As I jumped into the reading of God's Bits of Woods I had some prior understanding of Senegal, and thier works (of writing). In the beginning ofthe year I had to read Une Si Long Lettre for French. Une Si Long Lettre focused on the thoughts of a middle aged woman and her feelings after the death of her husband. The social issues faced in the book were woman's roles in society, and polygamous relations.
Form the very start it was known that the social issues being addressed in God's Bits of Woods are the racial tension, segregation, and hate (a very different issue in Senegal than of Une Si Long Lettre addressed). This hate is first seen on page five when Ad'jibid'ji resonds to her Grandmother useing the french word, alors. Niakoro became angry and said, "alorss, aloss!... ...You speak to me, to your father's mother, and you say aloss! The white men say "aloss" when they call their gods, and my granddaughter talks to me in the same way!... ... I speak to you in Bambara, and you answer me in a language of savages!" This passage expressed Niakoro's abhorrence towards the French people, for they (the french) had taken her son and husband from her. The begginning of God's Bits of Woods gives a taste of the feeling that will arise throughout the book.
I am looking forward to seeing how the racism will prevode the native people of Senegal.
While I agree that, based on the first two chapters, it appears God's Bits of Wood will be tackling very different social issues from those presented in Une Si Longue Lettre. However, as in Une Si Longue Lettre, there were some instances in which women were expected to be submissive towards men. For example, on page 11 the author writes, "Fatoumata seated herself behind her husband, where she would remain throughout the meal, as a sign of courtesy."
ReplyDeleteI don’t think this excerpt you chose to discuss reflects racism. I think it is more about cultural clash, and nationalism, which is actually very different. But I agree with you on the fact that it is going to be very interesting to see how this hate evolves throughout the book, and what will be the consequences of it.
ReplyDelete