Analysis of Sembene Ousmane's God's Bits of Wood Sembene Ousmane's third novel, God's Bits of Wood, was originally written and published in French as Les Bouts de bois de Dieu. The novel is set in pre-independence Senegal and follows the struggles of the African trainworkers in three cities as they go on strike against their French employers in an effort for equal benefits and compensation. The chapters of the book shift between the cities of Bamako, Thies, and Dakar and track the actions and
God's Bits of Wood by Sembene Ousmane The novel God's Bits of Wood by Sembene Ousmane is an account of the strike Senegalese trainworkers underwent in pursuit of equal benefits and compensation from their French employers. In an effort to coerce the workers into returning to their jobs, the French cut off the water and food supply to the three villages wherein these events transpire: Thies, Dakar, and Bamako. Ousmane's novel explores the way in which these hardships evolve the worker's and their
Sembene Ousmane’s novel, “Gods Bits of Wood,” gives a highly detailed story of the railway strike of 1947-48 in French West Africa. It contains conflicts of political, emotional and moral nature. Ultimately, Sembene’s novel is one of empowerment. It brings to light the tension between colonial officials and the African community among the railway men as well as the struggle of the African community to free itself from being subjected to colonial power. Frederick Cooper’s article, “Our Strike: Equality
In the novel God’s Bits of Wood by Ousmane Sembene, various marking events have occurred that remain really significant to the novel. One of the events being the march that occurred in Senegal which began all the way from the city of Thies to the capital, Dakar. The march personally viewed as a huge significant part of the novel, has a major impact and also adds an even deeper meaning to Ousmane Sembene’s work as a whole. The book indeed withholds many important events that result to being striking
Malik Shadid April 1, 2014 English SL Symbolism of Women In the novel, God’s Bits of Wood, the author Sembene Ousmane utilizes specific events in the book to show its future significance. One key episode in the novel that shows a significance in the whole of the book is when the women started the fire. This did not only lead to future conflicts between the French, but it showed what power the women had. As a result of the strike and the famine that accompanied it, the women were forced to alter
What exactly is an ideal lifestyle? The answer is different for every person because some people desire more and some desire less. In the short story “Black Girl” by Sembene Ousmane, the reader learns about Diouana’s determination to climb the social hierarchy ladder. As the protagonist, she indulgences in the thought of moving away from her hometown in Africa where she has been working as a maid for the last few years for a rich white family. Her vision of the perfect lifestyle is living in France
No films with Black actors, in prominent roles, would have existed if it were not for the role of Ousmane Sembene in the realm of Third World cinema, Charles Burnett and his peers from the UCLA Rebellion, and the Blaxploitation boom of the early 1970s. While the subject matter of all of these films differ, there is no greater demonstration of Black-oreinted
back on the oral storytelling approaches we learned during the first part of the semester, one in particular can be applied to God’s Bits of Wood by Ousmane Sembène. The focus on gender differentiation within rites of passages is very prevalent in this novel. By manipulating a typical rite of passage story, using a woman as opposed to a man, Sembène is able to communicate his personal take on society’s conceptions of gender. He aims to comment on the idea that men need women to work with them to
Railroad Strikes Effect on Gender Roles In God’s Bits of Wood, Sembene Ousmane wrote a fiction novel that detailed the experiences of the African strikers and their families during the railroad strike of 1947-1948. Prior to the 1947-1948, Senegal became a colony of the French. Under the colonization, the French built a railroad, the Dakar-Niger Railway. The railroad employed many of the Africans who lived near it. In 1947-1948, the worker of the Dakar-Niger Railway went on strike. This strike had
Sembene Ousmane’s film, Black Girl, is the African director’s attempt at a revolutionary, political mode of filmmaking that can act as a tool against oppressive factors. Black Girl falls into the category of Third Cinema filmmaking and its main goal is to inspire political change and to deliver a type of social commentary to the audience. This film is strife with governmental messages that turn the film into a type of manifesto, which opposes concepts of colonialism and the capitalist system that
