The significance of NDeye Toutis identity in Gods Bits of Wood

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Chloe Lau Ho Yi (candidate no.)

English Literature SL Written Assignment

God’s Bit’s of Wood by Sembène Ousmane

The significance of N’Deye Touti’s identity in God’s Bits of Wood

Name: Lau Ho Yi Chloe

Candidate number:

Word count: 1494

Date: 15th October 2012


Reflective Statement:

During the interactive oral sessions, the novel evolved in my eyes from a narrative of the 1948 railroad strike in Senegal to an in-depth description of the colonial African society undergoing decolonization and transformation. These sessions led me to admire the thoughtfulness of the author, Sembène Ousmane, who expressed the conflicts between gender and classes in the society through various literary aspects. The causes for the success of the strike and the effect on the traditional African society are expressed through characterization, structure and description. Although the structure of the book is confusing because the chapters switches between characters and places, I learn that the vast amount of characters presented let readers understand the extent of the strike, and how characters with different cultural background are considered in the context of a society undergoing structural change.

        

Discussion with peers and teacher on individualism in the novel marks the transformation of the African society because individualism is not a traditional ideal in African culture; rather a household is considered to be a unit in the society. The structure of the novel reinforces this idea as the chapters are named after specific characters in different locations. Protagonists in the novel form a collective identity as the novel revolved around the railway, which serves as an element to unify and link different characters in the novel. I haven’t entertained the idea that the strike itself came to an end with some characters recognising and accepting their ancestral roots is to parallel the modernisation that took place in the society. And I have underestimated the amount spent describing women characters and their actions in the novel, which actually reflects their impact on the strike – the strike progresses as they continually fight for their families against the French. Thus, I now understand between how the conflicts between African traditional values and Western culture are depicted through the description of characters developing throughout the strike.

        

From the discussions, I understand more about individualism and the progress of achieving real freedom in relation to the author’s cultural background. The strike is a way for the workmen to protest against the French colonials’ control of technology, but they don’t resent Western ideology completely. Instead, the transformation of the society is in some way incorporating Western culture into their mind set.

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(Word Count: 382)

The significance of N’Deye Touti’s identity in God’s Bits of Wood

Written Assignment

Sembène Ousmane’s God’s Bits of Wood depicts the change in the French colonial African society where the oppressed Africans stood up and challenge the privileged, French. The characters and their interactions lead to the society’s transformation, especially the female characters’ role. Ousmane manipulates the character of N’Deye Touti to parallel her development from being westernized to finally accepting her African roots, to the society’s modernization of social structure. They are both passages of discovering self-pride and identity, and ...

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