet de confidence que l'on se passait de bouche a oreille, etait devenu, au fil des jours, puis des semaines, sujet de conversation genorale. 12 1. ibid, p.147• 2. ibid, p. 66 1 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 251 Rama the eldest daughter, Adja Awa Astou, Ourni Ndoye and Ngone, the three wives of the protago­ nist all suffer psychologically and materially from Beye's xala. N'Gone, the latest bride on whose nuptial night, Beye discovers his impotence, is disappoin­ ted N'Gone etait 1 * incarnation de la per­ secution morale et physique. Elle se collait a lui, prenait des initiatives, maladroitement telle une lecon mal assimilee. Bile haletait, le renversa sur le lit, s'allongea sur lui.... Desappointee, N’Gone se pliait en deux sur le lit, la tete prise entre ses bras. Puis, d’un coup de rein, elle s’allongea sur le dos, le compas de ses jambes s'ouvrit. L,lie fixait 1’homme d’un regard de defi et de pro­ vocation. 1 While the presence of N’Gone emphasises the cruel inadequacy o" '*r 'e, that of Oumi N’doye emphasises the hero's chastisement. It gradually becomes a phobia to accomplish her "moome" because of her harrassment, threat and incomprehension of the hero's illness. - Dis-moi ce que tu as? - Je ne suis pas en forme. 1. ibid, p. 101 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 252 - Et hier? dit-elle vehemente. Je ne suis pas de bois, cornrne disent les FrancaiSu Je te prbviens que, moi aussi, je peux aller ailleurs. 1 Finally, the hero boycotts her villa; Reduit a une figuration, El Hadji ne rendait plus visite a sa deuxi- eme epouse.... 2 As to Adja Awa Astou her husband's xala becomes her major preoccupation. She withdraws entirely into herself, suffering from an inexplicable sense of guilt, even though she is not the author of the "xala". She is worried about what people say, for according to her, "Dans des cas semblables, on accuse la premiere femme". 3 Directly or otherwise, the "xala" is primor­ dial in determining the action of everyone in the story and in this sense, it plays the same organi­ sational role he "strike" in Les Bouts de Bojus de Djeu and the Referendum in L* Harmattan. Al­ though it does not reach the epic dimension of the last two, it is however a source of obsession* As we have said earlier, the symbol, as a "sign" or "picture" has either a denotative or a 1. ibid, p. 103 • 2. ibid, p. 155* 3. ibid, p. 80. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 253 truly representative meaning. The question arises what in fact the intentional function of the "xala" is in this story and what attitude is expected of the reader towards it. In deter­ mining this, it is pertinent to discuss the wri­ ter's use of verbal irony in the text and deter** mine its intention and communicabilityn As has been noted earlier "xala” is a cultural and psy­ chological anomaly and is therefore undesirable both to the protagonist and reader. The shared cultural context with Xala determines our negative attitude in the first place. Next the reader must consider the presence of irony markers in the text. The writer makes copious use of under-dissimulations, over-dissimu­ lations, arbitrary markers, mock hesitations and parodies in order to describe the hero, the group to which he belongs as well as his milieu. The first page of Xala is full of such examplesi Les "Hommes d'affaires" s'etaient reunis pour festoyer, et marquer ce jour-la d'une pierre blanche, car l'evenement etait de taille. Jamais, dars le passe de ce pays, le Senegal, la Chambre de Commerce et d'Industrie n'avait ete dirigee par un Africain . UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 254 Venus individuallement d*hori­ zons differents, ils avaient forme un "Groupement des Hommes d*affai­ res'1 faisant front a lafflux des entreprises dirigees par des etran*. gerso Leur amnition etait de pren­ dre en main l'economie du pays, Cette ve—lleite de constituer une couche sociale les avait rendus tres combatifs, avec meme un relent de xenopho—bie. au fil des annees, ils etaient parvenus - la politique aidant -, h. grignoter le commerce de detail, de demi-gros, un peu c’ import et d*export, Les dents lon­ gues, ils visaient 1'administration, des banques, ou au moins d'y etre associes.... L’acte de ce jour aurait toute sa portee dans les jours a venir. Son importance meritait cette libation,.., 1 El Hadji Abdou- Kader Beye is a prominent member of the country's Chamber of Commerce whose inaugu­ ral meeting is described here. "Hommes d'affaires*', "Groupement des Hommes d'affaires”, are put in in­ verted commas here in order to mark an ironic reluc­ tance to use uie expressions as well as an ironic distance not only between the narrator and the pro­ tagonist but also between the former and the group to which Beye belongs. The expressions are obvious­ ly taken from the •''ocabulary of the business group with which the narrator does not wish to be associa­ ted. Sembene Ousmane frequently uses this self— I, Ousmane, Sembene. Xala. pp.7-8. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY ■ 255 marking irony everywhere these expressions figure in the novel. The reader is even informed that' par megalomanie, peut-etre, ces gens ne pronongaient jamais "Chambre de Commerce et d'Industrie" mais ils disaient "la Chambre". 1 Much later it becomes clear that there is an iro­ nic intention when the narrator says*. En fait, il est bon de savoir que tous ces gens qui s'etaient arroges le droit a l'appelation pompeuse d* hommes d'affaires n'etaient que des intermediaires, des commis d'une espece nouvelle. 2 The sarcastic intentions of the narrator towards the group is also noticeable in his choice of destructive words. "Grignoter", "xenophobie", "les dents lon­ gues" are suggestive of rapacious and destructive rodents who make tiny but frequent and destf bites into whatever they eat. These expressions are not appropriate to describe people whom the narrator describes in the opening pages as "na— tionalistes". There is also an obvious contra­ diction in the first paragraph and the second. The first suggests an economic victory in the 12 1. Ousmane Sembene. Xala. p.8 2. ibid, p. 94. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 256 struggle against colonialism which is itself is a positive and desirable event. The reader there- fore agrees that ”11evenement etait de taille”. However in the second and third paragraphs, it is clear that these men are pseudo-bourgeois egoists and their advent cannot be of any benefit to their country. It is therefore unjustified to describe them as having any nationalist sentiment. The sen­ tence '» "L’acte de ce jour aurait toute sa portee dans les jours ct venir". is pregnant with double meaning. The points of suspension after the next sentenc is obviously an irony marker which is a typographi­ cal equivalent of winks and nudges. It is obvious­ ly a mock hesitation. In these three paragraphs, the narrator by the use of expressions that are ob­ viously inappropriate to the context and his cnoice of connotative vocabulary hints at the presence of irony. The two parts of the quotation are opposed obviously so as to alert the readers to the ironic intention of the writer towards the group of businessmen. The foundation of their function in the so- UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 257 ciety is solidly laid right from the opening pages. Apart from the negative descriptions hinted at in the opening scenes, the narrator characterises them by external markers. Their social class is trans­ parently obvious by their manner of dress;’ une dizaine de personnes, richement habillees. La coupe des complets, en drap anglais, sur mesure, les chemises impeccables exprimaienc assez leurs ambitions. Dehors, une ranĝ /e de voitures de marque les attendaient, 1 The so-called businessmen nevertheless do not play the same beneficial role and do not have the same characteristics as the European bourgeoisie with which the reader can compare it. When it is reported that "La reunion e’tait finie", it is ob­ vious that nothing positive and concrete has been achieved. The discussions have centred round celeb**, rations and women, all of which are most unlikely of serious business discussions. During Beye’s marriage ceremony, :he Group's discussion is not any more disciplined/ "Le Groupe des Lommes d'affaires" faisait bande o part. La, une vive discussion s'animait, bondis- '• sait d'un sujet a 1'autre, de la 1. Ousmane, Sembene. Xala. pp.8-10 * UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 258 politique 'a la limitation des naissances, du communisme au capitalisme. ^ur leur trone d* hor.neur tronaient toutes les marques d’alcool, des.-houteilles les de formes variees, le reste du gateau de mariage, les re­ liefs du mechoui.... La conversation s’etendit sur les aphrodisiaques<> Chacun se montrait savant en la mati&re, chacun avait sa recette particu- liere. 1 However, Sembene Ousmane does not limit his descriptions to generalities. He chooses to de­ monstrate the salient aspects of this group by a realistic description of Abdou Kader Beye's back­ ground and evolution from schoolmaster to a member of this group. First the narrator puts him in his historical context. He is one of the few people v/ho benefited from monopoly of trade headed by the Lebanese and the Syrians during the colonial era and when independence came, he was used as a front by foreign investors'. El Hadji Abdou Kader Beye etait un ancien instituteur, raye du corps enseignant a cause de son action syndicale a ]epoque coloniale. Apres son renvoi des cadres, il s' etait initie ala revente de cer­ tains produits alimentaires, puis 1. Ousmane, Sembene. Xala. p.42 . UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 259 il s1etait fait intermediaire dans les transactions immobilieres. Etendant ses relations dans le milieu 1ibano-syrien, il trouva un associe'. Des mois, voire un an durant, ils monopoliserent la co­ mmercialisation du riz, denree de premiere necessite. Cette aubaine le hissa au sommet des sous-trait- ants a la petite semaine. Vint 1' independence du pays. Avec son petit capital amasse, ses relations, il fit cavalier seul.... Faute de credits bancaires et de soutien, il revenait a son point de depart. Mais, tres connu, ayant une "sur­ face", le milieu industriel 1' utilisa comme prete-nom moyennant quelques redevances. Il joua le jeu. Il etait aussi membre du conseil d*administration de trois ou auatre societes de la place. A chaque fin d'exercice, il signait des procds-verbaux. La Loi n'y vo- yait goutte. Fiais tous savait la verite....12 Beye is here presented as an arriviste whose for­ tune is built on the misfortunes of the poor and acquired by dut'ous means. El Hadji abdou Kader Beye etait si on peut dire, la synthese de deux cul­ tures. Formation bourgeoise euro- peenne, education feodale africaine. • Ilsavait, comme ses pairs, se servir adroitement de ses deux p'oles. La fusion n*etait pas complete. 