Mariama Ba captures the fresh new country smell of Senegal’s independence perfectly in her novel, So Long a Letter. In January of 1959, Senegal, the furthest western African country, gained its independence from its prior colonization of France. During its independence – as can be observed through the text – Senegal gained a characteristic westernization, which differed heavily from its previous state of tradition and faith-driven actions. Throughout the book, the changing atmosphere of the country’s future is channeled well through Ramatoulaye’s extensive diary entries: “It was the privilege of our generation to be the link between two periods in our history, one of domination, the other of independence. We remained young and efficient, for
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In the 15th century, Senegal was in the spotlight mostly due to it being a slave trade point of advantage. In 1677 France captured an island nearby what is now Dakar, and used it as a lucrative head quarters for slave trading. Around the 1850’s the French started storming the mainland, taking full control with their new abolitionist doctrines. In 1959, Senegal gained its independence by way of a fling with the French Sudan. The westernization coming from an absence of low-quality ruling that follows sets the stage for the postman’s worst …show more content…
The novel is absolutely littered with authorial intrusion about the subject. From the first few chapters, Ramatoulaye is already hammering in the feminist point of view into the pages of her diary-esque letter to Aissatou. Ba’s early struggle with gaining an education due to the barrier of gender tradition really comes out with her characterization of Ramatoulaye who constantly is hitting the hard questions about sexist, double-standard gender culture: “’Nearly twenty years of independence! When will we have the first female minister involved in the decisions concerning the development of our country?” (Ba, p.61) And while feminism now may be more inclusive of a polygamous relationship, Mariama Ba, for her time, was a great feminist
In the 15th century, Senegal was in the spotlight mostly due to it being a slave trade point of advantage. In 1677 France captured an island nearby what is now Dakar, and used it as a lucrative head quarters for slave trading. Around the 1850’s the French started storming the mainland, taking full control with their new abolitionist doctrines. In 1959, Senegal gained its independence by way of a fling with the French Sudan. The westernization coming from an absence of low-quality ruling that follows sets the stage for the postman’s worst …show more content…
The novel is absolutely littered with authorial intrusion about the subject. From the first few chapters, Ramatoulaye is already hammering in the feminist point of view into the pages of her diary-esque letter to Aissatou. Ba’s early struggle with gaining an education due to the barrier of gender tradition really comes out with her characterization of Ramatoulaye who constantly is hitting the hard questions about sexist, double-standard gender culture: “’Nearly twenty years of independence! When will we have the first female minister involved in the decisions concerning the development of our country?” (Ba, p.61) And while feminism now may be more inclusive of a polygamous relationship, Mariama Ba, for her time, was a great feminist