Houseboy, written by Ferdinand Oyono, is a novel that tells the story of Toundi, a young African man who becomes a houseboy for a white colonial officer in French Cameroon. The novel is a commentary on the power dynamics between colonizers and colonized, as well as the ways in which colonialism can shape and distort personal relationships.
At the beginning of the novel, Toundi is a naive and innocent young man who is eager to learn and make his way in the world. He sees the position of houseboy as an opportunity to gain knowledge and improve his social status. However, as he becomes more and more entrenched in the household of his white master, M. Jean, he begins to see the ways in which colonialism has distorted relationships between people and the ways in which the power dynamics between colonizers and colonized can shape and distort personal relationships.
One of the key themes of Houseboy is the way in which colonialism can dehumanize those who are colonized. Toundi is treated as a servant by M. Jean and his wife, and is often spoken to in a condescending and dismissive way. This serves to reinforce the power dynamic between Toundi and his masters, and to remind him of his place in the social hierarchy. As Toundi becomes more aware of the ways in which he is being treated unfairly, he begins to resent his position and to question the legitimacy of colonialism.
Another important theme of the novel is the way in which colonialism can corrupt and corrupting personal relationships. Toundi is drawn to M. Jean's wife, Marie-Thérèse, and begins to develop feelings for her. However, he is constantly reminded that their relationship is forbidden and that he is not worthy of her affection. This serves to highlight the ways in which colonialism can distort personal relationships and create feelings of resentment and frustration.
In conclusion, Houseboy is a powerful and thought-provoking novel that explores the ways in which colonialism can shape and distort personal relationships. It serves as a commentary on the power dynamics between colonizers and colonized, and the ways in which these dynamics can dehumanize and corrupt.
Houseboy
Parents of second generation of Asian American should let their children understand that they live in this country is a privilege, but they should not make pressure on children and force them to choose one culture over and discriminate toward another. But gradually, and with experiences, he gains the realisation that the colonial masters do not care about the Africans. Christian missionaries, spreading the word of God to African children through sugar cubes and threats of hellfire, stormed the beaches and made way for the European occupation. And as innocent as he was couldn't keep his mouth shut on such issues but went ahead to ask questions pertaining to what he sees and it was these that put him into trouble with his master's wife and which later led to his death after escaping to Spanish Guinea. Plot: The novel has a non-chronological plot structure. However, most Hong Kong students don't do that as we have seen earlier.
Houseboy Summary and Analysis (like SparkNotes)
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Houseboy: Literary Analysis
He before long figures out how to peruse and compose, and turns into the houseboy, or worker, of Father Gilbert. It is apparent that she is loved by the white men in the city, even those with spouses, similarly as she is ached for by the African populace. She can pick and choose who to have an affair with, like at the party scene for example. One would have thought that Toundi would be fleeing to a better life, but instead he flees to his Frederick Douglass An American Slave Rhetorical Analysis 854 Words 4 Pages The idiosyncratic style Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave by Frederick Douglass depicts the discriminatory actions of postcolonial slave owners in the southern United States, which reflects their greed for unpaid labor on their plantations. . In the summer of 2017, I went back to Taiwan and visited some relatives. .