2 1. ibid, pp. 10-11 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 260 The ironic reluctance to use the otherwise posi­ tive expression "synthese de deux cultures'' is conveyed lexically by the metalingual tag "si on peut dire" and reinforced by the terse final sen­ tence, "La fusion n'etait pas complete". The point is further driven home that he shares these aspects with his groups by the use of the ex­ pression of similitude "comme ses pairs". Beye is a man devoid of intellectual and cul­ tural depth like any member of the "Groupement des Hommes d'affaires"^ Lui non plus n'avait pas de riches conversations, fines, delicates, spirituelles. Ce type d'dtres, dans notre pays, cette "gentry" imbue de son role de maitre - ce role de maxtre commencant et se limitant & equiper la femelle et a la monter - ne guetait nulle elevation, nulle finesse dans la correspondence ver- bale avec ’eur partenaire. Ce man­ que d'ecnanges faisait d'eux des etalons pour haras. El Hadji, limite, borne, n'etait pas plus intelligent que les autres. Seule sa situation actuelle l’empechait d'echanger avec N'Gone de nombreuses phrases creuses, insipides. 1 In the same way as the expression "Groupement des hommes d'affaires" the word "bureau" is identi— 1„ Ousmane, Sembene. Xala. p.38. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 261 fied first by the use of inverted commas as an object of derision, a mockery of an office. The following morning after his transitory recovery Beye dresses immaculately and eats a rich break- fasti Le lendemain matin, rase, vetu d’un complet "Prince de Galles”, chau- ssures noires bien cirees, El Hadji se regalait avec appetit de deuv oranges pressees, oeufs au jarribon , cafe au lait, pain beurre. La bonne s'eioigna apres avoir pose la bouteille d'Evian. 1 After eating he announces proudly to his second wife: Je vais au "bureau". 2 However it is ironic that this well-dressed and well-fed man, who rides a Mercedes Benz car, has three wives and eleven children and keeps three villas works in a ram-shackle office. Our first view of the office is shocking. Madame Diouf his Secretary cum selling aide is busy chasing out the flies and the cockroaches in this "bureau". Later, as it is his practice, the narrator des­ cribes the "bureau" in realistic details. 12 1. ibid, p. 118 • 2. ibid, p. 119. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 262 Le magasin d'import - export - qu'il nommait son ’’bureau" - se situait au centre de la cite commercialsUn vaste hangar qu'il avait loue a un libano-syrieno aux heures de son apogee, il regorgeait de sacs de riz, (en provenance du Siam, du Cambodge, de la Caroline du Sud, du Bresil), de produits de menages, de denrees alimentaires (importees de France, de Hollande, de Belgique, d'ltalie, du Luxem-bourg, d*Angleterre, du Maroc), Jusqu'au plafond s'entassaient des ustensiles en matiere plastique> en ^tain, en fer blanc. Les friandises, les tomates en conserves,le poivre le lait, les sacs d'oignons, rrreiant leurs senteurs a la moisissure des murs, contraignaient la secretaire- vendeuse a utiliser deux bombes desodorisantes par semaine. Dans un coi. n il s’etait amenage/ un reduit, son bureau -, meuble d’ armoires metalliques avec casiers ou se lisaient les mois et les annees. 1 Here it is the dashes within which the word "bureau" is encrrcled which express the ironic reluctance to use this word in order to describe a "rcfduit"» In the opening scenes, the Group was descri­ bed as having bourgeois tastes without the nece­ ssary economic backing which usually goes with such tastes. 1. Ousmane, Sembene. Xala. pp,94-95 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 263 Leur manque d'avoir bancaire avivait, aiguisait un sentiment nationaliste auquel ne manquait pas quelque reve d'embourgeoisemento 1 In what ways does Beye portray this same character­ istic? Beye wastes his supposed wealth on acquir­ ing titles, wives, villas, domestic servants, cars. His final catastrophe is caused by his excessive spending during his third marriage and his search for a cure to his xala. The whole affair with N'Gone is clearly exploitative. The girl's aunt, Yay Bineta is deliberately arranging this marriage in order to extort money from Beye who unwittingly plays into her hands. As the narrator puts it, El Hadji etait mur. La Badiene allait le cueillir. 2 His various visits to medicine-men and marabouts also lead to his penury.* A la vut ue sa Mercedes, stationnant devant les paillotes et les baraques branlantes et de sa tenue europeenne, cheque facc-katt comprenait que son patient possedait un standing eleve. On lui demandait des honoraires bien forts, bien rondelets. II payait comptant. 3 123 1. ibid, p. 8 ’ 2. Ousmane, Sembene. Xala. p.19* 3. ibid, p. 66. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 264 Obsessed by this xala, Beye virtually neglects his business. Since it is a whole-sale business its success depends on frequent stocking and reselling. Since Beye no longer stocks his shop, the whole business gradually collapses while his bank debts rise. His visit to his bank manager in order to raise more loans opens the reader's eyes to the protagonist's true economic position. The manager does not mince words about it:. J'ai ici un volumineux dossier te concernant. Tu as deji beneficie" de deux decou-verts d'un demi- million. Tu as depasse le seuil admis pour les decouverts. Qu'as- tu fait des trente tonnes de riz de la Socidte Vivri&re Nationale? Venduso t>u est passe 1' argent? Ton train de vie depasse ces possibili- tes: trois villas, des autos h credit. Depuis ton troisieme mar- iage, c'cst la valse des cheques sans pjlov xsion.... Tu sais au'une banques n*est pas un bureau^de bi- enfaisance. 1 When in the final scenes, Beye is totally bankrupt, his group decides to cast him out since in their own words he is "une tache noire", an ab- ces sir un organisme sain qu'il fallait vider". 1. ibid, p. 133 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 265 Beye nevertheless refuses to be treated as an ulcer. He insists that in all he has done, he is not in anyway different from any member of the group. According to him: Tous tant que nous somjnes ici presents, nous avons emis des cheques sans provisions, fait le trafic de bons de merchan­ dise .de denrees alimentaires. 1 His lengthy reply to his accusers is full of rhe­ torical questions, the non interrogative nature of which is very transparent.’ - Qui sommes-nous? De minables commi­ ssionaires, moins que des sous - traitants. Nous ne faisons que de la redistribution. Redistribuer les restes que les gros veulent bien nous ceder. bommes - nous des Hommes d'affaires? Je reponds, pour ma part: non. Des culsterreux.... - Les banquet appartienment a qui? Les assurances? Les usines? Les entre- prises? Le commerce en gros? Les hotels.' etc, etc. De tout cela et autres choses, nous ne con- tr'olons rien. Nous voulons la place de 11 ex-occupant. Nous y somrr.es. Cette Chambre en est la preuve. Quoi de change en general comme en parti- culier? Rien. Le colon est deve.nu plus fort, plus puissant, cach£ en nous, en nousici presents. Et nous?.... Culs-terreux, commissionnaires, sous- traitants, par fatuite nous nous disons "Hommes d'affaires". Des 1. ibid, p. 140 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 266 affairistes sans fonds. 1 This long tirade made by the protagonist himself is a valuable eye-opener to the role of this new class of businessmen. Not only this, it authenti­ cates the ironic intentions of the author towards the group. It also provides a clue to the function of the xala in the novel. The symbolic status of xala having been confirmed by its recurrence and graphic representation, what then does it symbo­ lise? Since Beye is unable to pay the medicine man’s fees, the latter puts back his xala. However, a beggar whom he has always harassed offers to cure him free. The only condition is that he must neither protest nor ask questions. On the appoin­ ted day, the beggar brings along a host of dis­ abled, ragged and dirty beggars who engage m a literal pillage of the villa. When Beye protests, a beggar replies: uJe me paie". 2 Another further expatiates. -.... Pourquoi^ ^implement parce que tu nous as vol^s! Vole d’une fagon 12 1. ibid, p. 139. 2. Ousmane, Sembene. Xala. p.164. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 267 legale en apparenceo.,. Des gens comme toi ne vivent que de vols.,.. 1 While another adds: - Toute ta fortune passee - car tu n* en as plus - etait b'atie sur la floutrie. Toi et tes coll'fegues ne construisent que sur 1’infortune des humbles et honnktes gens. Pour vous donner une bonne conscience, vous creez des oeuvres de bienfai- sance, oti vous faites l’aumo'ne aux coins des rues d des gens redui+s a l'etat de disgrace. Et quand notre nombre est quantitativement genant, vous appelez votre police pour.... - Po,ur nous ejecter comme des matiev res fecales? 2 The beggar* s indictment summarises what the reader knows already of Beye and of his group. However his cure is even more revealing. The beggar anno­ unces to himi - Pour te guerir, tu vas te mettre nu, tout nu, El Hadji. Nu devant nous tous. " chacun de nous te crachera dessuŝ trois fois. Tu as la clef de ta guerison. Decide toi. Je peux te le dire maintenant, je suis, celui qui t*a "noue 1 *aiguillette"„ 3 With this surprising revelation of who the author of the xala is and in whom rests the power of its 132 1. ibid, p. 166 • 2. ibid, p. 166 • 3. ibid, p. 167. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY ?:68 removal, the denotative role of xala becomes clear. In present day Africa, Beye and his cohorts pretend torbs powerful because of their economic superiori­ ty over others. In like manner a man who has lost his virility is to outward appearances still a man. It is only after knowing him intimately as N'Gone does El Hadji Beye that the truth comes out. Beye is conscious of the powerlessness of his class just as he is aware of his lack of virility. The economic life of the nation is solidly in the hands of foreigners. The Senegalese entrepreneur is only an intermediary. He has no power and he controls nothing. On the superficial level therefore, xala re­ presents a critique of the national bourgeoisie who instead of helping to consolidate the national eco­ nomy dilapa^ui.ws the same through conspicuous li­ ving. Like Frantz Fanon, Beye realises the parasi­ tic nature of his "Group", the economic bourgeoisie. La bourgeoisie rationale est une bour­ geoisie sous-developpee. Sa puissance economiqUe est presque nulle et en tout cas sans commune rnesure avec celle de la bourgeoisie metropolitaine & laquelle UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 269 elle entend se substituer. 