Houseboy by Ferdinand Oyono

Introduction

In Houseboy, Ferdinand Oyono creates a sexual metaphor for the relationship between African colonies and imperialist European cultures through the character of Toundi. While Toundi is a vivid individual in the story who suffers the corruption and erosion of his identity through European manipulations, he also serves as symbol for the experience of imperialism in Africa. Just as Toundi's intimacy with Europeans increases his entrapment by them, Africa's increasing contact with European policies seduced its people intellectually, politically, economically.

Discussion

Oyono begins Toundi's tale with his death in Spanish Guinea. Such beginning easily represents Oyono's view of Africa's current status: its original identity is dead, subverted by European domination. Initially, Toundi trades his black father for a white father from two motivations: anger and greed. His biological father beats Toundi as a method of disciplining him to meet cultural expectations. Like any child, he does not understand such harshness, becomes angry and rebellious. The priest, Father Gilbert, gives Toundi sugar lumps for listening to his catechesis. One offers him difficult pain (that would lead him to independent adulthood as a member of his tribe) and the other tempts him with easy pleasure, so he innocently but unwisely indulges himself. Such a tactic constitutes seduction. Father Gilbert enhances his success by immediately providing Toundi with clothes that impress his peers and promising him knowledge to further elevate his status: "I was going to learn about the city and white men and live like them." Indeed, Father Gilbert teaches him to read and write French so he can better serve Gilbert's proselytising, as well as function as his "pet animal." I believe it is significant that, in both Oyono's. (Oyono, 48)

Houseboy and Achebe's Things Fall Apart, the two black youths who convert to Christianity have poor relationships with their fathers, as though problematic aspects in their native cultures precipitate rejection of their total heritage, including native religion for a foreign religion. If Toundi is viewed symbolically, his conversion implies that some Africans had pre-existing dissatisfactions with their cultures that moved them to complicity with European imperialism. Of course, this does not exonerate European guilt for the seduction of Africans with grandiose but empty promises like "pie-in-the-sky" Christian theology.( Harrow, 163)

Toundi dimly recognises a link between frustrated sexuality and violence in Father Vandermayer but dismisses it because he was not affected: "He loves to beat the Christians who have committed adultery- native Christians, of course. … He makes them undress in his office while he repeats in bad Ndjem,

'When you were kissing, weren't you ashamed before God?' Sunday after Mass has become a terrible time for everyone who has Father Vandermayer as spiritual director." Toundi's tacit acceptance of Vandermayer's hypocrisy becomes the threshhold of his own descent into the European confusion. sexuality and violence explored throughout the rest of the book.

Father Vandermayer sends Toundi to be the Commandant's houseboy. Ambition deceives Toundi: "The dog of the King is the King of dogs." Once again, here's Oyono's subtle indictment that Africans chose ...