novel analysis house boy

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Summary and Study Guide

Houseboy (1956) is a riveting narrative by Ferdinand Oyono. Though shorter in length than most novels, Houseboy addresses the weighty topic of colonization and its effects on the native population of Cameroon. More specifically, Oyono’s story delves into the life of Toundi Ondoua, a young rural African man whose life is changed when he decides to shrug off his African village and enter the world of white Europeans in the city of Dangan. What transpires is a heartbreaking yet didactic narrative about trust and the abuse of power .

Like other boys in his village, Toundi likes to receive gifts, like candy, from touring Catholic priests. Despite his parents’ protestations, he always goes to receive these gifts. From these forays into the world of whites, Toundi first becomes acquainted with Christianity . When violence erupts at home over Toundi’s defiance of his father, and after Toundi refuses to obey his father (as it will result in a beating), Toundi flees to Father Gilbert and asks for help. He asks the amused priest to take him on as a houseboy, and, though Toundi’s father disagrees with the practice, Father Gilbert accepts Toundi. Under Father Gilbert’s tutelage, Toundi is christened Joseph, and given new clothing. He soon learns to read and write, and becomes the houseboy, or servant, of Father Gilbert.

When Father Gilbert’s tour of the nearby villages is over, Toundi accompanies him to Dangan and begins work at the Saint Peter Catholic Mission. While at the mission, Toundi observes the lives of both the native Africans and the whites who come to pray and pay their respects. One day, Toundi’s life is turned upside down when Father Gilbert dies from a horrible motorcycle accident. Father Gilbert meant the world to Toundi, and though he was guilty of patronizing Toundi, the man was all that Toundi knew. With Father Gilbert’s death, Toundi is left to wonder what will become of him in the world without his benefactor to protect him.

Toundi is soon interviewed and accepted as a houseboy for the new Commandant, a position that gives him much prestige among his fellow countrymen. As Toundi says, being the dog of the Commandant is being the king of dogs. He soon moves to the Residence and begins working for the stern Commandant, a man feared by all Africans and many whites. Though the Commandant is stern with Toundi, they get along well enough that Toundi does not fear or want for anything.

Toundi’s life is soon upended yet again when news arrives that the Commandant’s wife, referred to throughout the novel as Madame , will arrive from Paris to live at the Residence. The Commandant seems embarrassed and taken aback, and the natives wonder what sort of woman Madame is. When she arrives, everyone is amazed at her beauty and apparent kindness. She is the most beautiful of all the white women in Dangan (to the chagrin of the other wives in the city). It is evident that she is liked by the white men in the city, even those with wives, just as she is lusted after by the African population. Toundi also finds her attractive and, in a sense, falls in love with her. Toundi witnesses firsthand how enrapturing Madame is when he is in her presence. He also witnesses the lustful comments made by others when she walks through town.

Toundi’s life is again shaken when Madame begins an affair with the prison director, M. Moreau. Toundi, who does not approve, is made the go-between, carrying notes back and forth between the two highly emotional individuals. Neither of the two trusts Toundi, or likes him, but they need him to make their affair work. Others warn Toundi that he is involved in matters that will only end in harm for him, but he continues nonetheless. He is a servant, after all. He must obey, not question. When the Commandant finds out that Madame is having an affair, all hell breaks loose at the Residence. It is revealed that Madame has a history of indiscretions. At the end of these events, Toundi is viewed as a person standing in judgement by all sides of the affair. As a result, he is used as a scapegoat and blamed for crimes he has not committed. He is beaten badly, so much so that he dies after fleeing to Spanish Guinea .

Houseboy addresses themes of sexuality , Christianity, the abuse of power, and the troubling concept of identity . These themes are interwoven into a narrative that is both comical and poignant. Though short, the story hits the reader with explosive themes and symbols, all of which culminate in an ending alluded to by many of the African servants throughout the novel. As the reader already knows that Toundi dies (it is explained in the prologue), the narrative is a tense unraveling meant to show exactly how this once carefree individual ended up on his deathbed, in a country not his own, and with a sobering story that deserves to be told as a cautionary tale against the abuse of power and the effects of racism.

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• He is the main character.
• He is named Joseph after being baptized.
• His family is poor that is why he runs away.
• He serves as male house servant, houseboy, to several white men; Fr. Gilbert and Commandant.
• He is fascinated by European ways of life at first, but later he realizes that the white men are hypocrites.
• He keeps diaries which are later narrated by other Cameroonian.
• He reflects child who are overworked in child labor.
• He is poor African man.
• He is disappointed by the way Toundi acts, especially by running away to Fr. Gilbert.
• He represents Africans who are oppressed, exploited, and humiliated by the white men.
• He is portrayed as a very harsh and brutal man especially when he beats Toundi regularly and his wife as well
• He likes to use abusive language.
• He lives by trapping porcupine for food.
• She is Agricultural Engineers house girl.
• She sleeps with both her Boss and Toundi. Thus she is also Toundis girlfriend.
• She steals money from her Boss and run away to Spanish Guinea.
• He lives in Spanish Guinea.
• He is very kind.
• He is also a superstitious man.
• He is one of the host of Toundi at Spanish Guinea. He hosts him with a help from his wife.
• He is a Catholic priest/padre.
• He lives in a missionary center.
• He is portrayed as an oppressor, exploiter who humiliates his people despite the fact that he is a religious man.
• He represents all leaders who are hypocrites, that is, who preach what they dont act.
• People like him are famously called those who preach water, but drink wine.
• He dies in a motorcycle accident and the other white men call him a martyr because he has died in foreign land.
• He is an assistant to Fr. Gilbert.
• He is also portrayed as a racist, exploiter and oppressor.
• He is also hypocrite like other white men and other leaders.
• When Fr. Gilbert dies, he takes his position.
• He becomes worse than Fr. Gilbert to Toundi.
• He introduces Toundi to Commandant and warn him about the boy by saying that he is lazy and should be punished and harassed as well.
• He is the white Chief of Police Force.
• He is harsh and very brutal to Africans.
• He often allows his police to torture even kill Africans innocently.
• He raids Toundis place twice and orders Toundi to be severly beaten when he is taken into jail.
• He is assistant Dangan Police Chief.
• He comes from Gabon as a mercenary.
• He likes Toundi and helps him escape the jail.
• She is the Commandants wife. She is also beautiful.
• She has an extra marital affair with the Prison Director, M. Moreau.
• She seems to like the Commandant Residence employees, but later she changes the attitude towards them.
• She treats Toundi unfairly.
• He is a White man who is a Prison Director.
• He is portrayed as a cruel, very harsh, promiscuous, and oppressive man.
• He has bad morals. This is revealed when he begin an affair with Madame Suzy, Commandants wife.
• He hates Toundi because he thinks that he knows and has spread the information about his affair with Madame.
• He is the most handsome man in Dangan.
• He also makes love with his house girl, Sophie.
• He warns Toundi not to sleep with Sophie during the village trip.
• He a wealthy Greek man who owns the European club.
• He was saved from being eaten in equatorial forests by wild animals.
• He hates Africans so much that he let dogs at them tot away from th European club.
• He is an old cook of the Commandant. He has served him for about 30 years.
• He is portrayed as a very competent in his work of cooking even Madame congratulates him for keeping the kitchen well.
• He is the laundry man of Madame.
• He detects that Madame sleeps with Prison Director.
• He is a gentlemen who lives in the commandant residence
• He notices Prison Director leaving Commandants residence late in the evening.
• He is portrayed as lazy and likes sleeping all the time.
• She is Madame's new chamber maid who used to live as a prostitute at the Coast.
• She arrives at Commandants Residence bare foot.
• She advises Toundi to leave the Commandants Residence because the commandant was planning to kill him.
• Toundi vs His Father.
• Toundi vs Fr. Gilbert.
• Toundi vs Fr. Vandermeyer.
• Toundi vs Madame Suzy.
• Toundi vs Commandant.
• Toundi vs M. Moreau.
• Toundi vs Gullet, Police Chief.
• Toundi vs Agricultural Engineer.
• Toundi vs himself.
• Madame Suzy vs Commandant.
• Commandant vs M. Moreau.
• Africultural Engineer vs Sophie.

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A novelist, poet and lecturer at Akwa Ibom State University. He has a PhD in African literature from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria.

