Racism In Ferdinand Oyono's 'Houseboy'
World Lit
How does Ferdinand Oyono subtly convey racism throughout Toundi’s life ?
The Cameroonian writer, Ferdinand Oyono wrote his short but powerful novel, Houseboy, in 1954, just two years before his country’s independence from France after sixty years of foreign rule. It opens with the death of the main character, Toundi, and tells his life though his ‘exercise books’ found in his bag. The book may seem like the story of one native but in reality is more complex as it is discussing the social and political consequences of colonialism. Oyono uses several major themes including religion, sexuality and racism to express how European colonial society misused power to control the local population. Oyono has managed to discreetly insert dark irony throughout his novel. It would have been shocking for its time. The book starts with Toundi’s death and this idea of beginning at the end puts the reader in a position of hopelessness. Throughout Toundi’s life he has been treated inferiorly for being of a darker shade of skin than the European settlers, with criticism both overt and subtle. The reader experiences the subtle racism from Toundi’s point of view as he moves from innocence to awareness.
(this affects the reader 's point of view on the whole novel as the most subtle and indirect effective developments of the theme of racism. The imagery that Ferdinand Oyono uses to show how racism helps the reader understand the tension between the natives and the colonists. )
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