The Author of this book is called Sembene Ousmane, and he is a French- African that was born in Senegal. “He is assuredly one of the most prominent figures in African film and literature” (Emory). After World War II was started, he was drafted by the French Army. After the war he returned to France where he joined the French communist party until the independence of Senegal in 1960 (Emory). The Author doesn’t use chapters instead writes the book towards each cities perspective and how they were involved
Set in post-colonial Senegal, Sembene ascribes great significance to African femininity by naming his film after a female character and heroine of the film, Faat Kine. Although Kine is initially depicted as a victim of male supremacy, she is eventually represented as an archetypal
Joseph Lizama History 39 Prof. Petrocelli May 19, 2014 West African Colonialism In the novels God’s Bits of Wood by Ousmane Sembène and No Longer at Ease by Chinua Achebe both authors illustrate a colonial lifestyle, one from a rural French point of view and the other from an English-educated perspective; respectively. West Africa was primarily colonized by the French, however there was still territory owned by the British such as Nigeria, Gold Coast, and Sierra Leone. Colonization in Africa –– specifically
negatively regarded as the spread of the white man’s religion and language, but it is also accredited for saving outcasts of the clan and educating generations of Africans. In a similar fashion, God’s Bit of Wood, authored by Senegalese author Sembene Ousmane, also illustrates a paradoxical conception of womanhood, thus symbolizing Africa’s complex relationship with
men (Ousmane 137). But the experience of the strike turns what once was anger and stubborn independence to dedication and selfless communalism. Her strength of spirit leads the union officials to seek her out to be in charge of the line distributing rations to the striking families. Penda's firmness of purpose proves surprising and implacable to those that try to use her reputation for promiscuity against her. Penda goes so far as to publicly slap a man who chooses to pat her behind (Ousmane 142)
postcoloniality” (Loomba 188). Loomba indicates that the nature of postcoloniality is that women are “cast as mothers or wives and are called upon to literally and figuratively reproduce the nation” (Loomba 180). This is shown in the novels, Xala by Ousmane Sembene and the autobiographical I, Rigoberta Menchu: An Indian Woman in Guatemala by Elizabeth Burgos-Debray. Both characters are expected to be mothers and wives, it is expected that the character in Xala; Rama will marry and have children, however
mutilated. In Moolaadé, Ousmane Sembene, "the father of the African cinema", depicts the struggle that women face in the intersection of tradition and modernity. Departing from the female genital mutilation (FGM hereafter) cases that are rampant happening in Africa, according to a report by the World Health Organization (WHO), the film gives voice to women under male domination. In doing so, Moolaadé is not a grim movie. One of its quintessential qualities is the fact that Sembene manages to display
"I've got a job with white folks!" For Ousmane Sembene, one of Africa’s most respected film directors. We are given a film that shows the abuses of power and the corruptions of what the French government wants to keep hidden. Black Girl focuses on the transition from the Western World and the oppression within Third World Countries. To draw attention to the Third World/ Western dichotomy, Sembene contribute a considerable amount to the development of politics within Black Girl through our main protagonist
The film Black Girl by the Senegalese author and filmmaker Ousmane Sembène focuses on a girl who tries to become independent, by moving to another country for better working opportunities. However, the protagonist ends up losing her identity as it is slowly brought to her attention that she is nothing but a black girl whose purpose is to tend to the need of upper class white people. The overall film brings attention to the audience by showing them the importance of knowing oneself and limitations
past century, through written text. While textbooks and articles give formal information with little to no bias, novels give a completely new perspective from the people who experienced it themselves. The Novels, God’s Bits of Wood, written by Sembene Ousmane, and No Longer at Ease, by Chinua Achebe give a more personal account of the effects of colonization. These two novels tackle the British and French method of colonization. God’s Bits of Wood takes place in the late 1940s and sheds light on the