An Analysis of Ferdinand Oyono’s Houseboy (1956)

Introduction: A Cameroonian writer and diplomat, Ferdinand Oyono lived between 1929 and 2010. He is best known for his first novel, Houseboy , originally written in French and published in 1956. The novel has as its background the colonial experience in francophone Africa. Its narrative punctures the ideals of the French assimilation policy and exposes the hypocrisy of the civilising mission of the Europeans in Africa. The assimilation policy aimed at creating Frenchmen out of Africans by offering or dangling before them visions of equal opportunities with white Frenchmen in return for their abandoning their culture and embracing that of the colonial masters. The story told by Oyono in Houseboy illustrates the failures of this policy and the irony that characterised the actual relations between Africans and Europeans in colonial francophone Africa.

Subject Matter: The subject matter of Houseboy is the irony and hypocrisy of the French assimilation policy in the execution of the colonial project. The novel carefully and artistically documents several instances of the policy’s failure at the point of practice. Toundi gets to live like a Frenchman, but he only does that as an inferior Frenchman when compared to the Europeans. He speaks French, but his mastery falls far below the mastery of his masters. At church, the Africans are physically separated from the Europeans, and the whites get to leave the church earlier than the blacks, who are forced to stay put and listen to the sermon. All these instances and others depict the famous paradox in colonialism where the owners of the land are slaves while the strangers rule.    

Setting: Houseboy is set in Africa during colonial times. Specifically, the novel opens in a place called Akomo, which is a village in Spanish Guinea. Through the diary that the dying Toundi leaves behind, it is seen that most of the events in the novel occur in Dangan, a village in colonial Cameroons, which was colonised at the time by France. Toundi, the central figure in the novel, is from Zama, perhaps referring to the Zarma people found in places like Cameroon, Niger, Nigeria and Benin.  

Plot: The novel has a non-chronological plot structure. Its beginning is actually its end. When the novel opens, Toundi, its hero and protagonist, is dying. But he has left a diary in which he has documented his experiences serving the white colonial masters. The contents of this diary now serve as the story that the novel relates. It takes us back to the beginning of the story in Toundi’s village where he was raised and was on the verge of taking the rites of adulthood before fate forced him to leave home to serve Father Gilbert, the white missionary in Dangan. Father Gilbert’s sudden death leaves Toundi and his world of blissful ignorance completely shattered. He is exposed to another dimension of the colonial world when he goes to serve as houseboy to Robert, the Commandant, at the European Residence in Dangan. Toundi’s experiences serving the Commandant break the illusion of white superiority in moral and spiritual terms. He finds out with shock that the Commandant and, indeed, all white males in Dangan are uncircumcised, that Sophie, a black damsel, is a mistress to the agricultural engineer, a white man and that religion means almost nothing to Europeans who were not like Father Gilbert. The Europeans are seen treating the blacks as objects of entertainment at the European Club and the relationship between the Europeans and the Africans is highly hierarchical, unbalanced and unequal. It is a master-slave relationship. However, things seem to be going well for Toundi until the sudden arrival of the Commandant’s wife from Paris. She is the most beautiful female European in the whole area, well admired for her kindness and humanity, but her major weakness is revealed when she starts having an affair with M. Moreau, the Dangan prison director. The relationship between Toundi and his masters is ruined when the Commandant gets to know about the relationship through the insinuations and innuendoes shouted by the locals when he drives by. When Sophie runs off with the money meant for workers’ salary custodied by the agric engineer, the European community finds a good excuse to punish Toundi for perceived slights and betrayals. It is apparent that the agric engineer has not forgiven Toundi for having spent a night in the same room with Sophie during a tour. The Commandant and the wife could easily release Toundi to the police because they see it as an indirect opportunity to punish him for knowing about their shame and infidelity. In the course of his arrest, Toundi receives a mortal blow to the chest with the butt of a gun from one of the officers. Toundi knows from the revelations at the hospital that he is going to die, but he does not want to die in the hands of his enemies. He flees to Spanish Guinea and dies at the frontiers where the novel begins.

Point of View: Houseboy is written from the first-person narrative viewpoint. There are two narrators for this story. The first is unknown. He is a guest in the house of a man known as Anton. He had slipped away to the village of Akomo in Spanish Guinea from where he served European masters in Cameroon. He is getting ready to leave when a sinister drum roll is interpreted as a sign for the approaching death of a Frenchman in a faraway village called M’foula. They set out for the place only to meet Toundi in his last moments. Among the things that Toundi leaves behind are two exercise books in which he had scribbled the significant events during his years of servitude under his European masters. The rest of the story is told by Toundi based on the diary he left behind. Thus, the novel could be termed a fictional diary. It is unique in many ways, especially its reinforcement of the idea that the art lives on after the artist has passed on. Toundi’s account constitutes a counter narrative to the hegemonic discourse of French colonialism. It is a small narrative that queries the metanarrative of western colonisation in Africa.  

Characterisation: Toundi Ondoua ,whose baptismal name is Joseph,is the protagonist of the novel. He is an exemplar of a modern hero. His antagonists are mostly his European masters who gang up against him despite his having served them faithfully. Toundi is a representative character. In this sense, his characterisation is equally symbolic. He is used to portray the subordinate positions of Africans in their relationship with the colonial masters. Toundi is a round and dynamic character. He sets out as a naïve young mind serving Father Gilbert and believing in the ideals of Christianity. But gradually, and with experiences, he gains the realisation that the colonial masters do not care about the Africans. Toundi might be a servant, but some of his actions are very subversive. His resistance to the colonial authorities is subtle and strategically symbolic. His resistance is also mostly psychological.

 Once he has gained enlightenment about the hypocrisy of the Europeans, he does not allow their colonialist ideologies to get to his heart and mind; he begins to resist them. This even explains why he is not hurt even when beaten or brutalised. This illustrates that he is superior to them psychologically, physically and emotionally. When he finds out that his master, the Commandant, is not circumcised, he loses all respect for him. He spits into the master’s glass of water and gets him to drink it when the master demeans Toundi’s worth after he had been cuckolded by his wife. Toundi’s decision to die far from the reach of his enemies is an indication of his sense of self-worth. This is part of his victory; not having them gloat over his fall. He also wins a major victory, a textual victory, over the colonialist narrative by leaving a diary behind to tell his story so that the agric engineer, M. Moreau and the Commandant’s metanarrative will not cast his mage in bad light. Indeed, Toundi is innocent. He did not have an affair with Sophie, neither did he conspire with her to steal the agric engineer’s money. His is just a frameup that is inspired by racial hatred. Toundi is a tragic hero; his weakness is his naivety in thinking that being subservient will save him from the wrath of a disgraced white race. He should have taken the advice from Kalisia and run for it when he was warned that his masters will destroy him to save their family’s shame.

Toundi’s Parents are minor characters in the novel, as well as his uncle. Toundi’s father sets porcupine traps. He is severe in his disciplinary measures, especially towards his only son, Toundi. It is this high-handedness that would force Toundi to leave home and serve a stranger in the person of Father Gilbert. He chases Toundi out of the house for refusing to submit himself to punishment after his sugar-hunting expedition led to a quarrel between Toundi’s parents and the parents of Tinati, another boy with whom they followed Father Gilbert around the villages hoping to catch some of his sugar lumps. When Toundi overhears his father instructing the mother not to reserve the porcupine meat for him, he is so hurt at his father’s heartlessness that he decides to go and live with Father Gilbert, who is glad to have a young convert to serve him. Compared to his father, Toundi’s mother is kind-hearted. Toundi remembers his mother warning him about his greed and the consequences if he does not change his ways. This greed is interpreted in terms of longing after the white man’s sugar, which symbolically represents the western way of life. Toundi remembers her mother’s words too late.

Father Gilbert is the first European master that Toundi serves when he leaves home. Toundi is very grateful to Gilbert because he took him in when he had nowhere to go. He taught Toundi all that he knows in life, including reading and writing. Gilbert is also proud of Toundi because he represents the success of the colonial project, which is to civilise the native savages through western education and religion. But the relationship between Gilbert and Toundi is one of master and slave. For instance, on the first night Gilbert gives Toundi the leftovers of his dinner. He is seen kicking Toundi in the sacristy for imitating him, and he gifts Toundi only his old clothes which do not fit him. Gilbert shows off Toundi as a product of his marvellous work in Africa. Father Gilbert is the chief priest in charge of St Peter’s Catholic Mission at Dangan. He is well-respect and loved by his followers. Unfortunately, he dies suddenly when he is struck by the branch of a huge cotton tree known as ‘Hammer of the Whites’ because of its notoriety at killing Europeans who take shelter or pass through its sinister shades.

