Ambiguous Adventure

In these chapters, Samba begins his transition from his way of life in the Diallobé community to life in the city of L. (an anonymous city within the novel), where he attends the new foreign school. Additionally, the character of Samba’s father and the motif of medieval imagery first appear in this section.

The theme of life and death features throughout these chapters. The refuge that Samba finds at a grave is a reminder that Samba is comfortable with the concept of death. Samba’s thoughts at the grave harken to other discussions of memory and preservation, as he echoes many of the concerns that Thierno and the chief share regarding forgetting the past. The moment when Samba picks the flower and remarks on its death alludes again to the importance of life and death; however, this passage highlights the flower’s fragile beauty in the face of impending death. For Samba, death is still a sad concept, and although he notes the inevitably of the flower’s demise, he is not pleased with it.

The opening discussion of Chapter 5 shifts the focus of the story from the Diallobé (i.e., the colonized) to the Lacroix (i.e., the colonizers). The novel contains little identifying historical information such as dates, the names of specific colonizing countries from Europe, or the names of colonized regions in Africa. This vagueness has an allegorical effect, allowing the novel to focus on the dynamic of colonialism (especially its effects on the colonized) rather than the details of a particular instance of colonization.

While European powers began to exploit the natural resources of West Africa as early as the 15th century, most mass colonization and territorial expansion occurred in the 19th century, particularly after the Berlin Conference of 1885 and the subsequent “Scramble for Africa,” both of which resulted in European countries dividing up the African continent. Although France first invaded the region known today as Senegal in the 17th century, the Most Royal Lady’s discussion of conquest most likely refers to the increased military campaigns and settlements of the mid- to late-19th century. Although the author does not explicitly state in this chapter that the colonizers of Diallobé lands were French, the segue between the discussion of colonization to the Lacroix family is a subtle reminder of which colonial powers controlled Senegal.

Jean Lacroix’s inner monologue epitomizes the Western tendency to simultaneously romanticize and other colonized peoples. Since much of Chapter 5 unfolds from his perspective, the reader sees how he views Samba and his father with a sense of mystery and awe. The language that Jean uses implies that he believes Samba and his father transcend the reality of the present world and exist in another time and dimension. Samba seems almost ethereal to Jean, particularly in prayer. The novel suggests that there is some truth to these characterizations, at least in the sense that Diallobé culture is less focused on the material world, looking beyond it toward spiritual realities.

In this vein, Jean also characterizes Samba’s father as a medieval knight, introducing a motif of medieval imagery. The term “knight” alternates with “Samba’s father” throughout the text; however, his monologue on civilization and man primarily unfolds from the perspective of “the knight.” Since Jean’s perspective no longer dominates, this use of the term reaffirms Samba’s father’s strength and his metaphorical status as a “warrior” for the Diallobé people; despite living amongst Westerners, he has maintained his faith.

The loss of tradition amid progress and modernization is another theme in these chapters. Although he disagrees with the chief’s choice to send Samba to the new school, Samba’s father does not resist; rather, he takes the opportunity to consider the place of his people’s civilization within rising westernization. His vision of a united world losing colors exemplifies his concern that westernization will destroy individual cultures’ differences and memories; yet despite this vision, he prostrates himself before God, leaving the decision to him. Samba’s arrival and recitation of the Koran alleviates those fears of losing cultural memory and tradition, as the recitation brings Samba closer to his ancestors.