IMAGO Interculturalité et Didactique
Volume 3, Numéro 1, Pages 59-70
2000-02-01
An Image Of Africa And The U.s.a. In Ayi Kwei Armah's Why Are We So Blest?
Authors : Bensemmane M'hamed .
Abstract
Ayi Kwei Armah is a controversial figure in African Literature. His image of Africa is often projected with intensely negative tropes. His critics have noted the blunt nihilism with which the points to poor leadership and corruption in African states: the saviours" of Africa have in fact been trained by the West so that their countries remain fettered and subservient to the "empire" Why Are We So Blest? , Armah's third novel, tends to dramatize this point of view by focusing on the traumatic experiences of his protagonist Modin, who goes to America to study at Harvard, but is later duped and brutalized by members of academia. Armah adopts here a fanonian stance, and develops an anti-colonialist discourse through Modin, and Solo his alter ego in Laccryville ( i.e. Algiers ): America is the centre of power, an outgrowth of Europe", that continues the de-structuring process started by the old continent, by controlling its elite. We shall submit that Armah's discourse functions by means of refined political and philosophical formulations, which are currently used and amplified by such analysts as Edward Said, Ngugi Wa Thiong'O. Nonetheless, Armah's argument is restricted in compass and reduced to stereotypes of Americans, Africans and Algerians. It excludes any progressive currents in societies, and notably African efforts to promote political and economic success at home.
Keywords
Africa - African Literature - Algeria - America - Image - Stereotypes - USA - Kwei Armah - Why Are We So Blest?
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