Father Vandermayer: He is an assistant to Gilbert. He is noted for his cursing habit and crude manners, especially his cruelty, verbal and physical abuse of the natives in the church. Vandermayer does not trust Toundi, which is seen in how Toundi is humiliated by being stripped and searched after the responsibility fell on Toundi to take the offering during a particular service. Vandermayer also watches Toundi all day in case he had swallowed any of the coins. He subjects the black Christians to corporal punishment whenever he finds them misbehaving. Vandermayer’s overt interest in the offering box is indicative of the exploitative nature of western Christianity, which has continued till today. Vandermayer, like Gilbert, is a minor character in the novel; however, Gilbert’s role assumes more significance, especially when seen in relation to his influence on Toundi.

The Commandant is a principal character in the novel. He is the Chief of the Europeans in the Dangan province. He stays at the colonial Residence in Dangan. This is where Toundi goes to work after the demise of Father Gilbert, who is now considered a martyr because he died in Africa. The Commandant exerts his superiority over Toundi in many ways, mostly through humiliating words and abusive physical acts. He stereotypes Toundi by suspecting him to be a thief even before getting to know the young man. With time, he begins to trust Toundi until the incident that involves his wife’s infidelity with M. Moreau, the prison director.

M. Moreau is the prison director in Dangan. He has a wife but he manages to warm his way into the heart of the Commandant’s wife. He visits the house a number of times when the Commandant is away on tour. The servants, the cook, the sentry and Baklu, the laundryman, had to put pieces of information together to understand the tragedy that was unfolding before them. He even has the guts to visit the Commandant’s wife with his own wife, Mme Moreau. The affair strains the relationship between Toundi and his masters and when the Sophie affair comes up, M. Moreau sees it as an opportunity to get back at Toundi. In this matter, it can be seen that Toundi is being scapegoated by the Europeans for the crime that they themselves committed. In the end, it is seen that the Commandant and the wife are back on good terms whereas Toundi is out of the way. He is the sacrifice needed to renew their infidelity-filled relationship. There is no indication, whatsoever, that the Commandant intends to avenge M. Moreau for cuckolding him.

Sophie is a young black woman whose beauty is apparent to everyone that sees her. She is a mistress to the agricultural engineer. But she is unhappy in the relationship because she is treated only as an object of pleasure and only called upon when the engineer needs to be pleased. The engineer does not want her around when his European friends visit. Thus, their relationship exists mostly in secrecy. Sophie is deeply hurt when the engineer asks her to take the backseat in the vehicle and act as a maid (a cook) during a tour with the Commandant so as to allay fears of suspicion by the Chief. Sophie plots stealing from the engineer and running away with the prize to Spanish Guinea, the safe haven for stressed and conflicted French colonial subjects. She regrets missing the opportunity to carry out the act on the day of the tour. She tells all of this to Toundi who is not interested in her nor in her ideas. She is upset and surprised that Toundi could stay in the same house with her overnight but does not touch her. She wonders if he is a man.

  M. Janopoulous is the white man who runs the European Club in Dangan. He is said to have been the only European who survived the cannibalism of the natives many years back, shortly before World War I. He is also said to be the wealthiest of all the Europeans in Dangan. M. Janopoulous does not like black people, which explains why he always sets his dog on them for his own pleasure. He is a minor and flat character in the novel.

Ondoua is a drummer employed by the agric engineer as a traditional time keeper for the community. But he also appropriates the drum to send out subversive messages in the course of marking the time. Like Toundi, Ondoua is a subtle force of colonial resistance in the novel.

M. Salvain and Mme Salvain are a European couple, husband and wife, respectively, in Dangan. M. Salvain is the Head master of the colonial school in Dangan. In a way, he represents the silent European conscience in the novel. He is committed to raising Frenchmen out of Africans through the instrumentality of education. He reports the special educational experiment that he carried in his school to the Commandant during a visit, asking the Commandant to visit the school on inspection. The experiment consists of admitting students of a certain age and expelling those who exceed a certain age, especially the African adults whom he describes as ‘idle, thieving, lying’ and a lost cause. Based on this experiment, the Head master comes to the conclusion that ‘Young African children are just as intelligent as ours’. Once when he is discussing with other Europeans, he makes a statement that suggests that the French are as corrupt and morally bankrupt as the Africans. This statement alienates him from the other Europeans who find it difficult to accept their fallen nature.

Baklu (the laundryman), the sentry and the cook, together with Toundi, constitute the native staff working for the Commandant. They share intelligence on Madame’s affair with M. Moreau. It is through them that we get to know the inner workings of the Commandant’s house, as well as the general perception of the colonialists in Dangan. Madame, the Commandant’s wife, punishes them by deducting their wages when she is insecure about her safety in the M. Moreau affair shortly after the visit of the doctor’s wife during which she informs Madame of the gossip among the natives about her affair and M. Moreau. The doctor’s wife, just like the Commandant, had learnt the native language and could understand their innuendoes. It is after this visit that Madame starts harassing the staff as she is insecure and feels that they are the ones who gave her out to the rest of the natives.  

Gullet is a white police officer. He is the chief of the police who represents the brutality and the rascality of the colonial police and security system, especially when it comes to dealing with the natives. He first raided Toundi’s residence, where he stays with his sister’s husband, shortly after Toundi began working for the Commandant. It is later revealed that this raid was on the orders of the Commandant as part of Toundi’s background checks. During this visit, Gullet eats the bananas in the house, an unprofessional conduct. The second raid is when Toundi was arrested after Sophie had fled with the agric engineer’s money.

Kalisia is the African lady who comes to serve as a chambermaid to the Commandant’s wife shortly after Toundi discovered used condoms under the bed of the woman’s bedroom while trying to clear the room of pieces of a broken bottle. Kalisia is brought by the cook who says that she is the cousin of his sister’s brother-in-law. She is educated (speaks and understands French) and exposed and has served many European masters, with most of them falling in love with her because of her beauty. But then she is depicted as a heart-breaker who has refused to settle down with a man. She is full of confidence as she meets the Commandant’s wife, who does not feel so confident in herself. Kalisia advises Toundi to leave the Residence as there is likely to be a plot to get him. Only if he had listened!

Language and Style: The novel is written in postcolonial English; that is, the kind of English that has been conditioned to bear the experiences of the colonised. It should be noted that the novel was first written in French and later translated into English. The style of the novel is a fictional diary. Its narrative structure is creatively suitable to the novel’s form, as the events are fragmented alongside the language that expresses them. Again, the language also reflects the narrator’s level of education and mastery. It incorporates forms of indigenous words and expressions like proverbs and other forms of African oral tradition specific to the narrator’s milieu. The use of some French and Spanish words and expressions suggests the presence of colonial influence in the novel even after it has been translated into English. This is an instance of untranslatability in postcolonial terms. The novel is written using the middle style which makes it interesting and entertaining. The novel thrives on similes and metaphors. It also makes use of allusion, symbols, motifs, humour, dark humour, rhetorical questions, euphemism, sarcasm and foreshadowing as part of its narrative strategies.

An instance of rhetorical question is seen in the dying Toundi’s question to one of his visitors: ‘Brother. . . Brother, what are we? What are we black men who are called French?’ This question queries the practicability of the assimilation policy in the novel. Note also how the authorial voice refers to black Africans as Frenchmen in quotation marks. The expression that announces the death of Toundi is predictably euphemistic: ‘He shuddered and expired’. Humour is seen in the description of Father Gilbert’s dress as a woman’s clothes. An instance of simile which evokes a powerful visual imagery in the novel is the expression, ‘. . . the white man with hair like the beard on a maize cob. . .’ This expression is used to describe Father Gilbert.

Foreshadowing can be deduced in the words of Toundi’s mother who warns him about the consequences of greed. An instance of metaphor in the novel is seen in the expression by M. Moreau’s houseboy while discussing his master’s affair with the Commandant’s wife with Toundi: ‘A woman is a cob of maize for any mouth that has teeth’. Dark humour is depicted when Toundi’s sister says that Gullet should not be allowed to eat her bananas during the second raid to search the house for the stolen engineer’s money. The sugar that Father Gilbert throws at the village children is symbolic. It signifies the enticing nature of the European way of life which appears enjoyable initially but which turns out to be destructive for the African in the end. Indeed, the beginning of the novel actually foreshadows its end for Toundi.     

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An analysis of susanne bellefeuille’s path of lucas, an analysis/summary of susanne bellefeuille’s path of lucas: the journey he endured, 9 thoughts on “ an analysis of ferdinand oyono’s houseboy (1956) ”.

