APPRECIATING LITERARY WORKS
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).......
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CHAPTER ONE: THEORY OF LITERATURE:
- Part One: BASIC CONCEPTS OF LITERATURE
- Part Two: DEFINITIONS OF LITERATURE
- Part Three: NATURE AND ORIGIN OF LITERATURE
- Part Four: LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
- Part Five: FUNCTIONS OF LITERATURE
- Part Six: FICTION AND NONFICTION
- Part Seven: TYPES OF LITERATURE
- Part Eight: ELEMENTS OF LITERATURE
CHAPTER TWO: ANALYSIS OF ‘O’ LEVEL CLASS READERS
CHAPTER THREE: INTERPRETING SIMPLE POEMS: FORMS
- INTRODUCTION
- Analysis of ‘WHAT A HUMAN BEING DOES’
- Analysis of ‘GOOD HERE! BAD THERE!’
- Analysis of ‘THE BUNCH OF BANANA STOOPS WHERE IT IS’
- Analysis of ‘MY BROTHER’
CHAPTER FOUR: ANALYSIS OF NOVELS
CHAPTER FIVE: ANALYSIS OF PLAYS
CHAPTER SIX: ANALYSIS OF POETRY
- Part One: Analysis of ‘Song of Lawino’
- Part Two: Analysis of ‘Lost Beauty’
- Part Three: Analysis of ‘Eat More’
- Part Four: Analysis of ‘Ballad of the Landlord’
- Part Five: Analysis of ‘If We Must Die’
- Part Six: Analysis of ‘Your Pain’
- Part Seven: Analysis of ‘An Abandoned Bundle’
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GET ANOTHER BOOK FOR LITERATURE IN ENGLISH: “A Comprehensive Handbook for Ordinary Level Literature in English” (PDF) with the following contents for just TZS 5,000/=
CHAPTER ONE: THEORY OF LITERATURE:
- Part One: BASIC CONCEPTS OF LITERATURE
- Part Two: DEFINITIONS OF LITERATURE
- Part Three: NATURE AND ORIGIN OF LITERATURE
- Part Four: LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
- Part Five: FUNCTIONS OF LITERATURE
- Part Six: FICTION AND NONFICTION
- Part Seven: TYPES OF LITERATURE
- Part Eight: ELEMENTS OF LITERATURE
CHAPTER TWO: ANALYSIS OF NOVELS
CHAPTER THREE: ANALYSIS OF PLAYS
CHAPTER FOUR: ANALYSIS OF POETRY
- Part One: Analysis of ‘Eat More’
- Part Two: Analysis of ‘Ballad of the Landlord’
- Part Three: Analysis of ‘If We Must Die’
- Part Four: Analysis of ‘Your Pain’
- Part Five: Analysis of ‘An Abandoned Bundle’
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