Exploring the role of prejudice and fear in Black Docker

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Candidate number: 000198043

WORLD LITERATURE

ASSIGNMENT 2c

ENGLISH A1 HIGHER LEVEL

An exploration of how prejudice exposes the fear and ignorance of the specific communities and their representations in “Black Docker”

Name: Christina Sophonpanich

Date: 22nd November 2007

Word Count: 1496


Candidate number: 000198043

Ousmane’s Black Docker is a tragic and moving novel centred on one black man’s struggle to find the liberation, equality and fraternity promised by the modern society of mid 20th century Marseille and Paris. Diaw Falla, originally from Senegal, slaves away on the docks to further his passion for writing and aspirations for becoming an author. Finally completing his work, Falla then journeys to Paris where he meets a famous white authoress who promises to help him publish his work, however, she ultimately deceives him by taking sole credit for his work. It is the story of the unintentional murder of a famous white woman by an insignificant black man, and whilst both have committed crimes, the judicial system of France condemns only Falla.

Throughout the novel, Ousmane introduces a variety of characters who each in turn have something relevant to say, not only for the sake of plot development, but also to explore the extreme social conduct of their respective communities. An exploration of the different relationships between these characters reveals how Ousmane, through the use of speech and monologues, employs the universal theme of prejudice to expose the fear and ignorance of the other communities, and how this in turn becomes Ousmane’s device for expressing his philosophical views and criticisms of the society of France at that time.

The novel opens up in Senegal, where Yaye Salimata, the mother of Falla, is beside herself with grief over the news of her son’s arrest. Even before we are introduced to the protagonist, we learn about his gentle nature and how “It isn’t possible…” (p3) that he is a murderer. More significantly, Salimata is used to contrast the cultures of Marseille and the local town in Senegal, by representing the Senegalese prejudice against western culture though depictions of the west from Salimata’s perspective. Oumane’s particular use of colloquial Senegalese, significantly the word “Toubabs” (p1) serves to give the reader a greater feeling and understanding for the Senegalese culture’s perspective by grouping all westerners into one word, Toubabs’ and writing them all off as foreign, incomprehensible, as well as “…[having] no heart,” (p2) in the eyes of Salimata. This easy categorization of a whole culture of people stems predominantly from ignorance of them, and in turn fear of the unknown. The vast discrepancies between the two cultures becomes particularly striking when juxtaposed with the prejudice felt by the westerners against the Senegalese, when Falla is labelled as just another “black” in the same way that the whites are labelled as just another ‘toubab.’ Evidently, lack of knowledge causes greater ignorance and a fear of the unknown.

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The reader is then introduced to Catherine Siadem, Falla’s girlfriend. On first impressions, Cath’s purpose seems only to reveal yet another woman’s anxiety and concern for Falla, as well as to read the newspaper clippings for the reader to see what the tabloids have to say about the murder. The press are extremely harsh, prejudiced and biased against Falla – “Falla is well known in the black district. Local people describe him as a lazy, shady character. A docker by profession, he only turned up for work when he felt like it.” (p10) This is an extremely harsh criticism to Falla, ...

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