This is so nice.Thank you Etim

relationship between the black and the white

Hey Eyotehim I would love to use one of your pointers for my class. Please let me know if this is possible.

You really did a good character analysis. It has given me clear understanding of the novel

Well structured analysis!

This is a best analysis I read ever. Bravo

Thank you so much Prof. This analysis will help improve our grades and give additional research about African Literature. May God bless you!

Detailed analysis Gives a clear understanding of the text

It gladdens my heart that the softcopy gives a vivid explanation like you did in class Keep on the good work Dr.

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Ferdinand Oyono , John O. Reed  ( Translator )

122 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1956

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HOUSE BOY by Lorenzo DeStefano: Book Review

You would have heard this sometime in your life that the Caste system is limited to India and the ‘West’ is free of any such evil form of stratification. Well, the novel- House Boy, provides ample evidence against the statement. The story of a 24-year-old Dalit boy, Vijay, who finds himself experiencing in England, what he thought he left behind in India- Caste-based discrimination, is profoundly brought to us by Lorenzo DeStefano.

House Boy is a ‘based on true events’ thriller exploring the tragedy of human trafficking, slavery, sexual abuse, and racial and caste discrimination through the experiences of a young Indian Dalit, who is brainwashed and manipulated into dreaming about his destiny as that of a ‘rag-to-riches’ tale. I was strongly reminded of Mende Nazer’s powerful memoir, Slave, which is a daunting account of her experience as a slave in Sudan. Stefano brings out the terrifying reality of slavery from behind the veils of secrecy, out in the open, for the readers to experience through the novel.

Vijay, a Dalit man from Chettipattu, South India is lured into accepting the high-profile domestic job in England, promising him great wages and pleasant working conditions which will surely help him to uplift to a much better life for himself, his parents, and his two bachelor sisters. Little does he realize that this fantasy is all but a selfish trap of  scammy flesh merchants who are inadvertently offering him as prey to one of the upper-class “obnoxious” individuals of England, Mrs. Binda Tagorstani.

Being pushed into a new and unexpected world of domestic slavery, which is worse than being an animal or kept in prison, he is being made to live in a cupboard beneath the stairs. Vijay is subjected to all kinds of humiliation and atrocities, who has to surrender to this fateful obscenity, time and again, as and how his Missus, employer Binda, demands of him. Having been reduced to becoming a rag doll, an untouchable who has all but fallen victim to this cruel twist of fate, impoverished, with absolutely no scope for fighting off what he finds himself standing in, Vijay eventually finds a way out of the labyrinth in the climax.

Once the preliminary shudder of explicit accounts wanes, there emerges a raw and compelling spirit within the narrative. It centers around Vijay, whose inconceivable misery is illustrative of the assumed hardships executed by our hypocritical society. This society, always unjust and unfair, particularly towards those in the lower rung of discriminatory systems of stratification, struggling to make ends meet, often lack the judgment to see through the grandiose facade. These individuals, due to their vulnerability, become trapped in the vicious cycle of degradation, a never-ending quagmire that threatens to wear away their humanity and obligates them to act in ways that they are not proud of. These crumbs of society have to confront socio-political and racial discrimination. This book provides a shockingly real account of that. It reveals a disheartening, shocking, and shameful aspect of our world, urging us to confront the truths that we would prefer to blanket forever.

One of the most intriguing characters of the novel is QC Hay, who is introduced in the second part of the novel. He is the lawyer who represents Vijay’s case in the court. With his crisp arguments and satirical humor, he brings in the much-needed lightness in the otherwise depressing plot. His dedication towards his client is professional and yet humane in a way that is unique even to Vijay. He understands the importance of the theme of the novel and showcases fearlessness in standing against the atrocities. An intellectual with a quirky sense of humor, Hay is a relatable character who has practical clarity around the subject, which many of the other characters fail to acquire.

Lorenzo DeStefano, through this heart-wrenching novel, brings forth the predicament of the society’s destitute for all to experience through his words. Forcing us to confront what we are already aware of, the not-so-secret secrets, this novel brings into light those ‘skeletons within the closet’. What makes this novel unique is how with such a powerful plot, the author ensures that every character is realistic, relatable and faces a unique dilemma within the same overarching theme and the elements of the story, though scattered throughout, find a way to  resonate with you in the ending chapters of the second part, compelling you to look at the horrendous plight of the entire journey in an unflinching way.

DeStefano’s detailed prose makes House Boy a difficult novel to read emotionally as readers witness the appalling way Vijay is treated by his ‘owner’ and her son. I was particularly intrigued by the reactions of the few visitors to the house, all of whom were only too aware of what was going on, yet either would not risk their relationships with Binda to intervene or did not seem to see anything wrong in how she abused her house boy. While the novel is uncomfortable and disturbing in parts to read, I think that it is an important novel for raising awareness of the unjust reality of the world, human trafficking, and slavery, which we would want to believe to have vanished from the world in the 21st century.

While the novel is one of the most graphic I’ve ever read, I felt a disconnect with the writing style and language. There are descriptions of sexual harassment, rampant city corruption, notorious gang battles, enslavement, physical and emotional abuse, extremities of racial and caste discrimination, murder, and rape that are simply treated as some kind of exotic curiosa. Moreover, the character development for a lot of the characters feels random. The long multiple-page character introductions feel unnecessary and overwhelm the reader with information that is futile to the story ahead. This not only makes the novel more complex to read but disrupts the flow of the reader, especially in a novel that is dealing with an uncomfortable theme. Furthermore, some parts of the novel seem abrupt, such as Vijay’s friendly relationship with Sheela. Finally, this novel needs a trigger warning as it provides detailed and explicit details of abuse, which might not be appropriate for some.

As someone who is always curious and enthusiastic to delve into the realm of society, this novel was no less than a gem to me. Though explicit and disturbing, DeStefano gives you the reality without sugar-coating it. The novel gives ample evidence of how casteism seeps into the world and is not the reality of only the conservative ‘East’. The social commentary and racial tonalities of the book were particularly very interesting to me. The logic of purity and pollution, the on-ground consequences of being lower caste, and acceptance of their discriminated faith through religion, and the assumption of privilege to rule and be served as birth-right by the upper castes, are some of the themes that are explored in the novel and connects with me as a sociologist.

House Boy, by Lorenzo DeStefano, is a fiction based on true events that will leave you feeling a pit in your stomach for days. A strangely real story of a young Dalit boy, who undergoes exploitation that is beyond endurance and comprehension. This novel is a tale that will question your thought process in a novel and uncomfortable way to make you aware of the subtle and brutal socio-political and racial prejudices within and surrounding you.

Unlock the eye-opening world of “House Boy” by Lorenzo DeStefano (www.houseboynovel.com). Dive into a gripping narrative that confronts the darkest aspects of our society. Order your copy now on Amazon and be prepared to challenge your perspective on caste-based discrimination, human trafficking, and the enduring fight for justice. Don’t miss this opportunity to delve into a thought-provoking and impactful read. Get your copy today!

Read: An Interview with Lorenzo DeStefano

Devanshi is a compassionate individual with insatiable curiosity. She sees the world as an intricate piece of poetry. Besides being an avid reader with an eye always searching for new genres to pick up, she is also a public speaker and is always up for a new adventure. Her interest in sociological observation of daily life and ordinary things and academic pursuit of sociology as a discipline has expanded her areas of interests to realms of religion, gender, stratification, technology and beauty standards. After a long day, she usually finds solace in listening to music.

Houseboy by Ferdinand Oyono

Toundi Ondoua, the rural African protagonist of Houseboy, encounters a world of prisms that cast beautiful but unobtainable glimmers, especially for a black youth in colonial Cameroon. Houseboy, written in the form of Toundi’s captivating diary and translated from the original French, discloses his awe of the white world and a web of unpredictable experiences. Early on, he escapes his father’s angry blows by seeking asylum with his benefactor, the local European priest who meets an untimely death. Toundi then becomes “the Chief European’s ‘boy’–the dog of the King.” Toundi’s attempt to fulfill a dream of advancement and improvement opens his eyes to troubling realities. Gradually, preconceptions of the Europeans come crashing down on him as he struggles with his identity, his place in society, and the changing culture.

This book is for Educational Purposes Only .