1 Ousmane's criticism of the new bourgeoisie, with its aping of the white man, its socio-economic and political inertia, as well as the fact that it constitutes a sore in the body of the nation all come out from the reactions of the hero to his xala, who represents the group and passes judgement on it. The xala, sign of lack of procreation, is at once the impotence of Beye, of his group and that of the economy of the nation. The"embourgeoise- ment1 of the elite as well as its depraved taste for materialistic acquisition has led to serious economic instability of the nation. On a moral level, xala is a chastisement of the new bourgeoisie. The reification of money leads to motai depravity and spiritual degenera­ tion. At the end of the novel, the poor people are disillusioned. The gap yawns between the rich and the poor as seen in the contrast between Beye's opulence and the beggars' destitution. However, 1. Frantz, Fanon. Les Damnes de la Terre. Paris, Maspero, 1966, p.96. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 270 the poor have reached a crucial stage of awareness where they can identify the group responsible for their poverty. They bitterly indict 3eye as a re­ presentative of an exploiter class. The xala as a symbol not only brings about an interpretative knowledge of the senegalese society but it is also a means of access to economic rea­ lity. The use of irony further aids the interpre­ tation of this reality, determining the reader’s attitude to it. However as all linguistic irony is a matter of guess-work what finally determine the validity of our interpretation are both our previous know­ ledge of the author's stand as well as the shared context; that is the background knowledge the rea­ der possesses from extra-literary sources for as Kebrat Oreenioni rightly says: le decodage de l’ironie met en oeuvre, outre leur competence linguistique, les^.competences culturalle et ideologique des partenaires de 1’allocution. C'est a dire l'emsemble de leurs connaissar.ces et systemes d' interpretation du referent. 1 1 1. Quoted by Muecke, D.C. "Irony Markers", Poetics, 7 (1978) p. 376. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 271 The reader needs the shared context and the author’ Intention as the final authenticating factor in his interpretation since, no linguistic or paralinguistic trait can be listed as an irony marker per se however familiar it is in this role; in any particular case of irony, the irony marker.,., Can be confirmed as such only retrospectively, that is when one has understood irony* 1 In the same vein, our interpretation of the symboi- lism of "xala" must also be conclusively guaranteed by the author's intention and the shared context. Serpbene Ousmane goes to a great length to authenti­ cate our interpretation of the functions of symbols and irony in the novel. He explains on the subject of the film which he made from the novel", Mon film (ou roman) n’est pas un film (roman) pornographique ou erotique. Cet aspect sexuel n'est qu'un pretexte k une reflexion sur la societe sene- galaise a*aujourd*hui et sur la prob- lematique de sa liberation,,,, Nous avons au Senegal, comme partout en Afrique, une certaine classe socio- economique, ou plutot une couche favo- risee de la societe qui valonne, emerge en surface et cherche a etre a 1*image de la bourgeoisie europeenne, Cette fonction de notre peuple-cette bour­ geoisie africaine pour, simplifier malgre ses tre’sors d'energie depensee 1 1. ibid, p, 374 • UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 272 depuis quelques decades deja, est atteinte de "xala"„ (Elle est frappee) d’impuissance culturelle, politique, economique; d’impuissance au niveau des origines meme de la vie pour une societe', ce qui t'explique mon recours a la notion, a 1*expression et a la rea- lite sexuelle du "xala" dans la cul­ ture ou-lof.. Parce qu'il s'agit bien "d'une impuissance temporaire", de, 11impuissance specifique et passagere de cette bourgeoisie africaine, de "cette ecume des surfaces” qua na .se confond qu'en apparence avec 1*ele­ ment dont elle est issue, lequel, dans son mouvement .naturel, la rejette et l'achemine ineluctablement vers les rivages des "epreuves inattendues" et de la mort, lente et effilochee plus gouvent que brutale et dechi- quetee.... 1 Sembene Ousmane further explains that this tempora­ ry impotence has a cure and this cure resides in the masses^ Sa solution se trouve dans "ces pro- fondeurs oceaniques" masquees aux regards .'istraits, par leur propre ecume: elle est dans le peuple, il n'est jamais question, historique- ment parlant, que d'un simple "xala" plus ou moins grave, plus ou moins derisoire ou tragique mais toujours "passager". Voila les references mythologiques que j1ai prises dans la culture ouolof de tous les jours pour faire ce film (roman) qui n'est 1 1. Cheriaa, Tahar» "L’Artiste et la Revolution" - Interview with Sembene Ousmane, Cinema-Quebec, op cit. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 273 pas destine uniquement au Se'ne'gal, ni meme settlement h. l’Afrique, mais qui s'adresse a l1ensemble du tiers monde.... 1 The influence of marxist ideology transpires in this unique role which Ousmane assigns to the masses - that of economically liberating the country. Although this imminent revolt is not as well developed as in Les Bouts de Bois de Dieu, yet it is hinted at as a desired possibility in the future. If Sembene Ousmane uses the symbolic mode, it is not because he is unable to grasp the mean­ ing of reality but because he cannot "accept the conclusions to which the development of contempo­ rary reality leads". Sembene Ousmane's realism consists in its merciless exposure of the socio­ economic realities and in its faithful mirroring of the contradictions of life through the many tiered approach to reality. Xala gives a profoundly conceived picture of the bourgeois society through the character of Beye, who is evidently a type and by giving de­ tailed descriptions of Beye*s way of life. His 1. ibid UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 274 extreme ate- tude, passion and extreme fate show him as a type who depicts the life lived by para­ sitic businessmen in developing nations. Sembene presents the life of this group convincingly as that of exploiters and parasites. He exposes the wastefulness, and senselessness of such a life both for the individual, for the community and for the nation. This exposure of -'pitalist rea­ lity stems from a sense of indignation and from a desire for change. As he himself says: l’Afrique doit luter, aujourd'hui, contre cette couche favorisee, parasitaire de son propre corps social, contre sa propre bourgeo­ isie. 1 The artistic success of xala resides in the fact that the author is able both to depict rea­ listically the dynamics of his society as well as to invest v’ portrayal with a profound irony. ms at the end of Le haridat, Sembene Ousmane gives poetic expression to the imminent revolt of the masses and herein lies the ideological impli­ cations of these two novels. The author boldly creates a fictional world in which the contradic- 1 1. Cheriaa, 1'ahaar. "L’Artiste et la Revolution”, op cit. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 275 tions of a nascent capitalist society are quite apparent* All in all, we deal here with a lite­ rature of exposure which brings to light the deepest, most hidden problems of social evolu­ tion. It is true that in these novels capitalism is shown to distort human personality, but as a proletarian humanist, the writer is aware that this trend is only a transitory historical phase, a period in the process of human evolution* As an artist, Sembene Ousmane has success­ fully extracted meaningful symbols from everyday life* These symbols, as means of knowledge, aid in the revelation of truths* They fulfil an interpretative function in the process of effec­ tively "apprehending and comprehending" contempo­ rary expe. 'w(:ce. From the overwhelming influence of these two events, these symbols are made to arouse the consciousness of the reader to socio­ economic, cultural and political problems* As Ousmane rightly explains II va^sans dire que, soulevant ces problemes de contradiction; oui sent des problemes de ma societe (XLtMBllQ., UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 276 c'est bien moi qui les onregistre, les analyse, les reduit a leurs donnees principales qui me parai- ssent propres A en faire 1’exposi­ tion la plus claire, la plus acce­ ssible a tous ceux-la auxquels je veux les faire saisir nett-ement et aussi nettement que possible.... Autant dire que ce faisant, je m’ engage. 1 In Le Mandat and xala, textual ideology manifests itself in the form of a realist depiction of a ca­ pitalist society, a critique and denunciation of the same reality as well as a belief in the redeem­ ing function of the masses. Although this romantic- idealist strain is not as extensively portrayed as in Les Bouts de Bois de Dieu, yet it stems from the same socialist realist inspiration which is at the basis of the latter novel. This optimism is not an illusory one. Neither is it a romantic evasion from an uncomfortable contemporary reality. Ra­ ther, it stems from what George Lukacs has descri­ bed as "optimism without illusion", that passionate acceptance of the world as it is with all its inexhaustible multiplicity and incessant change, a passionate desire to learn from the world; love of reality, even though 1 1. Cheriaa, Tahar. op cit. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 277 there are many abominations in it against which one has to struggle and which one hates - a love which is not hopeless because in the same reality one can see a road leading to human goodness - faith in life, in its movement, through human endeavour towards something better. 1 1 1. Lukacs, George, op. cit. p. 224. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 278 CHAPTER FIVE RICHARD WRIGHT rtND SEMBENE OUSMANE: THE COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE The novels of Richard Wright and Sembene Oustnane mark turning points in black literature. In their search for a new identity for the black man, both writers reject earlier models, that is the conventional Harlem Renaissance in contra­ distinction to the radicalism of Mckay in the # case of Richard Wright and "Negritude de source" in the case of Sembene Ousmane. Their basic difference with their predecessors is that theii- disaffection with contemporary reality does not manifest itself in lyrical forms or in some ro­ mantic, reactionary yearning for some lost, idy­ llic past. Rather it provides the foundation for their portrayal of the present with a profound and sharply critical realism within the novel form. Only realism, the objective and factual representation of real life could have helped these novelists put into historical perspective UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 279 the experience of the most degraded and the most inarticulate sectors of the black world. The novels of Wright and Ousmane deal with contemporary rea­ lity, attaching great importance to setting as well as the use of realistic details for the purpose of building up the world in which their character move. Even when the details seem exaggerated as in The Outsider or when a recourse is made to the use of symbols as in Xala, the purpose to which these devices are subordinated is something realistic, that of the exploration of contemporary reality. Realism comes out in these novels as trans­ cending the average and the trivial. Rather it Is a search for the deeper essence of reality which is hidden under the surface, a search which has been aided as we have demonstrated by the ideolo­ gies of mo u!