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The Revenant and Such a Long Letter: Novels of a Society of Excess and Opportunism Through Some Family Ceremonies

Received: 20 December 2022    Accepted: 12 January 2023    Published: 31 January 2023
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Abstract

If literature feeds on social realities, it is accepted that literary works scroll the image of their emerging environment. Based on this premise, we will agree that the novel is a credible lever for the representation and analysis of community practices and values. In this respect, if birth, death, among other realities, are consubstantial with human life, these events are differently appreciated by human societies. When the organization of these ceremonies is polluted by excesses and / or diversion of objectives, the writer makes food for thought. From then on, the texts took on a pamphleteering orientation and their authors covered themselves with the cloth of militancy to mock the many vices. As attentive observers of people's daily lives, the novelists of this corpus walk their gaze through the dark corridors of repugnant social practices of which they render the smallest details. The materialist logic of actors of all stripes, outrageous opportunism and excesses that no morality or law justifies are the main sources that feed the imagination of Aminata Sow Fall and Mariama Ba. With the sensibilities of women highly aware of societal issues and concerned with the idea of progress, they make no secret of their indignation at the unproductive finality of the morality of waste, exhibitionism and hypocrisy. As a result, the novels in our corpus of study are sufficiently revealing the Senegalese society, whose characteristics they deal with.

Published in International Journal of Literature and Arts (Volume 11, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijla.20231101.14
Page(s) 20-25
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Hypocrisy, Drift, Ceremonies, Ostentation, Death, Marriage

References
[1] BA, Mariama. Une si longue lettre. Dakar: Les Nouvelles Editions Africaines, [1979] 2006. [Such a long letter].
[2] SOW FALL, Aminata. Le Revenant. Dakar: Les Nouvelles Editions du Sénégal, [1976] 1982. [The Revenant].
[3] NORET, Joël, «Sur le dos des morts?», Terrain [En ligne], 62 | mars 2014, mis en ligne le 04 mars 2014, URL: http://journals.openedition.org/terrain/15339; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/terrain.15339 (consulté le 02 novembre 2022). [On the backs of the dead?].
[4] SOCE, Ousmane. Karim. Paris: Nouvelles Editions Latines, [1935] 1948.
[5] STENDHAL. Le Rouge et le noir. Paris: Gallimard, [1831] 2000. [Red and black].
[6] MABANCKOU, Alain. Verre Cassé. Paris: Seuil, 2005. [Broken glass].
[7] CHIMOUN, Mosé. Le Maquis. Saint-Louis: Imprimerie Serigne Fallou Mbacké, 2015. [The maquis].
[8] CAMUS, Albert. L’étranger. Paris: Gallimard, [1942] 1991. [Abroad].
[9] BODIANG, Aida Assatou. Le Peuple du Gnalingba. Dakar: L’Harmattan, 2021. [The People of Gnalingba].
[10] SARR, Mohamed Mbougar. La plus secrete mémoire des hommes. Paris: Philippe Rey/Jimsaan, 2021. [The most secret memory of men].
[11] ADÉBAYO, Ayobami. Reste avec moi. Yaoundé: Editions Flroe Zoa, 2019. [Stay with Me].
[12] SOW, Diary. Je pars. Paris: Robert Laffont, 2021. [I’m living].
[13] FALL, Adia Gnagna. Le petit carnet d’une colombe. Vélingara: Editions Aminata Sow Fall, 2020. [The little notebook of a dove].
[14] BALDE, Hamidou: “La description de l’horreur, un antidote de la souffrance: regards croisés sur le cas de la prison”, CREILAC, n°4, 2020. [The description of horror, an antidote to suffering: perspectives on the prison case].
[15] DIOP, Boubacar Boris. Le Temps de Tamango. Paris: Serpent à Plumes, Collection Motifs, n°158, 2002. [The Time of Tamango].
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Hamidou Balde. (2023). The Revenant and Such a Long Letter: Novels of a Society of Excess and Opportunism Through Some Family Ceremonies. International Journal of Literature and Arts, 11(1), 20-25. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20231101.14

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    ACS Style

    Hamidou Balde. The Revenant and Such a Long Letter: Novels of a Society of Excess and Opportunism Through Some Family Ceremonies. Int. J. Lit. Arts 2023, 11(1), 20-25. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20231101.14

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    AMA Style

    Hamidou Balde. The Revenant and Such a Long Letter: Novels of a Society of Excess and Opportunism Through Some Family Ceremonies. Int J Lit Arts. 2023;11(1):20-25. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20231101.14

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijla.20231101.14,
      author = {Hamidou Balde},
      title = {The Revenant and Such a Long Letter: Novels of a Society of Excess and Opportunism Through Some Family Ceremonies},
      journal = {International Journal of Literature and Arts},
      volume = {11},
      number = {1},
      pages = {20-25},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijla.20231101.14},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20231101.14},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijla.20231101.14},
      abstract = {If literature feeds on social realities, it is accepted that literary works scroll the image of their emerging environment. Based on this premise, we will agree that the novel is a credible lever for the representation and analysis of community practices and values. In this respect, if birth, death, among other realities, are consubstantial with human life, these events are differently appreciated by human societies. When the organization of these ceremonies is polluted by excesses and / or diversion of objectives, the writer makes food for thought. From then on, the texts took on a pamphleteering orientation and their authors covered themselves with the cloth of militancy to mock the many vices. As attentive observers of people's daily lives, the novelists of this corpus walk their gaze through the dark corridors of repugnant social practices of which they render the smallest details. The materialist logic of actors of all stripes, outrageous opportunism and excesses that no morality or law justifies are the main sources that feed the imagination of Aminata Sow Fall and Mariama Ba. With the sensibilities of women highly aware of societal issues and concerned with the idea of progress, they make no secret of their indignation at the unproductive finality of the morality of waste, exhibitionism and hypocrisy. As a result, the novels in our corpus of study are sufficiently revealing the Senegalese society, whose characteristics they deal with.},
     year = {2023}
    }
    

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    AB  - If literature feeds on social realities, it is accepted that literary works scroll the image of their emerging environment. Based on this premise, we will agree that the novel is a credible lever for the representation and analysis of community practices and values. In this respect, if birth, death, among other realities, are consubstantial with human life, these events are differently appreciated by human societies. When the organization of these ceremonies is polluted by excesses and / or diversion of objectives, the writer makes food for thought. From then on, the texts took on a pamphleteering orientation and their authors covered themselves with the cloth of militancy to mock the many vices. As attentive observers of people's daily lives, the novelists of this corpus walk their gaze through the dark corridors of repugnant social practices of which they render the smallest details. The materialist logic of actors of all stripes, outrageous opportunism and excesses that no morality or law justifies are the main sources that feed the imagination of Aminata Sow Fall and Mariama Ba. With the sensibilities of women highly aware of societal issues and concerned with the idea of progress, they make no secret of their indignation at the unproductive finality of the morality of waste, exhibitionism and hypocrisy. As a result, the novels in our corpus of study are sufficiently revealing the Senegalese society, whose characteristics they deal with.
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Author Information
  • Department of Literature, Assane Seck University, Ziguinchor, Senegal

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