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Houseboy: Themes

Alternate question: Discuss various themes in Houseboy

Table of Contents

The Impacts of Colonization

Colonization influences the locals in the Cameroons in different ways, beginning with lost self and customary methods for living. Despite the fact that ideas like human flesh consumption are seen as negative and, generally, as odd, old methods for survey the connection among man and nature, Toundi’s notice of this old practice right off the bat in the account features how nearby, local customs by and large are obliterated or relinquished when they come into contact with prevailing, vanquishing powers, similar to the white Europeans who colonized the Cameroons. The most remarkable impact of colonization on the local populace is the damaging class framework built up by whites.

Despite the fact that Toundi and his kindred Africans are local to the area, they are compelled to live as meager superior to anything slaves, utilized by pitiless experts. Their old culture is seen as uncouth, and with the assistance of Christianity and the congregation, they are urged to disregard their old convictions and receive the convictions of Europeans. The destruction of culture and the relinquishment of culture are two significant objectives—and negative results—of colonization. Different issues originating from colonization that influence the local populace incorporate self-loathing and self-centeredness. Toundi communicates his disturb with different conventions and customs that he believes are futile.

To a few, these old traditions are seen as humiliating or brutal. Childishness is presented when whites set locals in opposition to each other for increase and endurance. As Toundi notes, he feels embarrassed for his kindred Africans who must “perform” for whites, and for the individuals who must, eventually, pay special mind to themselves so as to endure the cruel condition achieved by expansionism. Personality Character is another focal subject in Houseboy. Toundi continually battles with character in his life, from right off the bat until his deathbed admissions. Toward the start of the novel, Toundi wishes to go into the space of the whites in Dangan.

He inevitably does as such by leaving his family to be a houseboy for Father Gilbert. Like different young men, Toundi understands that he will be given things and treated pleasantly by whites. Despite the fact that Toundi’s dad is an injurious figure in the novel, Toundi’s dad endeavors to interest Toundi from a position of personality, needing his child to relate to his African roots thus get back as opposed to be a worker to whites. One of Toundi’s different squabbles with character happens when Father Gilbert bites the dust. Toundi has estimated his life through Dad Gilbert for such a long time that when the man kicks the bucket, Toundi has no feeling of self or bearing.

Toundi likewise takes note of how the Africans are made to act like the whites in the Crucial, how he himself likes being a worker and assisting with Mass. Thusly, Toundi assumes the job of his colonizers, discovering this new world unmistakably more fascinating than his old world.

Christianity Theme

Christianity can be seen as the foundation of the novel, and takes its shape in the Catholicism rehearsed by the ministers and, to a lesser degree, the Europeans in Dangan and different zones of the Cameroons. The primary look at Christianity comes when Toundi takes note of that his kin were once barbarians yet deserted the training in the wake of being colonized. He at that point discusses Father Gilbert and his endeavors to lecture the locals, just as how funny his lessons are on the grounds that he talks in terrible vernacular , rendering his words disgusting.

When Toundi escapes his harsh dad, he looks for cover with Father Gilbert, prepared to transparently grasp the Christianity of his colonizers. Christianity permits Toundi a route into the European world as he works at the Mission in Dangan. In this limit, he sees the exercises of the two locals and whites. The account features the negative impacts of Christianity similarly as promptly as it relates the hilarious perspectives. Father Gilbert, however apparently satisfied with Toundi and ready to take him in, eventually draws in with Toundi from the point of view of belittling him.

This relationship is seen as one in which an insightful, surrendering white man puts with an uneducated African and works persistently to transform him into something better. To this end, Toundi is dedicated “Joseph,” a Christian name, and offered garments to wear to make him look not so much African but rather more European. This patronization guarantees that the white Europeans will consistently feel as though they are taking the ethical high ground when managing the “untamed, brutal Africans,” a figure of speech seen since forever in colonized spots.

The amusing parts of Christianity can be found in Toundi’s story when he relates how the ministers don’t comprehend that their utilization of lingo is insufficient, to such an extent that they direct foul sentiments toward the locals without acknowledging it. In spite of the fact that amusing to Toundi and the locals, it loans a sentiment of obscenity or heresy to Christianity, as the clerics are making statements that their own religion would be embarrassed about. The ministers likewise use dread strategies and rebuff the locals “sensibly” for blunders in judgment, such as having illicit relationships, despite the fact that a large portion of the whites in Dangan are additionally laying down with individuals other than their spouses or wives.

The most calming part of Christianity in the story is that it legitimizes the supremacist treatment of the locals. For Toundi, a similar Christianity that should make everybody love each other like siblings is the appearance for permitting him to be accused of violations he is blameless of, and which eventually lead to his demise. The jail executive and jail protects accept that they are making the best decision by rebuffing locals. Be that as it may, on the grounds that the whites think about the locals as effectively blameworthy from an ethical point of view , they license no genuine arrangement of governing rules, and no strategy of “honest until demonstrated liable.”

Theme of Sexuality

Sexuality has a pervasive job in Houseboy . Toundi’s story is bound with sexual jokes and asides, and the locals regularly joke with one another with gestures to sexual references. Toundi features this firsthand when he sees Madame just because and fears what he may do due to her magnificence and his desire. In like manner, when he strolls with Madame to the market, he is met with cheers and scoffs from individual Africans, every last bit of it sexual, alluding to Madame and her figure. The bantering references are both entertaining and rough, and make the in any case genuine story progressively clever.

Ladies likewise address the topic of sexuality, with Sophie furious that she isn’t seen like white ladies when she realizes she is as delightful as they may be, or all the more so. Sophie is diminished to sex with the rural designer despite the fact that he claims to adore her. Given that she is African, in any case, she can’t replace an open love intrigue, as is constrained into a shadowy job as an escort or sex object. She additionally sexualizes Toundi when she remarks on how stunned she is that he can rest in a stay with her and not have any desire to have intercourse with her. Most other men, she says, would have seized the opportunity.

Kalisia, as well, sexualizes Toundi when she squeezes his butt and plays with him. She likewise resolvedly keeps up that Toundi is laying down with Madame, as that is the thing that any other person would do, and that is the thing that the men she has known similarly situated have all done. Kalisia’s disclosure uncovers that the connections among Africans and whites are regularly ones of brutality and sex. These are the domains where the different sides meet up frequently. Sexuality is additionally seen to some degree entertainingly, given the way that about each white individual in the account is taking part in an extramarital entanglements with somebody other than their own life partner.

The men are altogether seen as unequipped for monogamy, and when Madame shows up, the peruser discovers that she has had a series of sweethearts, and that the Commandant has excused her for this conduct. As Toundi notes, whites permit their feelings to show signs of improvement of them, and the story uncovers on numerous occasions that it is these equivalent feelings which in reality cause such a great amount of dismay for both the whites and the locals who are brought into their maneuvers.

The Maltreatment of Intensity

The maltreatment of intensity is a subject firmly identified with the impacts of colonization found in the novel.

For Toundi and the locals he experiences day by day, being African and a worker implies being manhandled by those in places of intensity. Toundi first features the maltreatment of intensity while relating his departure from his tyrannical dad. His dad is likewise a damaging figure, and however Toundi makes reference to that he ought to have acknowledged his dad’s beatings and discipline, he defies this maltreatment and escapes to Father Gilbert. Despite the fact that Father Gilbert doesn’t appear to manhandle Toundi from his situation of intensity, he patronizes Toundi.

This patronization can be seen as maltreatment in that it renders Toundi barbaric separated from the traditions of the whites that he is happy to take on and practice. It likewise recommends that Toundi is unequipped for being human or free separated from the Christianity that Father Gilbert “favors” him with. The maltreatment of intensity is seen all the more openly in Dangan. Toundi is mishandled by Father Vandermayer, the Commandant, Madame, and M. Moreau, and every last bit of it due to their prevalence over him in a hireling/ace polarity.

The most exceedingly awful part is that Toundi, and different locals who are captured or blamed for bad behavior, are treated as though they are blameworthy before blame can even be built up. Africans must suffer beatings and abuse, for example, when the European Club proprietor releases his canines on Africans for sport, since they must choose the option to suffer it. In light of the force elements, Africans are intended to be appreciative for being “liberated” and offered something to do, and are not intended to scrutinize the force structure that captures them in subjugation.

Shyam Selvadurai

Ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

Shyam Selvadurai’s Funny Boy uses six loosely connected stories to recount the childhood and adolescence of a Sri Lankan Tamil boy, Arjie , who comes of age in Colombo during the 1970s and 1980s. In addition to learning he is different from other boys and eventually recognizing that he is gay, Arjie must confront the increasingly tense and violent relations between Sri Lanka’s two major ethnic groups, the Tamils and Sinhalese , which break out into a civil war at the book’s end in 1983.