_;m and existentialism. Where the divergence exists is in how this essence is concre­ tised in types who are the central category and criterion of realist literature. As realist literature, the^e novels emphasise the mimetic and the didactic, and are therefore so­ cially oriented. Racism, inju_' inequality, UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 280 dehumanisation by the industrial and capitalist system on the one hand and colonialism, neo—colo­ nialism, poverty, and corruption on the other form the subject matters of these novels. The novels of Wright and Ousmane are not exempt from the characteristic pitfalls of realism. The reader must contend with a physical density that is often overwhelming as is tl° case in Native Son and L 'Harmattan. In a bid to make his point, the author accumulates details and the same point is made repeatedly even when the message is al­ ready clear. Furthermore, this missionary zeal often leads to authorial intrusion which unr̂ -r mines the tenet of objectivity that is character­ istic of literary realism. These novels, by the very nature of their li­ terary m°'lA belong to the protest fcraditueiv In­ herent in realism itself are the burdens of social criticism and humanitarian sympathy. The status quo is always outraged by the depiction of the seamy side of social life as well as the revelation of uncomfortable facts. Because of this protest stance, the novels have come i ̂ re.icus criti— UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 281 cism as being pessimistic and of not seeing any good in contemporary society., While it is admi­ tted that these novels have been highly critical of society, it is also pertinent to note that th, y they are written in an age when the protesque is more in evidence than the sublime. Moreover, the contemporary world need their criticism to comple­ ment its own one-sidedness and to alert it to its complacent optimism which is engendered by its over-confidence in materialistic values. Wright and Ousmane are not so much pessimists as realists and herein lies in the first place the fundamental comparability of their novels. Wright is considered as one of the origina­ tors of the concept of the "Third 'World" that is a collection of oppressed peoples generally the underpri 1 ged nations of the world and mainly the black peoples of the world. The themes of all his novels justify this assertion and it is in this thematic concern that one should examine further his relationship with Sembene Ousmane. The black condition and everything it implies constitute the major preoccup ' +-he novels UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 282 of Wright and Ousmane and it is this preoccupa­ tion which firmly establishes them within the black literary tradition. The theme of racism is central to the novels of both writers particu­ larly Ousmane's maiden novel, Le Docker Noir (1956). However the variables of racism are diffe­ rent in the novels even though it is yenera iiy agreed in Native Son and Le Dpckci. Noir that the basis of racism is essentially economic. Native Son focuses on the psychology of the black man who is born and bred in a racist society. It also highlights the sociological factors of racism. This novel is a milestone in the depiction of the race problem in black American literature because, for the first time, the Negro's impulse to submit or go under-ground when confronted with white hate is canalised into a form of violence which in the words of Frantz Fanon can be "a cleansing force". Thus through the concrete experiences of Wright's heroes (for the theme of race runs through all his novels) and through the social conditions described, racism becomes an over-riding factor as well as a live issue in i. *_.ctro:ial world. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 283 On the other hand, the theme of racism is unconvincingly painted in Le Docker Noir. Mani­ festations of racial prejudice are confined to highly prejudicial statements made by whites as in the case of the doctor-witness. The racism exhibited by the newspapers in Le Docker Noir seems too crude and blatant. Although newspapers manifest serious racia.' prejudice in Native Son yet this aspect is borrowed from real articles published by the Chicago Tribune concern­ ing a similar case to that of Bigger Thomas. Thus an element of authenticity is lent to the racist theme in Native Son. All in all the theme of racism is concretised and is therefore more con­ vincing in Native Son than in Le Docker Noir. The reason for the thematic flaw in Le Docker Noir i- o' t simply due to the fact that this is a maiden novel. It must lie in the fact that racism is not as immediate to Sembene Ousmane* s conscious­ ness as it is to Richard Wright's. Racism is not as aggravated in the French society which is the social context of Le Docker Noir as it is in Ame­ rica. The psychological st ■pi ,g which is UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 284 characteristic of the American society is not evi­ dent in France although the French bourgeois so­ ciety harbours certain prejudices against the black man* The basic division in Le Docker Noir is that of class* The theme of racism as it is presented in the novel seems super-imposed and at variance with that of class. Moreover, there is a further divi­ sion within the working class itself so that there are two mutually hostile working-class communities made up of Europeans on the one hand and Africans and West Indians on the other* Thus the union between race and class which is achieved ir Ho^ive Son does not materialise in Le Docker Noir because there is lack of thematic focus in the novel. Thus, it is clear that Sembene Ousmane's attempt to trans­ plant a;. ru„erican problem into a French so'-j.ety without the necessary modifications lead to inauthen­ ticity and exaggeration* In the colonial novels, 0A . Pays Mon Beau Peuple, Les Bouts de 3ois de Dieu and L1Harmattan, the theme of racism is more realistically treated. Racism is incorporated into the backgroov^ of novels, thus UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 285 constituting the backdrop of the actions,, The relationship between the white colonisers and the colonised is that of master and servant or that of the powerful and the weak. This division is transparently observable in the geographical space in these novels which is divided into the "quartier residentiel" for the white rr,asters and the "quartier indigene" for the b' ack subjects. The external physical segregation is symbo­ lic of the social distance between the white and the black races. The lasting impression left by the separation at the geographical level and con­ sequently at that of the level of interpersonal relationship between the blacks and the whites is that of two different races who are alienated one from the other. In the words of the narrator of 0 Pays yvjon Beau Peuple^ Ainsi se cotoyaient deux mondes qui ne se comprenaient pas, qui vivaient sur la meme terre, au rythme des memes saisons et qui ne pouvaient rien mettre en commun.... 1 Racism engenders alienation. On this point the novels of Richard Wright and Sembene Ousmane1 1. Ousmane, Sembene. 0 Pay Mor> Bean Peuple. p. 210. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 286 agree-. However, while racism is a central con­ cern of Wright's novels, it is not a major issue in those of Sembene Ousmane apart from Le Docker Noir o The reason of differences in social context can also be adduced for the difference in the degree of importance given to the subject. While Wright's novels depict racism in an urban culture, Sembene Ousmane's colonial novels treat a funda­ mentally agrarian and traditional or feudal Afri­ can society where the division is along caste line rather than on class or colour line. This is clearly evident in A0 Pays Mon Beau Peup\ti The element of racial prejudice is confined to a tiny minority of white racial bigots in the colo­ nial administration. X^idstice and inequality are also common themes in the novels of Wright and Ousmane. Wright’s heroes revolt against an unjust and alienating social system where there is inequa­ lity of opportunity between whites and blacks. Ousmane's heroes revolt against injustice of the whole economic structure wVucU tt- While Wright's novels describe the alienation of the black man in an American society as well as his struggle against the very conditions which alie­ nate him, the novels of Sembene Ousmane are pre­ occupied with the same issues but in a different social context., Thus, their novels emerge in the words of Allan Swingewood as: a-> interrogation of reality, the complex response of specific men who live out their lives within specific social groups, to the dominant social and political problems of their times. 