Colonialism

The two texts I plan to evaluate are "So Long A Letter" and "Bridge Of Beyond". These two texts share a common idea of "colonialism". Colonialism is expressed as more of a metaphor. Ramatoulaye, Juletane, and Helene are in the middle or relationships where one partner acts as a colonizer, and the other partner is somehow the colony that is being controlled, either physically or emotionally. In Mariama Bâ 's "So Long A Letter" Ramatoulaye, is a school teacher and a feminist in Senegal that teaches youth that we are all alike. This entire text is a letter that Ramatoulaye has sent to her good friend Assiatou, in which she reflects the journey of life, and the relationship they have. Recently she has become a widow when her husband suddenly dies of a heart attack. Ramatoulaye then uses the rest of the letter to detail the funeral and go back in time to relinquish her past memories. Ramatoulaye is also very serious when it comes to religion. She expresses to Assiatou that the “Koran requires a dead person to be stripped of his most intimate secrets”(10). She then told Assiatou of how she uncovered Moudo’s betrayal to her in their marriage. She exclaimed how he walked out on her and their children, without thinking of the outcome, or their feelings. …show more content…
Assiatou and ramatoulaye connect in this situation because their husbands, who married another woman, and left them both. Ramatoulaye considers herself a co-wife, and also calls him her “black angel”(14) because she still saw herself connected to him with their twelve children. On the other hand, Assiatou immediately divorced her husband, leaving no feelings for him, and in revenge she pursued her education. In the end, Rama takes all of the responsibility of running the family on her own, doing the maintenance and paying the bills. She also finds a way to take her children to shows and movies, to try and fill the loneliness and pain created because of