The first story, “Pigs Can’t Fly,” follows Arjie as a young child, when he cherishes his monthly playdate with all his cousins at his grandparents’ house. Free from the watchful eyes of their parents and Ammachi , the children break up into two groups: the boys play cricket in the front yard, while the girls—plus Arjie—play out a fantasy wedding in a game they call “bride-bride.” Arjie always gets this game’s most prestigious role—that of the bride herself—until a new cousin, whom the others nickname “ Her Fatness ,” arrives on the scene and tries to take over Arjie’s role. Her Fatness gets her mother, Kanthi Aunty , to march the sari -clad Arjie in front of all the uncles and aunties, who are horrified. One uncle laughs out loud and labels Arjie a “funny one.” Arjie’s parents ( Amma and Appa ) declare that he will have to play cricket with the boys, but he has other plans. The next month, Arjie incites a fight between the boys’ cricket teams and, in a plot to win back his spot as the bride, convinces Her Fatness to start him off with the lowliest role in “bride-bride”: the groom. But after they get into a fight, Her Fatness again publicly humiliates Arjie. Ammachi blames him for the conflict and he lashes out before running down to the beach to cry.

Some time thereafter, the title character of the second story, Radha Aunty , comes home to Sri Lanka after four years in America. She plans to marry Rajan , a family friend she met while abroad, and the seven-year-old Arjie is thrilled at the prospect of his bride-bride fantasies becoming a reality. Although Radha looks nothing like Arjie had hoped, the two still strike up a friendship; Radha lets Arjie try her makeup and brings him to join her in a school production of the play The King and I. During rehearsals, a Sinhalese boy named Anil starts hitting on Radha and eventually offers her a ride home. But when Ammachi hears about this, she is furious: after her father was murdered by a Sinhalese mob during race riots in the 1950s, Ammachi began hating the Sinhalese and supporting the Tamil Tigers , a separatist militant organization. Arjie follows his curiosity and starts learning about Sri Lanka’s ethnic divisions. Ammachi threatens Anil’s family, and when Radha and Arjie go to apologize, Anil’s father curses them out and insists that he would never let his son “marry some non-Sinhalese.” After two aunties stumble upon Radha and Anil eating lunch together, Ammachi decides to send Radha north to Jaffna for a couple months. Having resolutely fallen in love, Radha and Anil make plans to get married when she returns. But on the day of her return, the family hears about riots elsewhere in Sri Lanka, and Arjie’s brother Diggy reports that a Sinhalese mob attacked the train on which Radha Aunty was traveling. Radha Aunty returns with a bruised face and, although she soon recovers, she cannot bring herself to continue seeing Anil or participating in The King and I . Radha and her original love interest, Rajan, officially get engaged, but Arjie loses his previous faith in the idea “that if two people loved each other everything was possible.”

The third story, “See No Evil, Hear No Evil,” starts with Appa buying a hotel and heading away to Europe on business. The rest of the family gets a visitor: Daryl Uncle , a white Burgher man who grew up in Sri Lanka but has been living in Australia for the last 15 years. A journalist, Daryl has returned to cover the accelerating violence in Sri Lanka’s north. He also introduces tension into the family, and after Arjie recovers from a brief bout of hepatitis, he and Amma take him for a stay at a bungalow in the hills. On this vacation, it becomes clear that Daryl and Amma used to have a relationship, but could never marry because they were from different ethnic groups. To Amma’s horror, Daryl insists on going north to Jaffna to cover the government’s abuses of power during the conflict, and while he is away the family hears worse and worse stories about violence in the North. When Daryl does not return, Amma contacts the police, who ignore her fears and later report that he has “washed ashore [dead] on the beach of a fishing village.” They insist it is an accident, although Amma slowly comes to realize that the Sinhalese-run government is probably responsible for Daryl’s death. She visits the civil rights lawyer Q.C. Uncle, who encourages her to forget and move on, and the village of Daryl’s servant boy Somaratne , where the wary and long-suffering locals chase her and Arjie back to their car. Amma does not recover from her solemnity, not even upon Appa’s return.

In the fourth story, “Small Choices,” a young man named Jegan —the son of Appa’s longtime, recently deceased school friend—comes to live with Arjie’s family and work with Appa’s hotel business. Before coming to Colombo, Jegan worked with the Gandhiyam movement in Jaffna and (he later admits) briefly joined the Tamil Tigers. Arjie, now in puberty, is immediately fascinated by this newcomer, both because he finds Jegan attractive and because he admires Jegan’s sense of purpose. But Jegan starts facing trouble at work, where the mostly-Sinhalese hotel staff think he is getting promoted just for being Tamil, and in Colombo, where the police start following him and eventually arrest him on suspicion of helping plot an assassination attempt. Although Jegan is released without charge, word quickly spreads; Appa starts getting threatening calls, Appa’s Sinhalese employees grow distant, and locals nearly attack Jegan and then write “Death to all Tamil pariahs” on his door at the hotel. Forced to choose between his loyalty to Jegan and his business, Appa reluctantly fires Jegan, who leaves without even properly saying goodbye. While Arjie understands Appa’s dilemma, he also feels that Appa has unfairly given up on Jegan, scapegoating his friend’s son to save his own family.

In the penultimate and lengthiest chapter of Funny Boy , “The Best School of All,” Appa transfers Arjie to his brother Diggy’s strict, traditional, colonial relic of a school, the Queen Victoria Academy, which Appa thinks will “force [Arjie] to become a man.” The schoolboys are athletic, hypermasculine, and divided sharply by ethnicity. But Arjie, who takes Sinhala -medium classes, ends up watching Sinhalese bullies like Salgado beat up other Tamil kids, which he does with the blessings of the school’s vice principal, Lokubandara . Arjie also befriends and develops an attraction to the jovial, carefree Shehan Soyza , who shows him around and defends him from Salgado. One day, the school’s draconian principal, Black Tie , reprimands Shehan for having long hair and begins taking him to his office daily, punishing him constantly along with the group of students he deems “the future ills and burdens of Sri Lanka.” The following day, the English and Drama teacher, Mr. Sunderalingam , is impressed by Arjie’s recitation of a poem. Black Tie asks Arjie to recite two poems for an upcoming ceremony, which Arjie soon learns is intended to maintain Black Tie’s control over the school: although he is cruel, Black Tie is committed to welcoming various kinds of students, whereas Lokubandara wants the school to be officially Sinhalese and Buddhist. At the ceremony, Black Tie will honor a powerful politician who can ensure he remains principal.

Over the next few days, Arjie recites the poems for Black Tie, who punishes both him and Shehan whenever he messes up. Shehan and Arjie also start spending time together outside school, although Diggy warns Arjie that Shehan is known for having sex with other boys. When they get Mr. Sunderalingam to convince Black Tie to release them one day, Shehan and Arjie suddenly kiss. Shehan invites Arjie over to his house, where he expects something to happen between them but Arjie feels awkward and heads home. Arjie invites Shehan to his house instead, and they have sex in the garage while playing hide-and-seek. At lunch, Appa clearly dislikes Shehan, and afterward Arjie begins to feel intensely guilty and blame Shehan for corrupting him, but he dreams about Shehan that night and worries as Shehan continues to receive punishments from Black Tie. To save Shehan, Arjie hatches a plan: instead of dutifully reciting his poems during Black Tie’s ceremony, he will purposefully bungle them and ensure that Black Tie’s speech—which is based on the poems—comes out looking ridiculous instead of inspiring. Courageously, he carries out this plan, and after the ceremony he tells Shehan he “did it for you.”

The epilogue of Funny Boy , “Riot Journal,” consists of Arjie’s notebooks during the 1983 Tamil-Sinhala riots that eventually turned into the Sri Lankan Civil War. Arjie learns that Sinhalese mobs are burning down Tamils’ homes and businesses in Colombo, and then that the government is actively supporting these mobs, giving them lists of Tamil families from voter rolls and deciding not to publicly report what is going on. Arjie’s family is planning to stay with Amma and Appa’s friends, Chithra Aunty and Sena Uncle , but they soon learn that a man has stolen the petrol from Sena Uncle’s van and used it to burn a Tamil family alive in their car, with the police watching all the while. Arjie’s family develops a new plan: they will hide with their neighbors, the Pereras , in case anyone comes for them. They have to put this plan into action that same night, when a mob comes and burns down their house; Arjie is horrified and traumatized, unable to process the gravity of losing his home. Arjie’s family does make it to Sena and Chithra’s house, but Sena starts receiving threatening phone calls from people who accuse him of harboring Tamils. During a brief break in the curfew, Shehan visits Arjie but seems remarkably normal and proposes they see a movie, which makes Arjie realize that “Shehan was Sinhalese and I was not.” An uncle living in Canada, Lakshman, calls and suggests the family apply for refugee status. Although they publicly deny any intention of doing so, Amma and Appa privately agree to apply for passports for their children. Soon, the family learns even more horrifying news: Ammachi and Appachi have been murdered, too, burned alive in their car. Radha even visits for their funeral. Just before the family leaves for Canada, Arjie meets Shehan for the last time, only to discover that they have already withdrawn emotionally from one another. In his final journal entry, Arjie returns to his burnt-out house for the last time and cries.