1 7.r. faithfully depicting the everyday desti­ nies of black men, the novels of Richard Wright 1 1. Swingewood, Allan. The Novel and Revolution, London, Macmillan, 1975, " UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 283 and Sember.a Gusmans have portrayed the great prob­ lems agitating the black world. As social rea­ lists, they see man as "zoon politikon", a social animal whose ontological being cannot be divorced from his social and historical environment. Be­ sides, they portray heroes who struggle against reactionary forces and thus they are both radical writers. This is why all the themes in their novels, be it Native Son, Lawd Today, Les Bouts de Bois de Dieu or Le Mandat centre around in­ equality and injustice done to the black man who is invariably the underprivileged. Even in Xala, where the protagonist belongs to the commercial bourgeoisie, we have seen that he is thoroughly ridiculed to the delight of the down-trodden masses. This feeling of partisanship with the under ^ ' '■ileged or humanism is at the core of the aesthetics of the novels of Wright and Ous- mane. However, these novels arrive at their huma­ nism through different though not divergent ideo­ logies. This choice of differing ideologies has some significant consequen t e novels' UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 289 characterisation, plot structure and language all of which are the chief sources of realism and all of which are used to dessect precise elements of the black condition, each writer emphasising one item or the other. Wright's early works have been shown to be influenced by the marxist ideo­ logy. Moreover, he subscribes to the idea that economic relations are the real determinants of social life. Marxism is relevant to Wright’s novels in as much as this ideology creates myths and symbols which inspire faith in life as it does in "Bright and Morning Star" and in this aspect it is pertinent to conclude that the inspiration of Wright's earlier works is in part similar to Sembene Ousmane's literary inspiration in that they are nurtured by the same marxist ideology. After Native Spn, the marxist bias in 'Wright’s representation of contemporary reality dis- app -ar d completely in his subsequent literary works. This period as has been noted corresponds to his official exit from the American Communist Party. In Native Son, Bigger Thomas cannot fully UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY comprehend the theory of socio-economic determi­ nism which the Marxist lawyer proposes in expla­ nation of his life. When Bigger faces death, the only comprehensible explanation he finds for his life is an existential one. There is thus a ten­ sion between socio-economic determinism and free will at the core of the novel, which is resolved on the side of free will even though Max, the lawyer is present to represent the marxist point of view. Robert Bone sees this dichotomy of interest as a major flaw in Native Son. Accord­ ing to him, Wright is unable to integrate the marxist theory into the aesthetic fabric of his novel because the writer depends on an external influence that is the lawyer, to explain the mar- xist implications of the novel. 1 Howe ’er, the ideological tension in the novels as well as the way it is resolved in fa*-*- vour of existentialism confirms that the domi; .. c factor in the Wrightean oeuvre is existentin ism ratiiej. than marxism. In The Outsider Cross Damon 1 Bone, Robert. The Negro Novel in America. New Haven, Yale University Press, 1958. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 291 sees the whole structure of the Communist Party as being based on a struggle for power. Musing on the rivalry between the comradesJ he is stprtled by the revelation which dawns on him: Power1 This was power he saw in action.., it was a life strategy using poli­ tical methpds as its tools... Its essence was voluptuousness; a deep going sensuality that took cognizance of fundamental human needs„ It related man to ir.a" in a fearfully organic way„ To hold absolute power over others, to define what they should love or fear, to decide if they were to live or die and thereby revage the whole of their beings - that was a sensuality that made sexual passion pale by comparison., 1 Such negative criticisms of communism could or.ly mean that this phase was a passing one in the career of Richard* Wright and that he cannot be termed a proletarian writer despite his sympathy for th-~ d spossessed. Sembene Ousmane's novels on the other hand are more consistently marxist both in conception and execution than those of Wright. They are animated with an intense empathy with the exploi-1 1. Wright, Richard. The Outsider. p„ 198 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 292 ted class. These novels are very much concerned with achieving a sense of immediacy and therefore tend to dwell on historical circumstance* This is not to underplay the historical vision in Wright’s novels also* As John Williams has rightly put it, "few American writers applied history to their work as Richard did". However the differences in their use of history is evi­ dent in their plots* For both writers the plot constitutes the poetic form of reflecting rea­ lity* The novel is seen as the concrete histo­ rical understanding of reality and each writer’s aim is to penetrate that reality* However while Wright's novels deal with moments of crises in the lives of individuals, moments which are expected to represent the colled-; e destiny of the black people, those of Ousmane deal with high points in the history of the community. In other words, Ousmane's plot can easily be interpreted as dealing with the totality of life since "the marxist philosophy of history analyses man as a whole, together 1 1. Williams, John A. The mu*. .ic-.tj.vC of sons* p. 134* UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 293 with the partial achievement or non-achievement of completeness in periods of development,, 1 A historical evolution can be traced from Le Docker Noir which deals with class antagonism to Vehi - Ciosane which deals with semi-feudal Africa, through A0- Pays Hon Beau Peuplc and Les Bouts de Bois de Dieu which explore the colonial period and the beginnings of collective and class cons­ ciousness. The colonial period is given a marxist inter­ pretation for in the view of Ousmane, as in that of Wright, the basic issue of the black condition is first and foremost economic. This economic interpretation of history is also at the basis of Ousmane*s post-colonial novels all of which cons­ titute a critique of neo-colonialism. The entire economic infrastructure is not only reflected in Ousmane's novels as Wright does but corrected in them since the heroes embark on overturning the class structure of the society. There is thus the feeling for historicity and for historical1 1. Lukacs, George. Studies in European Realism. "Introduction", p. 5. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 294 change which is manifested in the depiction of the plot as a conflict of forces and the total moment of history is itself considered as process. The plot is therefore not meant to reflect the fortunes of either an individual or a given class alone. RatherJ it becomes a product of the men thrown into struggle by the speci­ fic contradictions of the given social formation,,. It expresses the content of the fundamental struggle with nature and with that society at its particular stage of development. 1 The theory of perception of these writers have have aesthetic consequences on the level of characterisation, Wright's heroes are fundamen­ tally outsiders who know the anguish involved in being outside the mainstream of society, because they are eternally trapped by their blackness. They reject marxist and religious options and seem to waver between Black Nationalism and an ethic of personal freedom both of which overlap in the consciousness of Bigger Thomas. The 1 1, Slaughter, Cliff, Marxism, Ideology and Literature. London, Macmillan, 1980, p.23* UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 295 hero is the intrinsic interest in Wright’s novels and since his focus is on the individual, the author emphasises the psychology of the hero. Wright traces the evolution of his heroes who are singular, concrete individual black men who after living as caricatures of white notion of blacks, break out of their stereotyped and inau­ thentic existence in order to find an identity. In Native Son, The Outsider, Lawd Today, The Long Dream as well as in his short stories, Wright tests his heroes' reactions in different racial or social contexts; he examines the content of their thoughts, the psychological motives as well as the underlining emotions and mental processes of their actions. Sembene Ousmane's characters are dacable and Iocs •„ able even though they are devoid of the psychological dimension of Wright's works. His characters are people who evolve in a human and material world. Besides, Ousmane's novels have a tendency for collective heroism as in Les Bouts de Bois de Dieu and L'Harmattan. What we hear is no longer the musing of q. so 1 it&ry hero but UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 296 that of the collective voice of the masses® Since Ousmane paints a society which is based on collective norms, his characters are social types who combine individuality and representa­ tiveness of the principal historical forces at work in a society. Since he does not focus so steadily on the individual as Wright does, there is much less ambiguity as to the representative­ ness of his heroes. Thus what Ousmane*s novels lack if\ depth of characterisation, they gain in the broad vision of the black condition which they present. The angle of vision in the novels of Wright and Ousmane as we have seen is obviously th at of the underprivileged. In other words there is a moral concern which is basic to their work" However the element of struggle which is missing in 'Wright's novels is central to Ous- mane's aesthetics. This disparity can also be attributed to the ideologies of these novels and of their writers. While the "bourgeois" writer, appreciates the expression of individual and typified sentiments, the ^ar’an writer UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 297 enjoys the picture of the struggle for a better condition by the masses. Wright posits a condi­ tion of alienation while Ousmane goes further to posit that this very condition of alienation is the same that must lead to the winning of human freedom and dignitya Reflecting the humdrum reality of life as do the existentialist novels of Richard Wright does not fully account for the contradictory structure of the society as Ousmane's novels do. Wright's authorial and aesthetic ideology leads in effect to a tone of pessimistic despair which is transparent in all his novels. Except fer the short story "Bright and Morning Star" Wright's fictional world is devoid of hope. This extreme vision is that of the existential man for it is in the , ature of the existential imagination to speak of extreme situations, the situation in which man's essen­ tial dignity is radically challenged by an unconscionable subversion of iustice and an intolerable distance oetween master and slave. 1 1 1. Scott, h. Nathan, Jr. "The Dark and Haunted Tower of Richard Wright", In Gibson, D. (ed). Five Black ’writers, op • c-i t. p 12. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 299 cal stance into consideration. 1 Chi.KWenye Ogun- yemi has argued that the latter Richard Wright is irrelevant both to the black American and the Afri­ can. She asserts that Wright's novels are "psycho­ logically distant compared to Ralph Ellison's Invi­ sible Man or Baldwin's Go Tell It on the Mountain for example. Wright may have lost physical contact with America but definitely he did not lose his psychological and spiritual contact with America; neither was his existentialism irrelevant to the black condition. Statements such as C.O. Ogunyemi's do not take into consideration how a writer's personal ideology affects the way he represents human affairs in his works. Neither do they begin to cope with the difficult issue of the relationship between social experience, ideology and literature. Literature is both a product of the conscious and the incons­ cious. While the writer mirrors the contemporary so-" e+y, he puts much of himself into his literary 1 1. See Widmer, Kingsley, "The Existential Darkness: Richard Wright's The Outsider and Redding, Saunders, "The nlien La. R.i.Jhard Wright", In Gibson W1 id. Five Black Writers. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY fry ,) 300 work at the same time and it is this mixture of both the unconscious and the conscious which determines the specificity of the literary work. Wright’s conscious existentialist strain in his latter novels helps us to solve the ambiguity which plagued his earlier novels, thus revealing the real Richard Wright, who is nonetheless re­ levant to the assessment of the black condition. Wright however viewed the black problem from within and his struggle democratic libera­ lism must not be confused with the impotent moralising of a James Baldwin. Wright's con­ cern for the oppressed and the political me­ chanisms which made oppression possible over the world was real and he dissected both as someone who is at the centre of this dialectical relationship between the powers that be, the literary man and the oppressed masses. 'Wright pursued an ideal and he did so in pragmatic terns. Wright's position in this respect is very much akin to that of a writer like Wole Soyinka whose scathinq criticisms of the African contem- UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 301 porary society are made in the name of democratic humanism from the point of view of a writer who creates from within and not on the periphery of the black condition. Yet one point must be made clear. Wright was writing on behalf of the black people mainly for a white audience because he was positive that blacks knew v/hat he was writing about. This question of audience is basic to the works of these two novelists for it determines the charac­ terisation, the tone, the language and overall message of their novels. Wrights heroes are ex­ pected to represent a whole people as Wright suggests in his "How Bigger Was Born". It is this representativeness which the American elite, both black and white found unbearable since % they did not want to believe what other negro writers - Du Bois for instance and Rayford Logan and Charles S. Johnson - had been for years telling them in academic terms, and by implication, and also by imaginative inversion. They did not want to believe that they were as helpless, as outraged, as despairing, as violent, and as hate-ridden as Wright depicted them. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 302 But they were. 1 The problem i Wright's novels is not that of inauthenticity or irrele ance to the black condi­ tion. Rather it is the problem of typicality which besets all great realist writers. The rea­ list writer desires his hero to represent, in its highest form, all the salient factors of the con­ temporary reality and he constantly runs the risk of his novel turning into a melodrama. The other flaw is the inadequate social actuality most es­ pecially in The Outsider and Lawd Today which tends to stretch the readers imagination. In other words, the faults in Wright's novels are artistic rather than perceptual. tv right gives a black dimension to the exis­ tentialist ideology. All his heroes search for freedom. Bigger, Cross Damon, Jake Jackson and Fishbelly are against the submergence of their personal freedom in any impersonal kind of collec- f'vi m like family life or Communism. They abhor the lack of choice in their lives and the fact1 1. Redding, Saunders, "The Alien Land of Richard Wright", In Gibson, D. Five Black Writers, op. cit. p- 5. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 303 that they may suffer from this lack forever, because they are black. Cross Damon's fate is even more acute because he is also an intellec­ tual, modern man. However, the solitariness of Richard Wright’s hero is not the basic solitari­ ness of man as preached by the founding fathers of existentialism. It is that individual solitari­ ness which is due to the hero's circumstances in life. It is neither the Heideggerean "thrownness - into - being ", the "Goworfenheit ins Dasein", whereby man is not only unable to establish re­ lationship with things or persons outside himself but it is also impossible to determine theore­ tically the origin and goal of existence. The Heideggerean hero is ahistorical. Wright's hero is not. Conversely, Wright's concept of freedom is contingent on material, social, historical and psychological preconditions. On the other hand to argue that the existen­ tial strain is foreign and badly adapted to the Negro theme as Irving Howe argues is clearly to UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 304 miss the point* ̂ Anxiety, ennui, alienation and lonelihess are all valid themes for the black Arne— rican* Wright himSelf, who could not accept the way of life carved out for him by his black condi­ tion, lived in anxiety and forged his own persona­ lity in a world which did not offer him security and identity. Wright was describing his vision of the black man as an outsider and in The Outsider, he makes the black man a parable of the modern man. However he was quite aware of the limitations of this vision for as Damon confirms as he is about to die, the existential option, when carried to its logical end is terrible and leads to the nihilistic form of re­ volt which Wright clearly rejects at the end of The Outsider. Thus existentialism, when applied to the black American condition loses the abstractness with which it is usually associated and dons a concrete and unique form. Like Wright, Ousmane has also given a specifi­ cally black interpretation to marxism. Although he does not write party literature, the spirit of 1 1. Irving Howe, "Black Boys and Native Sons", op.cit. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 305 his novels is definitely that which is advocated by the founding fathers of socialist realism - Gorky and Mao. Ousmane's desired audience is the African masses although illiteracy hampers the complete realisation of this dream. Thus when he states that he writes for "le peuple", Ous— mane is deeply aware of the limitations of his ideal. This is why he has moved nearer the peo­ ple by adopting the film as a complementary me­ dium to the novel, since the masses gain more access to his message through "l'ecole du soir”. Despite the differences in the novels it is clear that marxism and Existentialism are not as radically heterogeneous or incompatible as our study of these writers may have shown. Like Mar­ xism, Existentialism believes in human freedom and is designed to reveal how things really are if we think about them deeply and open our eyes to our true position in the world. There is in all existentialist writings that desire to shock the reader out of his complacency. At the centre of marxism is this extraordinary emphasis on hu­ man creativity and self-creation. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY The philosophy of existentialism seems to emerge whenever man finds his security threatened, when social structures are turned upside down, when human dignity is eroded by any type of en­ croachment, be it fascism, racism, capitalism or religion. In this wise it can be said that writers who adhere to these two ideologies do so out of a similar frustration which they expe­ rience in their environments. This conclusion is particularly valid in the cases of our two writers who in their works are virulent critics of their societies and advocates of social change. Thus the basic complementarity of Marxism and existentialism is reflected in the thematic and °tylistic concerns as well as the moral vision of ’Wright and Ousmane. As writers of the black condition and champious of the oppressed peoples of the Third World, their message is L-oIcally the same. As Ousmane puts it very simply, "j'escaie de detraumatiser mes freres" 11 1. In Cheriaa Tahaar,"Interview avec Sembene Ousmane", op cit. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 307 Richard Wright had put it almost the same terms in 1938. He enjoined black writers to*. do no less than create values by which their race is to struggle, live and die..,, to furnish moral sanctions for action to give meaning to blighted lives and to supply motives for mass movements of people. 1 Those messages have always been relevant in black literature and will always be. Thus implicit in the novels of these two writers is the aim of liberating the black people from their mental and physical alienation by revealing the meaning of black existence and in this wise reinvesting the black man with dignity. Thus the humanism and commitment of these novels which are mani­ fested in the spirited mood of protest is a defence of black integrity. 1 1. Wright, Richard. "Blueprint for Negro Writing", op. cit. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 308 CONCLUSION ^ Rene Wellek in his article "The Concept of Realism in Literary Scholarship" has observed that "the discussion of the concept of realism is today again topical". 1 He attributes this revival to George Lukacs whose marxist literary aesthetics he judges to be "the most coherent theory of realism". 2 Wellek1s assertion is not only relevant for Western literature, it is also for the Third World Literature and most especially black literatures. The novels of Richard Wright and Sember^ Ousmane are thoroughly ingrained in the social realist tradition. Since didacticism is im­ plied or concealed in the realist theory, there is alwavs a lesson of human pity, of social reformism and criticism. Thus our writers have not oeen able to close their eyes to the prob— 12 1. Wellek, Rene, "The concept of realism in 1 ̂ -terary scholarship", In Concepts of Criti cism. (10th edition) New Haven, Yale Univer sity Press, 1978, pp.238-239. 2. ibid 4 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 4 309 lems of their societies. Their novels demon­ strate a mastery of social criticism and res­ pond intensively to the varying problems of the black condition. The novelists maintain emo­ tional contact with the ordinary exploited peo­ ples of their societies and thus are able to reflect on their problems, hopes, achievements and failures. They are therefore black poetic historians who are able to reveal the complexi­ ties of the lives of the down-trodden with clarity and sincerity. Realism presupposes commitment whether so­ cial, political or moral and in this respect ;* t shares the most basic aspiration of all black literatures, since protest and commitment are today accepted as a matter of fact in these li­ ters as. The novels we have analysed contain implicit or overt messages to the reader. One can thus posit that realism, that is the repre­ sentation of contemporary social reality, is the basic literary mode in black literatures since the major preoccupation of these literatures is to focus on how literai-ure. dead s with the UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY black man’s specific experience. Today, the thematic criticism of black li­ teratures which is often referred to as the so­ ciological criticism of that literature has proved inadequate in accounting for the specific subjects of realism and commitment. This criti­ cism often accepts the author’s explicit state­ ments as proof of commitment and the exact repro- duction of reality as proof of that real ism. In this study, realism and commitmenVt !