Close Reading - Xala Written by Ousmane Sembene - Essay Example

Close/Critical Reading Essay: Xala “Xala” is an intriguing short story written by Ousmane Sembene. The author utilizes the story and the characters to reveal the happenings in Africa after the end of the French colonization. Sembene explains the conditions of the African society in depth and reveals the atrocities that persisted in Africa even after the period of colonization was over. The story revolves around the life of El Hadji Abdoukader Beye. El Hadji is a rich, Muslim businessman having an influential role in the city of Dakar in Senegal where he lives. Sembene has used his life to reveal the period of transition in Africa shedding light upon the corruption and greed that persisted in the African society. The story commences from the success of El Hadji and ends at the note where he is humiliated owing to his own acts and wrongdoings. El Hadji lived a life of pride and attained financial successes even through wrong means to fulfill his greed. He lived a lavish life and had two wives named Adja Awa Astou and Oumi N’Doye respectively. But he decided to marry a third woman, N'Gone and this was a matter of pride for him as he believed this symbolized his manhood and his capability of fulfilling the demands of three wives both physically and financially. His first two wives are not very happy with this decision but to uphold the African traditions of submissiveness for women, they obey his command and attend his wedding ceremony. El Hadji is very happy with his marriage but his marriage proves to be the commencement of his downfall. He is unable to consummate his marriage owing to the loss of potency on the first of his marriage. On the path of attaining the cure for his problem, he loses his wealth and he is deserted by his wives as well except for Awa. He is looked down upon by his colleagues who also leave him and continue with their financial projects. It is later that El Hadji finds out that he lost his potency owing to “xala” which was a curse of impotency that was spelled on him by a beggar as he had been unfair and had unjustly taken over the piece of land of the beggar. The only way that remained for him to regain his manhood was by taking off his clothes and by being spit by all the beggars. The author has interwoven the happenings in the life of El Hadji to reflect upon the wrongdoings in the African society. El Hadjis first wife is a traditional African woman who sticks by him till the end. She is submissive and follows the commands of her husband. Her character reveals the strength of an African woman who is patient and loyal. She converses with her husband in Wolof revealing that she wills to uphold the tradition of the African society. Their daughter Rama is used by the writer to portray the new generation of Africa who knew that they had fought their way out of colonialism and had to work towards upholding their culture and traditions. She was a strong character who argued with his father against his wrongdoings and atrocities. She also talked with her father in Wolof and did not wish to utilize the French traditions and products until and unless needed. It is seen that despite of her disapproval for her father’s acts, she still loved her father which is revealed when she stands by him and converses with the police officer when the beggars at their house for the ritual of spitting El Hadji for regaining his manhood. She also cries on seeing her father being disgraced. Africa was in a transitional phase and Oumi who is El Hadji’s second wife symbolizes as a character that is stuck between the French and the African traditions. Oumi is not patient and devoted like Awa. She highly disapproves of El Hadji’s third marriage. She was not completely over the French period of colonialism and preferred using their language and dressing. She adopted a more western style and her character denoted the existence of the French remnants in the African society. Oumi is materialistic and leaves El Hadji during his period of downfall and takes with her all her belongings and possessions. His last wife also deserts him. It is only Awa and Rama who stand by him. The character of El Hadji is also of significance. The writer uses his character to signify the corruption that persisted in Africa even after the French colonists had left the region. Sembene reveals that though the country had been freed from colonists, but the power had been transferred to similar groups. Thus it was only the faces of the people that had been changed but the authority was still exploiting the poor groups. El Hadjis ruthlessness is revealed when he asks for the beggars to be moved from outside his office. Even though he was an authoritative figure, he did not struggle to bring about change but rather worked for his greedy motives and exploited the poor people for his own materialistic gains. El Hadji and the other businessmen followed in the footsteps of the French and did not work for improving the conditions of Africa. Ousmane Sembene has provided a perfect satirical presentation of the conditions that persisted in Africa following the exit of the French rulers. Sembene has utilized the different characters in the story to portray the different groups that had been created in Senegal following the post-colonial period due to the cultural and traditional changes. People like El Hadji and his second wife Oumi were not nationalists and rather chose to stick to French traditions. On the other hand, there were still people like Awa who were extremely simple and followed the old African traditions. The strongest character was that of Rama who was a nationalist and she believed in the promotion of Africa. She only used the Western ways for attaining success in fields like education and technology for the prosperity of her country. Writer’s Letter The story Xala carries very important messages and for understanding them a close reading of this novel was very significant. In order to achieve this, I gave the novel three good reads for assessing it properly. I gave a very superficial read followed by two thorough reads and highlighted the points that I considered of significance. The utilization of different characters for explaining the traditions that persisted in Africa following the period of colonization appealed the most to me and I believed that they were the essence of the novel. Thus I concentrated upon the development of the different characters and how the author had used them for the portrayal of different meanings. El Hadji served as a remnant of the French that still persisted in Africa and he was still following in the footsteps of the colonists rather than working for the progress of his independent state. Awa was a strong character who had not changed despite of the changes in the rulers of the country. Oumi, on the other revealed the character of a weak woman who had been influenced by the traditional changes that had taken place in Senegal and she was more tilted towards the French style of living. Rama was the most significant character that the author had used to reveal the younger generation in Africa that was striving to bring about change. The close reading essay that I have written would provide a clearer picture to the reader regarding the story. It would provide the reader with an in-depth understanding of the story and explain the roles of the different characters in the story. The reader would be able to gain knowledge regarding the purpose with which the story is written rather than considering it to be a superficial novel focusing upon superstitious beliefs and curses. It would explain the reader as to the cultural and traditional changes that occur in a country over time and the impact that colonialism has on a country’s traditions and practices. The reader would be able to analyze the meaning of the novel and its historical significance. Read More