3-year-old boy dies after he and his mom stabbed outside grocery store

NORTH OLMSTED, Ohio ( WOIO /Gray News) - The 3-year-old boy who was stabbed at the Giant Eagle Monday afternoon has died from his injuries, according to the Cuyahoga County medical examiner. He was identified as Julian Wood.

The stabbing happened in the parking lot of the grocery store in the 27200 block of Lorain Road just after 3 p.m.

The child’s mother, Margot Wood, 38, of North Olmsted, was also stabbed.

North Olmsted police said officers gave first aid to both victims.

Emergency medical services took Julian and his mother to St. John Medical Center. The boy died from his injuries. Margot Wood was treated for non-life-threatening injuries, and police said she is expected to make a full recovery.

North Olmsted police identified the suspect as Bionca Ellis, 32, of Cleveland.

Captain Eric Morgan said officers located the suspect walking towards Dover Center Road, still carrying the kitchen knife used in the attack.

North Olmsted police said Ellis was taken into custody without resistance and taken to the North Olmsted Jail.

She is charged with aggravated murder and had her initial appearance via video in Rocky River Municipal Court Tuesday afternoon.

Her attorney demanded a preliminary hearing, which the judge scheduled for Monday at 10:30 a.m.

Ellis’s bond was set at $1 million. Additional charges will be added once the case is presented to the Cuyahoga County Grand Jury, said police.

Detective Sgt. Matthew Beck said the motive of this attack remains under investigation, but “everything learned thus far points that this was a random act of violence.”

Ellis and the victims had no prior interactions before this incident, said Beck.

According to court records, in 2023 Ellis was charged with stealing from the Walmart in North Olmsted and convicted of reduced charge of unauthorized use of property.

Police added Ellis has no “known violent criminal history.”

“Our hearts go out to the two victims of what appears to be a random act of violence,” North Olmsted Mayor Nicole Dailey Jones wrote in a statement.

In a statement, Giant Eagle said, “We are aware of the reported incident and are working with the authorities. For the moment, they (the authorities) are the best source for information.”

This is the same Giant Eagle where a murder-suicide took place in June 2023.

Copyright 2024 WOIO via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Download Full Analysis of 'Houseboy' (for Literature in English)

ANALYSIS OF THE NOVEL

NOVEL DETAILS:

TITLE: HOUSEBOY

AUTHOR: FERDINAND OYONO

SETTING: FRENCH COLONY, CAMEROON

YEAR OF PUBLICATION: 1956

PUBLISHER: HEINEMANN

• INTRODUCTION

This is a story by a Houseboy written in the first person and in the form of diary entries in two exercise books. It describes the relationship between French colonialists and native Cameroonians during the period of colonisation from a Houseboy's perspectives.

THE PLOT OF THE NOVEL

The plot of the novel is divided into two exercises (diaries). The novel’s plot can also be sub-divided into eight (9) important events which are named as follows:

INTRODUCTION: TOUNDI IS FOUND AT SPANISH GUINEA BADLY INJURED

The story starts in Spanish Guinea with a Frenchman on vacation, who finds a man named Toundi. The man will soon die. The Frenchman finds Toundi’s diary, which is called an "exercise book". At this Spanish Guinea, an island in Atlantic Ocean, Toundi, a Frenchman from Cameroon is ill. He is found ill at the jungle village of M’foula. He cannot live to see tomorrow because his condition is bad. He has been badly injured and blood is covering his clothes. His hosts, Anton and his wife attend him. The drums beat and the people gather. The suffering man talks to his countrymen about how white men have mistreated him, and then he dies. He leaves one khaki bag, a comb, tooth brush, and two exercise books that he was using to keep his records as diaries. The rest of the story is of the diary (exercise book) that the Frenchman is supposedly reading. There is no further discussion of the Frenchman after this point.

The following is the whole story from his two exercise books (diaries).

PART ONE: THE FIRST EXERCISE BOOK

(I)            TOUNDI’S STORY BEGINS AT HIS FATHER’S HOME

The first "exercise book" starts with Toundi living with his family. His father beats him constantly, and one day he runs away from his home. He runs to the rescue of Father Gilbert, a priest who lives nearby. His father comes back for him, telling Toundi that everything will be alright if he comes back. He denies his father's offer and after this point he no longer acknowledges his birth parents. It is also said that Toundi decides to run away from home when his greed led to a quarrel between his father and his friend's father. It was this greed for simple things like a lump of sugar that led him to seek shelter at Father Gilbert's residence and later the Commandant.

Toundi's mother even predicts that his greed will lead him to his death.

“ My mother always used to say what my greediness would bring me to in the end.. .” (Page 4).......

FOR THE FULL ANALYSIS, CLICK & DOWNLOAD  ' Houseboy' Notes HERE!

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CHAPTER TWO: ANALYSIS OF NOVELS

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Mum denies manslaughter of four children who died in London house fire

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A mother faces trial over the deaths of four young children who died in a house fire in south London .

Deveca Rose pleaded not guilty to manslaughter of the two sets of twin boys who died at home in 2021.

Leyton and Logan Hoath, aged three, and Kyson and Bryson Hoath, aged four, were pulled from the ‘intense blaze’ at a terraced house by firefighters but could not be saved.

They were given CPR and taken to two hospitals, where they were pronounced dead.

Shortly afterwards, dad Dalton Hoath, 28, paid tribute to his sons saying they all loved superheroes, and their Christmas presents were still under the tree.

He  told ITV : ‘My sons were loving, kind, caring unique boys and didn’t deserve to be involved in such a tragic accident that nobody could have expected.

‘Bryson, he was the first one born. He had a cute little birthmark on his face and he was just so clever.

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‘Kyson, he was just such a gentle soul. He was so shy but so outgoing at the same time, he was so beautiful.

‘The younger two, they were more boisterous and would play fight with each other, and do sword fights, Nerf guns, they liked all stuff like that.’

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To get the latest news from the capital visit Metro.co.uk's London news hub .

‘They will always be in my heart and I’m just happy they have each other to hold and they’re not alone. Daddy loves you forever.’

Rose, aged 29, also denied cruelty towards the children who died after the fire on Collingwood Road in Sutton.

Rose was subsequently charged with four counts of manslaughter and cruelty to a child under the age of 16.

The defendant, who is on bail, entered her pleas on Monday during a hearing before Judge Mark Lucraft KC at the Old Bailey.

The trial at the same court, which was put back a week to September 9, is due to take up to three weeks.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected] .

For more stories like this, check our news page .

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Biden Is Expected to Sign Order Letting Him Seal Border With Mexico

The move, expected on Tuesday, would allow the president to temporarily close the border and suspend longtime protections for asylum seekers in the United States.

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By Hamed Aleaziz and Zolan Kanno-Youngs

Hamed Aleaziz and Zolan Kanno-Youngs have reported on immigration policy and border politics during the Biden and Trump administrations.

President Biden is expected to sign an executive order on Tuesday allowing him to temporarily seal the U.S. border with Mexico to migrants when crossings surge, a move that would suspend longtime protections for asylum seekers in the United States.

Mr. Biden’s senior aides have told members of Congress in recent days to expect him to sign the order at the White House alongside mayors from South Texas, according to several people familiar with the plans.

The restrictions would kick in once the number of illegal crossings exceeds 2,500 in a day, according to several people who have been briefed on the order. Daily totals already exceed that number, which means that Mr. Biden’s executive order could go into effect immediately.

The border would re-open to asylum seekers if the number of crossings stays below 1,500 for a certain period of time, the people said. They asked for anonymity because the executive order has not been officially announced.

The order would be the most restrictive border policy instituted by Mr. Biden, or any other modern Democrat, and echoes an effort in 2018 by President Donald J. Trump to curb migration that Democrats assailed and federal courts blocked.