*do not simply depend on verifiable subject matters alone. Rather, they are derived primarily from the structure of the texts themselves, the ex­ plicit statements of the authors as well as all other external sources thus providing authenti­ cating evidences to our deductions. dwelling on aspects of plot, character­ isation and material description in the novels, this study further enhances the realist assump­ tion that a work of art is mimetic when not on±y its subject but also its structures are derived from human and contemporary experiences. The basis of this critica -oe *h lies in the UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 311 acceptance of the fact that serious criticism is essentially a metalanguage or what Roland Bar- thens has called *'a primary semantic system". Realistic elements observable in the de­ piction of primary narrative worlds of the novels point in the first instance to the ideologies of the text. Thus by their plots, their social contexts which throw the contradictions of con­ temporary life into bolder relief as well as their actions which are presented as ideological expression of social movements and changes, the texts manifest their innate ideology. The close attention to the formal aspects of the novels has led to illuminating discoveries. The point of view, symbols, irony as wel‘> as na­ rrative strategies all make an ideological sense out the fictional world the author has created. First it is this close attention to fictional techniques which opens the critics eyes to the textual ideology of the novels and thus to the essence and fundamental differences in the novels of the two writers. While humanism and didacti­ cism, both of which are e~ __iai to realism, are UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 312 common denominatoi'a in their novels, Wright's humanism is a democratic humanism while that of Ousmane is a proletarian humanism. The synthetic fusion of two critical methods, the “sociological" and the stylistic which is apparent in this study is dictated by the ideolo­ gies of the text, as well as the ideals of the black aesthetics. Marxist aesthetics is concerned with meaning as much as with form although it believes that the latter is a jumping board into the former. So also is existentialist aesthetics which, though it highlights existential themes, is concerned also with how these themes are worked out artistically. All black art can be juaged on two levels, the social and the artistic. The latter, although a necessary part is no', suffi­ cient. According to Senghor, traditional art has at least three characteristics which are func­ tionality, collective commitment and artistic per­ fection all of which have been taken into conside­ ration in this study. Besides, it is clear from this study that fictional technique relates back to the author's UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 313 metaphysics. Part of the critic's duty here is to analyse the former before arriving at the latter. The author’s manner of drawing atten­ tion to contemporary reality of his time illumi­ nates his own ideology as well, since he writes from a certain angle of vision. His relation­ ship to that reality is apparent also in what he chooses to present out of contempcrary reality. It is our believe that no comprehensive statement can be made about a black writer's works without the examination of his ideology and that of his text. This criterion is not only valid but inspiring and capable of being applied in our times. Just as marxism and existentialism provide new ways of seeing the relationship between man and society, they also provide new ways of orga­ nising and expressing human experience in the novels of Wright and Ousmane. Ideology thus becomes the framework within which the writer as well as the critic can explore; interpret and evaluate perplexing events of the contemporary world. Thus, rather thar '’ermine the aesthetic UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 314 quality of the novels, as formalist critics often claim, ideology, in the final analysis beco becomes in this study an additional semantic po­ tential of the text, directing the critic's ways of realising the potentiality of the texts. Yet the richness of ideological interpreta­ tion of literary texts could not have been ade­ quately savoured without borrowing the perspec­ tive and spirit of comparative literature. One of the domains of comparative literature is what John Fletcher has called "the promiscuous commerce between literature and ideas". 1 Further­ more, the study of realism beyond the boundaries of a national culture has led to illuminating ideas about black literature. From comparative evidences, it has been dedjced that black litera­ tures are not only characterised by their realism, but that their relationship to contemporary rea­ lity is ideologically determined. Consequently 1 1. Fletcher, John. "The Criticism of Comparison: ihe Approach through Comparative Literature and Intellectual History", In Malcolm Bradbury and David Palmer. Contemporary Criticism. London, Edward Arnold Ltd., 1975, p. 128. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 315 ideology is indispensable to a valid analysis of black literatures. However, from our analysis of these novels it is clear that existentialism does not give as comprehensive an account of the black condition as marxist aesthetics both at the formal and thematic levels. There is evidently the need to complement the sociological vision of Richard Wright in his earlier novels with the latter ones in order to get the broad vision of the black problem which he wants to paint for his reader. Sembene Ousmane's mimesis of the African world is more organic, optimistic and comprehensive and therefore a more valid method of accounting for the black condition. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 316 BIBLIOGRAPHY A. RICHARD WRIGHT I Primary Works: Fiction 1. "The Voodoo of Hell's Half Acre", Southern Register, Jackson, Miss, circa spring 1924. 2. Uncle Tom's Children. New York, Perennial Classic, 1938/65. 3. Native Son. New York, Perennial Classic, 1940/1966. 4. The Outsider. New York, Perennial Classics. (First Published, 1953) 1965 edition. 5. Savage Holiday. New York, Avon Publications, 1954. 6 . The Long Dream. New York, Doubleday, 1958. 7. Lawd Today. New York. Walker Publications. 1963. Non - Fiction: 1. 12 Million Black Voices: A Folk History of the Negro in the United States. New York, Viking Press, 1941.2 3456 2. Black Boy: A Record of Childhood and Youth. New York, Harper, 1^45. 3. Black Power. New York, Harper, 1954. 4. The Color Curtain. New York, 1956, World Publishing Company. 5. Pagan Spain. New York, Harper, 1956. 6 . White Man, Listen. Mow York, Doubleday, 1957. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 317 Articles. Essays. Lectures etc* 1. "The Ethics of Living Jim Crow", Included as introduction to Uncle Tom’s Children. 2. "Blueprint for Negro Writing" New Challenge, (New-York) Vol.II, 1937, 53 - 65. 3. "How Bigger Was Born", Included as introduc­ tion to Native Son. 4. "I tried to be a Communist", Atlantic Month- ly (New York),No. 159, Aug. 1944, 61-70. 5. "Niam N’goura or Presence - Africaine’s Raison d’etre", Presence Africaine,, (Paris) No. 1, Nov-Dec. 1947, pp.184-192. 6 . "Litterature Noire Americaine", Temps Mo- dernes, (Paris), No. 35, aout 1948 193-220. 7. "Tradition and Industrialisation: the Plight of the Tragic Elite in Africa", Presence Africaine (Paris) No. 8-10, .■ Juin - Nov 1956, 347-360. 8 . "L'humanite est plus grande que l’Amerique ou la Russie", Franc - Tireur (Paris) Dec. 16, 1948 4-8. 9. "American Negroes in France", The Crisis (New-York), No. 58, 1951. II Secondary Works 1. Aaron Daniel. "A Decade of Convictions: The Appeal of Communism in the 1930s" Massachussets Review (University of Massachussets) II, 1961: 736-747. 2 2. Aaron Daniel. "Richard Wright and The Communist Party", New Letters (Kansas City, University of Missouri) 38, Vol.2 (1971) 170-181. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 318 3. Alexander Margaret. "Richard Wright" New Letters (Kansas City, University of Missouri) 38, Vol.2, 1971: 182-202. 4. Amis, Lola J. "Richard Wright's Native Son: Notes on Negro American Literature", Forum 8 , 240-243. 5. Anderson, Sherwood. "A Writer's conception of Realism", In George Perkins, The Theory of the American Novel, N.Y., Holt, Renehart and Winston, 1970. 6 . Bakish David.. Richard Wright. New-York, Frederick Ongar Publishing Company, 1974. 7. Baldwin James. "Alas, Poor Richard, In Nobo­ dy Knows My Name, N.Y. Dial, 1961. 8 . Baldwin James# "Everybody's Protest Novel", Partisan Review (New Brunswick), 16, 1949. 9. -"Ce que survivra de Richard Wright", Preuve, (Paris) No. 146. 10. Bone, Robert. The Negro Novel in America. New Haven, Yale University Press, 1958. 11. Bone, Robert. Richard Wright. Minneapolis, University of Minnesota Press, 1969. 12. Brown, Lloyd W. "Stereotypes in Black and White: The Nature of Perception in Wright's Native Son", Black Academy Review I, iii. 35-44. 13. Campbell, Finley C. "Prophet of the Storm: Richard Wright and the Radical Tradition", Phylon (Atlanta University) 38; 9-23. 14. Canley, Anne O. "A definition of Freedom in the Fiction of Richard Wright", College Language Association Journal, (Morgan State College, Baltimore) 19, 327-346. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 319 15. Cayton, Horace R. "Ideological Forces in the Work of Negro Writers", Anger and Beyond (New York, Harper and Row) 55; 37-50. 16. Cobb, Nina Kressner. "Richard Wright: Indivi­ dualism Reconsidered", CLAJ (Morgan State College, Baltimore) 21, 355 - 354. 17. - "Richard Wright Reconsidered" CLA J (Mor­ gan State College, Baltimore) Volume XXI, March 1978. Richard Wright: "Exile and Existentialism", Phylon, Dec. 1979. 18. Creekmore, Herbert, "Social Factors in Native Son", New Letters (Kansas City, University of Missouri) VIII. 19. Crossman Richard, (ed). The God That Failed. New York Harper, 1944/9. 20. Ernest Earnest. Expatriates and Patriots: American ftrtists, Schoolars and Writers in in Europe. Durham, North Carolina, 1968. 21. Fabre Michel. The Unfinished Quest for Richard WriqhtT (Trans Isabel BarzumJ New York, William Marrow and Co., 1973. 22. Feuser, W.F., "The Man Who Lived Under­ ground: Richard Wright and Ralph Ellison" :. King et al A Celebration of Black and African Writing, Zaria, O.U.P. 1975. 23. Gibson, David. Five Black Writers: Essays on Wright, Ellison. Baldwin. Hughes and Le Roi Jones. 3rd Edition, New York University Press, 1970. 