Houseboy

“But for me, it is more than mourning. I have died my first death….”

Toundi underscores just what Father Gilbert meant to him by suggesting that he has died as well, almost Christ-like, at the death of the man who meant the most to him in the world.

“I am not a storm. I am the thing that obeys.”

Toundi highlights the difference in demeanor and power between himself and the Commandant; the Commandant gets angry and rages, while Toundi must simply endure it and obey as a servant.

“He had not recognized me. How could he recognize me? All Africans look the same to them.” 

Though Toundi is being laughed at, the Commandant cannot recognize him, as whites do not truly see natives. In this sense, all natives look alike because they are all looked down upon as a group, with the same degree of hatred.

“I was relieved by this discovery. It killed something inside of me … I knew I should never be frightened of the Commandant again.”

Toundi makes the comical discovery that the Commandant is uncircumcised, a discovery that places the once-feared Commandant on the same level as all other whites, not on the level of a powerful chief.

“In front of them, the statue of Saint Peter, who had been so blackened by the weather that he could have passed for an African, was perched precariously on a kind of belfry at such an angle that it looked as if before long he would come toppling down.”

This passage makes an interesting analogy to the suffering Peter, whom the whites love, rendering him as an African who is so weighed down he might collapse. The analogy draws a parallel to the plight of Africans under the weight of colonialism.

‘“Life, he says, ‘is like the chameleon, changing colour all the time.’”

Life is something that does not follow a set course. Things change all the time, and with Father Gilbert’s death, Toundi witnesses this firsthand.

“The elephant does not rot in a secret place.”

A comical saying by Sophie to highlight that they must live next to the bathrooms, as if in a pigsty, just as an elephant does not get the luxury of dying in a secret place. In other words, they are not special.

‘“Ah, these whites,’ she burst out. ‘The dog can die of hunger beside his master's meat. They don't bury the goat up to the horns. They bury him altogether.’” 

Another saying by Sophie to highlight just how destructive and without compassion the whites in Dangan are, so much so that a dog can die within range of food.

“Everybody told his own little African story to demonstrate that the African is a child or a fool….” 

The whites tell stories to Madame and to one another, each one building the other up with stories of how superior they are to Africans.

“They lamented ‘the Martyr’ as they called Father Gilbert because he died on African soil.” 

Though Toundi sees Father Gilbert as a mentor and is sad at his death, the whites are sad because Father Gilbert died in Africa and not back home in their civilization.

“Everyone has their position in life. You are a houseboy, my husband is Commandant … nothing can be done about it.” 

Madame warns Toundi about wanting to rise above his station in life, highlighting the fact that whites are afraid of Africans who get “big ideas” or want to move up in life.

“The river does not go back to its spring …” 

A saying that highlights how Toundi is now grown, and that, despite it being better for him to leave and untangle himself from Madame’s affair, he is unable to return home because he has outgrown it.

“Truth lies beyond the mountains. You must travel to find it.” 

A saying by an older African to underscore that truth comes about through experience. This idea is also underscored in Toundi’s fate, something that “experienced” Africans have been warning him about from the beginning.

“If I talk it is because I have a mouth. If I see, it is because I have eyes. The eye goes farther and faster than the mouth, nothing stops it …” 

A servant makes the case that he cannot help meddling in the affairs of the whites because they conduct their affairs in the open. To see them is a natural byproduct of vision, he suggests comically.

“Since when does the pot rub itself against the hammer?” 

The servants warn Toundi about wanting more than he can handle. They suggest that he wants Madame, but explain her as a hammer that is made to strike the pot, not cozy up to it.

“It is a bad thing when a white starts being polite to a native.”

The servants understand that when whites start being nice to natives, a balance of power is shifted. This balance must be restored eventually and the native will lose out every time.

“The eyes that live in the native location strip the whites naked. The whites on the other hand go about blind.” 

The natives see everything and know everything about the lives of the whites, while the whites, who are supposed to be smarter and wittier, know nothing about the natives.

“How wretched we are.” 

Toundi says this after witnessing two Africans beaten almost to death, and who will die soon from their wounds. He thinks of them, but transfers his sadness at what he witnesses onto Africans in general, decrying their collective fate.

“I thought of all the priests, all the pastors, all the white men, who come to save our souls and preach love of our neighbours. Is the white man’s neighbour only other white men? Who can go on believing the stuff we are served up in the churches when things happen like I saw today …” 

Toundi sees the irony in the lessons and preaching of whites. The natives are not viewed as humans, though they live amongst the whites and are told to treat others as neighbors and brothers.

“When will you grasp that for the whites, you are only alive to do their work and for no other reason. I am the cook. The white man does not see me except with his stomach.” 

The cook attempts to highlight for Toundi his place in the lives of the whites. Though he is privy to their private, intimate lives, he is not seen as a person by the whites of Dangan. Instead, he should understand that they see him as an object.

“It is the voice of wisdom ... outside his hole the mouse does not defy the cat.” 

Another powerful saying that highlights how dangerous it is for Toundi to step outside of his place or station in life.

‘“If I were in your place,’ she said, ‘I’d go now before the river has swallowed me up altogether. Our ancestors used to say you must escape when the water is still only up to the knees.’” 

Kalisia attempts to impart wisdom to Toundi with an old saying, trying to save him from the coming trouble by telling him to flee while he is still able to.

“As far as they are concerned you are the one who has told everybody and they can’t help feeling you are sitting in judgement on them. But that they can never accept …” 

Though the affair is between the Commandant and Madame, as an eyewitness, Toundi will be blamed for the event. As an African, and even though innocent, his presence and knowledge of events will cause the whites to feel guilty.