38 pages • 1 hour read
Cheikh Hamidou KaneAmbiguous Adventure
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1961A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Character Analysis
Samba Diallo
Samba Diallo is the protagonist of the novel, which follows him through his transformation from a young boy living in the Diallobé region of West Africa, to a young man living in Paris, and finally to his return to the Diallobé community. Samba is in a constant state of growth, caught in a battle between traditions and modernity, religion and science/secularism, and life and death. These dualities live inside of him, and much of his transformation throughout the novel involves his search for balance and peace.
From the first chapter, Samba exists between two seemingly opposed lifestyles. This is due to his noble heritage, as his cousin is the chief of the Diallobé tribe and his father is an important worker in the city of L. Due to his nobility, the Diallobé send him to learn about the “modern” life of the colonizers, hoping that he will translate this into the community’s long-term survival. This modern life is generally not satisfying for Samba, and he finds himself lonely as he walks the streets of Paris. His companion Pierre-Louis states that this is due to the lack of religion in the West. However, when Samba returns to the Diallobé, he no longer participates in religious traditions such as prayer.
Samba has been singled out as a candidate to take Thierno’s place as the teacher of the Diallobé; however, even he is tempted by the West and eventually succumbs to secularization and modernization. Demba, his less-renowned companion, becomes Thierno’s successor instead (a decision that the Most Royal Lady, Thierno, and the chief are not particularly happy about), and his first decision is to allow Glowing Hearth students to attend the foreign school. Based on how quickly Samba fell to the power of the West, this decision foreshadows the demise of the traditional Diallobé way of life.
By the end of the novel, Samba’s life has assumed a cyclical nature. He is born in the Diallobé region, and like his community, focuses much of his attention on death even as he has much life within himself. As he moves to Paris, Western society’s focus on life isolates him and causes his life to lose meaning. Finally, he returns to his home community and, although not practicing his religion, accepts the duality of his nature and finds spiritual transcendence in death.
Thierno/“The Teacher” and the Fool
Thierno, most commonly referred to as “teacher” in the novel, is a respected religious teacher at the Glowing Hearth school in the Diallobé community. He follows a strict ascetic lifestyle, focusing most of his life on prayer and meditation. At the start of the novel, Thierno is already old and the people of the Diallobé are aware that he may not have many years left.
Thierno does not support the foreign school since he believes it threatens the Diallobé way of life; however, despite this opinion and his preference for Samba as a student, he does not stop Samba from attending the new school. Much of his presence in the novel takes the form inner dialogues and meditations in which he considers the history of the Diallobé people, the presence of the foreign school, and his attachment to Samba. Over the course of the novel, he becomes frailer as he approaches death, yet his religious fervor is a constant presence in his actions, thoughts, and behaviors. For him, death is welcome, westernization is concerning, and religion is a way of life.
Thierno’s preferred companion is his seeming opposite: the fool. While the teacher embodies the community’s knowledge and wisdom, the fool is looked down on by the Diallobé community; however, the two bring each other comfort and joy. In fact, the fool does have wisdom that he shares with Thierno—specifically, knowledge of life in the “white man’s country” (78). The fool’s role is to contrast with Thierno as a foil. Unlike Thierno, he claims to know something even as the community denies his knowledge, whereas Thierno claims to know nothing and the community praises this as wisdom.
The Most Royal Lady
The Most Royal Lady is the sister of the chief and a respected member of the Diallobé community. The initial description of the Most Royal Lady juxtaposes her traditional appearance with her progressive opinions. While wearing a traditional outfit—a blue boubou that covers her entire body, as well as white gauze over her face—she possesses strength and power in the community that is not subject to stereotypical gender roles. Though her brother is the chief, she is considered the stronger and firmer of the leaders. In fact, she is the main advocate for sending Samba to the foreign school, ultimately winning this argument against both the chief and Thierno. Her belief that the colonized must learn the ways and language of the colonized is only echoed by one other character in the novel, Pierre-Louis.
Samba’s Father/“The Knight”
Samba’s father, also referred to as “the knight,” lives in the anonymous city of L., where the foreign school is located. Although his position is unclear, it is one of status, as he interacts with French nationals in a larger city outside of the Diallobé community. Despite this, he maintains his traditions and religious beliefs, and Samba reveres him for incorporating God into all aspects of his life. Samba ultimately respects his father’s decision and requests, and it is for this reason that Samba returns home to the Diallobé when his father requests it.
Samba’s father often sounds as if he is speaking to himself when he is in fact in a conversation—a sign of his meditative nature. His conversations are primarily with Paul Lacroix and Samba.