24. Gounard, Jean-Francois. "Richard Wright as a Black American Writer In Exile" CLAJ (Bal­ timore) 17; 307-317. 25. Hill, Herbert et al. "Reflections on Richard Wright: Symposium on an Exiled Native Son" Anger and Beyond v ''ork Harper and Row^ 55, 196-?1?. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 32G 26o Howe, Irvin. "Black Boys and Native Sons" Dissent (New York) Autumn 1965 VoloX, No. 4. 27. Kinnamon Keneth. The Emergence of Richard Wright: A study in Literature and Society. Urbana University of Illinois Press, 1973. 28. Knox George. "The Negro Novelist's sensibi­ lity and the Outsider Theme" Western Humani­ ties Review. (Salt Lake City University of Utah) XI; 137 - 148. 29. Lehan, Richard, "Existentialism in Recent American Fiction: The Demonic Quest", Texas Studies in Literature and Language I (Summer 1959) 181-202. 30. Margolies/Edward. The Art of Richard Wright. Carbondale, South Illinois University, 1969. 31. Nyangaya, Elijah, "Richard Wright's Commit­ ment" in Chris Wanjala (ed.) Standpoints on African Literature Nairobi, East African Literature Bureau, 1973. 32. Ray David and Farnwoth. Richard Wright. Impressions and Perspectives: Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Press, 1971/73® 33. Robinson Cedric, "The Emergent Marxism of Richard Wright's Ideology", Race ana Class (London) Volume XIX, No. 3, Winter 1975. 34. Sander, Reinhard W, "Black Literature and the African Dream-Richard Wright's Lawd Too day. Nsukka Studies in African Literature 1 i: 91-107. 35. Scott, N.A. Jr., "The Dark and Haunted Tower of Richard Wright "In Hill, Herbert (ed). Anger and Beyond. New York, 1966. 36. Singh, Amritjit, "Misguided Responses to Digger Thomas", Studies in Black Literature 5, ii: 5-8. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 321 37. Webb Constance- Richard Wright: A Biography. New York, G„T. Putnam and Sons 1968. 38o Widmer Kingsley, "The Existential Darkness: Richard Wright's The Outsider, "Winscousin Studies In Contemporary Literature I (Fall, 1960), 13-21. 39. Williams, John A. The Most Native of Sons: A Biography of Richard Wright. New York Doubleday, 1970. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 322 D. SEMBENE OUSMANE I Primary Works:- 1. Le Docker Noir. Paris, Debresse, 1956. 2. 6 Pays Mon Beau Peuple. Paris, Le Livre Contemporain, 1957. 3. Les Bouts de Bois de Dieu. Paris, Le Livre Contemporain, 1960. 4. Voltaique. Paris, Presence Africaine, 1962. 5. L* Harmattan. Paris, Presence Africaine 1964. 6 . Le Mandat precede^ de Vehi Ciosane. Paris, Presence Africaine, 1966. 7. Xala. Paris, Presence Africaine, 1973. 8 . Le 'Dernier de 1* Empire. Tome I et II, Paris, Harmattan 1981. Essays and Interviews;- 1. "Entretien avec Sembene Ousmane: Le Docker Noir", Afrique (London) No. 25, Juin 1963, 47-49. 2. "The Writers Speak: Sembene Ousmane, Cheikh Hgmidou Kane. Ousmane Soce, Tchicaya U'Tamsi _̂ nd Camara Laye", In Gerald Moore (e.d) African Literature and The Universities, Ibadan, Ibadan University Press, 1965. 3. "Interview de M. Sembene par M. ReQent & L'O.H.T.F. a propos de La Noire de...." France - Culture (Paris) avril 1967. 4. "Sembene Ousmane: a propos du Mandat", Jeune Afrique (Paris) 26 fevrier au mars 1968. 5 5. "Interview avec Sembene Ousmane" Dingo (Paris) No. 195, avril 196. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 323 60 "Sembene Ousmane a batons rompus", Bingo (Paris) NOo 222 juillet 1971, 57-58. 7. Cheriaa|Tahaar, "The Artist and Revolution: An Interview with Sembene Ousmane", (trans. from French by Jibs Akinkoye) Positive Review, (Ibadan) I, ii, 307. 8 . Cheriaa et al, "Jeune Afrique fait parler Sembene Ousmane", Jeune Afrique (Paris) 2, Avril, 1976, 54-56. 9. Hennebelle, Guy, "Ousmane Sembene: Pour moi, le cinema est un moyen d’action politique" L*Afrique Litteraire et Artistique; (Paris) No. 7, 74-82. 10. "Novelist-critic of Africa", West Afrida (London) No. 2364, 1962, 1041. II Secondary Works: 1. Aire, V.O. "Ousmane Sembene’s Les Bouts de Bois de Dieu: A lesson in consciousness", Modern Lanquaqe Studies, (Cambridge) 8 ii 72-79. 2. Aire, V.O. "Didactic Realism in Sembene Ous- mane's Les Bouts de Bois de Dieu" Canadian Journal of African Studies, (Ottawa, Car- leton University) No. 3̂ 283-294. 3. 1‘Almeida, Irene, "Xala de Sembene Ousmane", calabar Studies in Modern Lanquaqes (Calabar) I, i (1977) 64-68. 45 4. Altheer, David, "Xala", Drum (Laqos) Dec. 1976: 22. 5. Beier, Ulli, "AQ Pays Mon Beau Peuple", Black Orpheus (Accra) No. 6 , 1959, 56-57. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 324 6. Bestman, Martin T. "Sembene Ousmane: Social Commitment and the search for an African Identity”, In Bruce King and Kolawole Ogun- gbesan. A Celebration of Black and African Writing. Zaria, Ahmadu Bello University Press, 1975. 7. 3estman, M.T. "L* Univers de Xala". Afrique Litteraire et Artistique, (Paris) 48; 39-48 8. Bestman M.T. Sembene Ousmane et L’Esthetique du Roman Negro-Africain. Sherbrooke, Editions Naaman, 1981. 9. Boafo, Y.S. "Voltaique d’ Ousmane ^.embene: Commentaires et Observations", Presence Africaine (Paris) 15,(1977) 11-30. 10. Adelugba, F.N. "Self and Other in Sembene Ousmane’s Xala" In Ogungbesan (ed.) New West African Literature. London, Heinemann, 1979. 11. Diakhate, Lamine, "Le Locker Noir", Presence Africaine, No. XIII, 1957. 12. Echenim, Kester,."Sembene Ousmane ec 7e my- the du peuple me'ssianique", L’Afrique Litte raire et Artistique (Paris) 46; 51-59 13. Gourdeau, Jean-Pierre, "Le Didactisme revo- lutionnaire des Bouts de Bois de Diau, de Sembene Ousmane", Annales de L’Universite d’Abidjan, (Abidjan! 8 D (1975). 14. Huannou, Adrien, "Xala; une satire caustique de la socidW bourgeoise senegalaise" Pre sence Africaine, (Paris) 103; 145-157. 15. Korn, Ambroise, "Chester Himes et Sembene Ous­ mane: Un m£me message aux Peuples Noirs", L’Afrique Litteraire et Artistique; 42: 20—30. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY T 325 16. Marcute, Franca, "introduction a la lecture d'un recit africain d*expression francaise: Le Mandat d'Ousmane Sembene", Presence Fran­ cophone Quebec, Universite de ^herbrook, 14"; 73-87. 17. Medjigbodo, Nicole, "Sembene Ousmane: ternoin de son peuple", Le Francais au Nigeria, (Ibadan) 7, iii (1972) 23-30. 18. N'Daw, Aly Khery, "Sembene Ousmane et 1* Impuissance Bourgeoise" Jeune Afrique, (Paris) 27 Avril: 20. 19. Ortova Jarmila, "Les Femmes dans l'oeuvre littdraire d'Ousmane Sembene", Presence Africaine, (Paris) 71:69-77. 20. Palmer, Eustace, "Vox Populi, Vox Sembene: A preliminary Look at the Art of Ousmane Sembene", Bashiru (University of Winsconsin) 5, i (1975: No. 22, 3-13). 21. Robinson Cedric "Domination and Imitation: Xala and the Emergence of Black Bourgeoisie", Race and Class (London) XXII, No. 2, Autumn 80. 22. Tekpetey, Alphonse, "Ousmane Sembene: A Man of the People", Bashiru, (Madison, University of Wilsconsin Press) iTJ" 58-63. ??. Tidjani - Serpos, Noureini, "Roman et Soci£t<̂ : La Femme Africaine comme personnage des Bouts de Bois de Dieu, Presence Africaine: 122-137. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 326 C. GENERAL 1. Ajala Adekunle., Pan-- .fricanism: Evolution, Progress and Prospects. London, 1973/74, Mndre Deutscn. 2. Archard David. Marxism and Existentialism. Belfast, Black Staff Press, 1980. 3. Auerbach, Erich. Mimesis. (trans. Willard R. Trask) New Jersey, Princeton University Press, 1968/74. 4. Balzac, Honore de. Eugenie Grandet. Paris, edition de P - G. Castex, 1965. 5. Baldwin James. Notes of a Native Son, Boston, Beacon, 1955. 6. Baldwin James. Nobody Knows My Name. New- York, Deal, 1961. 7. Baldwin James. The Fire Next Time. New York, Dial, 1963. 8. Baxan dall, Lee (ed). Karl Marx and Frederick Eugels on literature and art. New York, Internation General Editions, 1977. 9. Becker, G.J. Documents on Modern Realism. New Jersey, Princeton, 1973. 1j0 Denot, Yves. Ideologies des Independanc.es /Ifricaines. (Cahiers Libres 139-1401) Paris, Maspero, 1969. 11. Beti, Mongo. Le rauvre Christ de Bomba. Paris, Presence ^fricaine, 1976. 1_. Bigsby, C.W'.E. The Black i\merican Writer. Florida, Everett Edwards, 1969. 13. Blair D.S. African Literature in French. London, O.U.P. 1976. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 327 14. Block, Haskell M, "The Concept of Influence in Comparative Literature", In Year book of Comparative Literature, Vol.Vii, 1958, 30-37. 15. Bloom Leonard. The Social Psychology of Race Relations. London, Allen and Unwin, 1971. 16. Bone, Robert A. The Negro Novel in America. New Haven, Yale, University Press, 1958. 17. Booth, W.C. The Rhetoric of Fiction. Chicago/ London, University of Chicago Press, 1961. 18. Bradbury et al. Introduction to American Studies. London/New-York, Longman, 1981. 19. Bradbury Malcolm, The Social Context of Lite­ rature, Oxford, Blackwell Press, 1971. 20. Burns (ed) Sociology of Literature and Prama, Baltimore, Penguin Books, 1973. 21. Camus Albert, Essais, Paris, Gallimard, 1965. 22. Camus, Albert, Le Mythe de Sisyphe, Paris, Gallimard, 1942. 23. Camus Albert, L* Etranqer, Paris, Gallimard, 1957. 24. Cesaire, Aime, Discours sur le colonialisme, Paris, Presence Africaine, 1955. 25. Chesnutt, Charles W. The Conjure Woman. Ann Arbor, University of Michigun Press, 1969 edition. 26. Clark, Kenneth 3. The Negro Protest; James Baldwin, Malcolm X Martin Luther King. Boston, Beacon Press, 1963. 27. Cleaver, Eidridge. Soul On Ice. New York, Dell Publishing Company, 1970. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 328 28. Cook, Mercer and Stephen E„ Henderson. The Militant Black Writer in Africa and U.S„ Madison, University of Wisconsin Press, 1969. 29. Cowan, L. Gray. The dilemma of African Inde­ pendence. New York, Walker, 1964. 30. Craig, David (ed). Marxists on Literature: Anthology. New-York, Penguin Books, 1975. 31. De Lusignan, Guy. French-Speaking Africa Since Independence« London, Pall Mall Press, 1969. 32. Dreiser, Theodore. An American Tragedy. N.Y., Signet Classic 1925-64. 33. Dumont, Rene. L'Afrique Noire est mal partie. Paris, Seuil, 1962. 34. Du Bois. The Souls of Black Folk. Chicago, McClung, 1903. 35. Eagleton Terry. Marxism and Literary Criticism. London, Methuen, 1976. 36. Elkins, Stanley M. Slavery, a Problem in Ameri­ can Institutional and Intellectual Life. New York, Universal, 196s. 37. Essien - Udom Eo0. Black Nationalism, A Search for Identity in America. Chicago, 1962. 38. Fanon, Frantz. Les Damnes de la Terre. Paris Maspero, 1966. 39. Fanoudh-Siefer Ldon. Le Mythe du Neqre et de l’Afrique Noire dans la Litterature Francaise de 1500 a la Deuxieme Guerre Mondiale. Paris, Librairie C. Klincksieck, 1968. 40. Fokkema, D.W. et al. Theories of Literatute in the Twentieth Century. London, C. Hurst and Co., 1977. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 329 41. Forster, E.M. Aspects of the Novel. London, Arnold, 1927-7TT ” 42. Pougeyrollas, Pierre. Modernisation des_Hommes: Example du Senegal. Paris, ^"iammarion, 1567. 43. Fougeyrollas, Pierre. GO va le Senegal. Paris, Fl-mmarion, 1967. 44. Fowler t