The Portrayal of Traditional Woman and the Use of Imagery in the 'Dark Child' - Essay Sample

Introduction

The ‘Dark Child’ is a recount memoir of Camara Laye’s youthful life that portrays the familiarity of growing up in Malinke society in colonial Guinea. Laye's biography establishes his experiences and livelihood during the early1930's and 1940s. In his debut novel, Laye presents the close relations he enjoyed with the family members and the love he experienced from the local community. Additionally, Laye also describes the role that religion and indulgence in spiritual gatherings played a considerable role while growing up. However, as shown at the end of the novel, he moves to pursue higher education in Paris, leaving his family behind. Camara’s memoir offers several explanations of how traditional women were portrayed in the Malinke world, as shown in this essay. Furthermore, as shown in the paper, the novel successfully uses several images to express the main points.

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Description of the Pristine Traditional Woman in the Novel

In the Malinke world, the pristine traditional woman presented in the literature portrays the African woman to be ridiculously humble in his nation. The pristine woman's role is one that exhibits a higher degree of inner pride and freedom from Kouroussa to Conakry in Guinea (Camara and Laye, p. 69). The social mores of the West African woman demand that she should be responsible for domestic chores. Notably, the pristine woman is expected to be a homemaker whose duties include bearing children, rearing them, gathering firewood, and cooking for the family. The woman is also burdened with the role of fending for the family financially. In quest of this anticipation, women work as street vendors to supplement the family's inadequate revenue. However, women are not accorded an equal opportunity to education like men. Substantially, the West African females are under-represented in every sphere of the society, such as government or professionally. Women work twice as harder as men who ideally lounge in shades building their social ties. It is an unfortunate encounter to see the pristine woman face a formidable array of barriers to their public life participation. Women deserve an equal footing with men in education and public life.

Images Used in ‘Dark Child’ to Describe the Pristine Woman in the Novel

Snake

The book Dark Child portrays Camara Laye as a lad from a highly respected family of Malinke people. He advances in life from a timid and curious young man to an intelligent, affectionate, and sensitive man who advances his life through the colonial French school system in Paris, France. Throughout his childhood memories, he attempts to preserve, comprehend, and defend his life (Wilkin and King, p.17). Part of this understanding entails observing his father’s acquaintance with a black snake. The snake is used as a symbol that watches his parents at work. The snake is the guiding spirit in their race despite the snake being considered to be a dangerous reptile. Snakes are regarded as a sign of evil in West African culture (Wanberg, p.10). In the first chapter, Laye is warned by the mother to be careful not to play with snakes as she says, ‘…my mother solemnly warned me never to play that game again’ (Laye, p.18). The game, in this case, refers to playing with snakes. As a traditional woman in the Malinke world, Laye’s mother is protective and, therefore, afraid of the snake and warns the son to be cautious. She is also courageous, as she hacks the snake to pieces out of fear that it might harm her children. However, on the contrary, Laye’s dad is implicated as a bold man who draws power from the serpent. He is not afraid of the ‘daemon’ and treats it as his best and treasured buddy (Azodo, p. 31).

The snake's characteristic in this scene is not of a dangerous animal that is poisonous but as a symbol of power and prestige. Moreover, it is a sign of cognizance, intelligence, fortification, intuition, and a locus into the future as demonstrated by the statement, ‘Those who are drawn to the snake are gifted at viewing life through an uncommon lens’ (Laye, p.17). The snake protects Laye’s family by forewarning his dad in the future. It gives him news about the future since the animal can know the unknown. The family can understand the complicated matters that affect their tribe and community. The snake is an animal totem that symbolizes culture and tradition. It directed the path of Laye's father, and he was able to identify what to do as he laments ‘Father! What am I to do if I am to do the right thing?’ (Laye, p.28).

Gold

Laye's father was a goldsmith, and he handled the apprentice job by himself. Gold is a rare gem, and not everybody can afford it. The metal requires many refineries before the end product is produced, which is something Laye's daddy knew quite well. He has special powers to work with gold, and the society believed that for one to understand how to be a good blacksmith, he had to be somebody unique with a pure heart. Laye’s father undertook rituals to purify himself for this particular task, which he had envisioned early own before a lady visited his workshop and gave him the work. The use of gold was revered and the reason why Laye’s father went through the cleansing rituals and abstained from sex for days before accomplishing the task. He followed the rituals and observed them religiously. Rituals and spirituality were inextricable to Laye’s father. He smeared his body with potions that signified a state of purity and excellence. It also enabled him to work properly with gold, a craft he loved, which signified his excellence. Gold is used symbolically to illustrate the mystical communion with the craftsman guiding spirits of his race as Laye asks, ‘were it not the spirits of fire and gold, of fire and air…were not these the spirits he was invoking?’ (Laye, p.26). Laye asserts that the moments of invoking spirits vitalize, sustain, and make his soul vibrate. He further proclaims that his whole being cries out for wonders and prodigies due to these moments (Laye, p.27). The process of refining gold is a sign of divinity such that individuals dance to communal rituals to appease the spirits. The songs Griot sing and the dance that occurs while processing the gold trinket link love and transform it into a union with the divine, the women, and family. Laye is fathomed by the father’s mystical powers that are displayed in praise chants of gold processing.

Golden Rice Fields

Laye is carried away by the rural life of the reapers as they cultivate the fields. He uses the golden rice fields to describe the pastoral lifestyle of the reapers. The rural dwellers are exemplified as godlike, hardworking, and beautiful creations who harmoniously move their torsos as they harvest rice. The rice fields, the brightness of the sun, and the sky are likened to the reapers' happy moment. It is an event that leads Laye to compare his urban life and rural life that leaves him envious of the reapers. He compares the socialist propaganda artwork of the 20th century to the labor and sweat of the reapers. Furthermore, the rice fields demonstrate the interconnection of humanity and nature. He asserts that ‘the scent of the flowers cloth them in fresh garlands.’ The fields represent peace and unity cultivated through a common goal of reaping the field.

Works Cited

Avono, Komla M. "Multiple Consciousness: Laye Camara ’S The Dark Child and Richard Wright’s Black Boy." The International Journal of Linguistics, Literature, and Culture 05.03 (2018). Print.

Azodo, Ada U. "Laye, Camara." African American Studies Center (2011). Print.

"Laye, Camara." African American Studies Center (2005). Print.

Wanberg, Kyle. "Laye, Camara." The Encyclopedia of Postcolonial Studies (2016): 1-4. Print.

Wilkin, David, and Adele King. "Rereading Camara Laye." African Studies Review 46.3 (2003): 170. Print.