Although the executive action is almost certain to face legal challenges, Mr. Biden is under intense political pressure to address illegal immigration, a top concern of voters before the presidential election in November.

The decision shows how the politics of immigration have shifted sharply to the right over the course of Mr. Biden’s presidency. Polls suggest growing support — even in the president’s party — for border measures that Democrats once denounced and Mr. Trump championed.

Typically, migrants claiming asylum are released into the United States to wait for court appearances, where can they can plead their cases. But a huge backlog means those cases can take years to come up.

Proponents of the order say it will help relieve pressure on an overwhelmed system. There would be limited exceptions, however, including minors who cross the border alone, people experiencing medical emergencies and victims of human trafficking, according to several officials briefed on the order.

Migrants could also apply for other protections, aside from asylum — but those programs are already significantly more difficult to qualify for. And the administration is designing new screening processes that will make the bar even harder to clear.

The number of people illegally crossing the border has plunged in recent months after reaching record highs in December, when about 10,000 people a day were making their way into the United States.

Biden administration officials, panicked over the numbers in December, pressed Mexico to do more to curb migration. Mexican officials have since used charter flights and buses to move migrants deeper south and away from the United States.

On Sunday, border agents apprehended more than 3,500 people crossing without authorization, in line with the trends of recent weeks, according to a person with knowledge of the data.

The executive action is likely to mirror a measure in a failed bipartisan bill this year that had some of the most significant border security restrictions Congress had considered in years. The bill would have provided billions in funding for the border, including for the hiring of thousands of asylum officers to process claims.

But Republicans thwarted the bill in February, saying it was not strong enough. Many of them, egged on by Mr. Trump, were loath to give Mr. Biden a legislative victory in an election year. The president’s aides hope the executive order will provide him with an opportunity to hammer Republicans for their decision to kill the bipartisan bill, which would have provided billions of dollars to the Department of Homeland Security.

“While congressional Republicans chose to stand in the way of additional border enforcement, President Biden will not stop fighting to deliver the resources that border and immigration personnel need to secure our border,” Angelo Fernández Hernández, a White House spokesman, said in a statement on Monday. He did not confirm the plans but said the administration was exploring “a series of policy options, and we remain committed to taking action to address our broken immigration system.”

Administration officials have said that executive action was not their preference and that they believe any order would face a legal challenge.

“Legislation is what is needed,” Alejandro N. Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary, said last month.

“Executive action will be challenged,” he added. “I am confident in that. And then the question will be: What is the outcome of those proceedings? Legislation is a more certain delivery of solution.”

The American Civil Liberties Union led the charge against the Trump administration’s attempt to block asylum in 2018, which resulted in the policy being stopped by federal courts. The group has signaled that it is ready to challenge any order that limits asylum at the border.

“We will need to review the E.O. before deciding on litigation, but any policy that effectively cuts off protection for desperate migrants would raise serious legal problems, as it did when the Trump administration tried to end asylum,” said Lee Gelernt, a lawyer at the A.C.L.U. who led the challenge against many of Mr. Trump’s policies.

While Republicans have long assailed Democrats over border security, Mr. Biden in recent years has also faced calls by members of his own party for stronger enforcement.

Representative Tom Suozzi of New York, a Democrat who won a special House election this year partly by calling for stricter immigration measures, sent a letter to Mr. Biden last month encouraging him to issue an executive order that would restrict asylum.

“I think it’s very, very important, not only for Democrats or for political purposes, but it’s important for America,” Mr. Suozzi said in an interview. “This is something the people are very concerned about.”

Representative Henry Cuellar, Democrat of Texas, who has previously called on the president to bolster enforcement at the border, said he had been briefed on the order.

“While the order is yet to be released, I am supportive of the details provided to me thus far,” he said.

Still, there are political risks to issuing the order. Republicans have in recent days questioned why Mr. Biden did not take unilateral action at the border sooner. In January, he told reporters that he had “done all I can do” at the border and that he needed help from Congress.

“The American people know better,” Speaker Mike Johnson, Republican of Louisiana, wrote in a social media post on Monday.

In a sign of just how much the politics on the issue has changed, Mr. Biden, as a candidate in 2019, excoriated Mr. Trump’s policies during a debate.

“This is the first president in the history of the United States of America that anybody seeking asylum has to do it in another country,” Mr. Biden said at the time. “That’s never happened before.”

“You come to the United States, and you make your case,” he added. “That’s how you seek asylum, based on the following premise: why I deserve it under American law.”

Hamed Aleaziz covers the Department of Homeland Security and immigration policy. More about Hamed Aleaziz

Zolan Kanno-Youngs is a White House correspondent, covering President Biden and his administration. More about Zolan Kanno-Youngs

Movie Reviews

Tv/streaming, collections, great movies, chaz's journal, contributors, robot dreams.

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Pablo Berger ’s “Robot Dreams” is a lovely fable about partnership and imagination, a movie that uses the form of animated cinema to tell a story in a way that couldn’t be possible in any other medium. Without a word of dialogue, the director of “ Blancanieves ” casts a spell, crafting a film that is often truly lyrical, a creative exploration of relatable emotion that transports viewers to a world where robots dream of much more than electric sheep. It’s a film that feels at times like it’s not quite substantial enough to support a feature-length runtime, but every time it threatens to lose viewers completely, the sheer creativity of the project brings it back together. Animation has long been a medium that conveys the power of dreams like no other, and Berger’s film continues that legacy of art that has been freed from the constraints of traditional storytelling.

There are two central characters in “Robot Dreams,” but the backdrop of 1984 New York is practically a third. Berger and his team have devised a version of the Big Apple that feels like a love letter to a city that’s always humming and moving. It’s not just the regular shots of things like the World Trade Center or the Empire State Building but the vibrant creatures that give this film a backdrop, from the finger-flipping punks to the vibrant breakdancers. The city is alive.

Against this backdrop unfolds the story of a character known only as Dog. With his kind eyes and sideways smile, Dog is a likable animated creation right from the beginning of the movie, as he seeks a way to shake his loneliness in a city where everyone feels like they have a partner. Dog decides to order one through the mail, bringing Robot into his life. The two are instant BFFs, walking around Manhattan and dancing to the classic Earth, Wind & Fire song “ September ”—its well-known phrase “Do you remember?” feels like a theme of a film that’s about lost friendship and even a lost time in a great American city.

At the end of the summer, Dog and Robot go to the beach, but the lovable metal man’s joints rust after playing in the water, forcing Dog to leave him there. When he returns, the gates are locked, meaning that Robot ends up stuck on that beach in that position for months. And he dreams. Dog goes about his life, doing some dreaming of his own, but “Robot Dreams” is a film about a strong connection that’s severed and how that shapes the imagination of the two halves of the broken partnership. It might sound ridiculous, but it’s kind of like “ Past Lives ” meets “ Zootopia .” 

Believe it or not, it works, largely because of Berger’s boundless creativity within a story he adapts from a comic of the same name by Sara Varon . There are no rules in a film about dreaming robots, after all. Why not have a snowman bowl with his head? Why not have birds who have nested in Robot’s body whistle “Danny Boy”? Why not have a movie-stealing Busby Berkeley-esque dance number set along the Yellow Brick Road? Of course, Dog and Robot love “ The Wizard of Oz .” After all, Toto had a metal friend too. 

To be fair, there’s a bit of wheel-spinning after that amazing number wherein one starts to feel the length of “Robot Dreams,” a movie that could have either been tighter or explored more ideas in its second half. Even if it falls short of greatness within its potential and artistry, it’s a good, generous, tender movie that’s almost impossible to truly dislike. It’s too sweet to hate while somehow also never feeling overly saccharine or manipulative. 

"Robot Dreams" asks us if we remember the relationships that formed us, the ones that may not have lasted our entire lives but shaped us nonetheless. The ones we think about every now and then, the ones that come back to us in our dreams, the ones that don't need words.

Brian Tallerico

Brian Tallerico is the Managing Editor of RogerEbert.com, and also covers television, film, Blu-ray, and video games. He is also a writer for Vulture, The Playlist, The New York Times, and GQ, and the President of the Chicago Film Critics Association.

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Film Credits

Robot Dreams (2024)

102 minutes

Ivan Labanda as Dog / Robot / Various (voice)

Tito Trifol as Various (voice)

Rafa Calvo as Various (voice)

José García Tos as Various (voice)

José Luis Mediavilla as Various (voice)

Graciela Molina as Duck / Various (voice)

Esther Solans as Various (voice)

• Pablo Berger

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