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Ferdinand OyonoA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
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The narrative begins in Spanish Guinea. Oyono describes Spanish Guinea as a place he and his compatriots can “slip away to” whenever troubles with whites become too heated. Oyono will soon be leaving, however, and though the Spanish who are hosting him in want to throw him a farewell party, the evening is marked with sadness as drum rolls indicate a misfortune in a nearby village. Anton, the Spaniard who has taken Oyono in temporarily, indicates that the drum rolls mean a Frenchman is near death in the village of M’founa. Oyono, who is from the Cameroons, feels sorry for this unknown countryman who is purportedly near death.
Oyono and Anton set out to find the dying Frenchman. When they arrive, they find a sad sight indeed. The dying man is beyond help, and asks a troubling question about who black men who are called French truly are. He then indicates that though he has been “caught” by his pursuers, he is happy to be dying far away from them. He soon dies from his wounds, and his belongings are given to Oyono. The two exercise books, which contain the man’s journals, are translated by Oyono, and provide the contents for the novel Houseboy. The first exercise book is divided into three parts.
Toundi Ondoua has an argument with his father. Toundi’s father is an authoritarian figure, and because of this, Toundi flees his family home and village to seek shelter with Father Gilbert, a Catholic missionary. Father Gilbert takes Toundi in, and though Toundi’s father tries to convince his son to return, Toundi stays with Father Gilbert and becomes his houseboy, or servant. In time, Toundi is taught to read and write by Father Gilbert, and is called Joseph. Father Gilbert treats Toundi like a curious child, and is “kind” to him. Father Gilbert is in the process of traveling to a series of outlying villages, and he brings Toundi with him on his motorcycle. Eventually, Toundi mentions that he has not been back to his village since his initial departure, and that his parents have since died.
Father Gilbert eventually returns to St. Peter’s Catholic Mission in Dangan and brings Toundi with him. Toundi notes that living at the Mission is very different from living with Father Gilbert near his village while the Father was on tour. He assists with Mass, and comments on the difference between the whites and natives at the Mission. The whites take communion separately, and Toundi is presented to the whites as a “masterpiece” by Father Gilbert. Father Gilbert also has an assistant, Father Vandermayer, who is strict and punitive. When Father Vandermayer contracts malaria, Toundi notes how he curses like mad in his sickness.
One day, Father Gilbert dies from a motorcycle accident. The loss is felt by all, though Toundi feels it deeply, as Father Gilbert was his benefactor. Toundi is in shock at Father Gilbert’s death, and wonders at his fate now that the one person who protected him is dead. Toundi wishes to see Father Gilbert’s body but, as he is a native, he is not allowed anywhere near it.
Many residents of Dangan, both native African and white, attend the funeral services for Father Gilbert. Toundi notes how annoying the natives are, especially the native women, with their fake mourning. He also comments on how people are vying for positions of respect now that Father Gilbert is dead. The entire scene plays out like a circus to Toundi; he alone seems to feel the genuine loss of Father Gilbert.
With Father Gilbert’s death, Father Vandermayer sends Toundi to “interview” for the new Commandant, as that esteemed figure needs a new servant. The Commandant interviews Toundi and tries to ascertain if he a thief or a dishonest person, but Toundi’s resolve impresses the Commandant. The Commandant takes Toundi as a houseboy, and though he is harsh with Toundi, does not abuse him as much as Toundi imagines he will. Toundi also comes to realize his special privilege now as the houseboy for the Commandant. This is evident when Gullet (the Chief of Police) and his men raid the African quarters and, after learning that Toundi is the Commandant’s houseboy, leave him and his family alone.
Toundi relates how, on Saturdays, the whites spend their time at the European Club. Toundi, like other natives, goes to the club to gaze at the whites. On his way to the club one Saturday, Toundi meets Sophie, the African mistress of the agricultural engineer. Sophie is angry with herself because she wants to run away and take the engineer’s money, and has let a chance slip away from her. She does not know when she will get another chance. Toundi soon arrives to the club and explains how the owner of the club, M. Janopoulos, despises the natives and unleashes his large dogs on them whenever he can, which causes terror and a stampede. This brutal “game” amuses the whites, who watch and laugh as they drink.
Toundi reveals a moment of insight when he is called into the Commandant’s shower and sees the Commandant completely naked. To Toundi’s surprise, the Commandant is uncircumcised. This revelation not only amuses Toundi, it allows him to feel less frightened of the Commandant. The Commandant is just like the Fathers at the Mission and Sophie’s lover, muses Toundi, and as such, he no longer feels fear of the Commandant. Toundi also accompanies the Commandant on several outings, including one to the Salvains, who run a school, and to Mass. The trip to Mass is particularly noteworthy for Toundi because it brings back memories of Father Gilbert and his life before the Commandant. The nave of the church is reserved for Africans, and from this place, Toundi notes the strange activities of the whites below as Father Vandermayer speaks. There are cursory looks and touches, and all between people who are not even married to one another. Before Toundi leaves to return with the Commandant, he notes that Father Vandermayer has begun a sermon for the Africans. The comical thing is that, when Father Vandermayer speaks in dialect, like most whites, he uses the wrong words, so it sounds like he is cursing profusely and using obscenities. The Africans find this amusing, and listen to his sermon mostly for this reason.
Toundi accompanies the Commandant on a tour into the bush one morning, only to realize that the tour includes the agricultural engineer and Sophie. Sophie is presented to the Commandant as the engineer’s cook, without whom he cannot travel. Sophie is sullen and annoyed at having to ride in the back of the truck with Toundi, like a common native. They travel rough roads and finally arrive at a village, where the Chief and villagers host the whites and put on native dances for the two men. Sophie and Toundi must room together, which angers the agricultural engineer. He threatens Toundi and tells him he will “take care of him” if Sophie becomes pregnant. Toundi does not tell this to Sophie, and the two discuss other things while attempting to fall asleep. Sophie explains how she and the engineer met and how he acts with her when others are not around. She also wonders at how Toundi can be in a hut with a woman and not try and take advantage of her. When Toundi and Sophie awake the Commandant and the engineer the next morning, the Commandant informs them that they will all return to Dangan, as the engineer has contracted sickness during the night.
The Commandant’s wife, who is known as Madame, sends word one day that she will arrive in Yaoundé. The servants are happy for the Commandant, though he himself seems embarrassed. Madame finally arrives and everyone is struck by her beauty. Toundi thinks she is the most beautiful white woman he has seen, and believes she is also nice, because of her beauty, her youth, and how seemingly composed she is. When Madame attends festivities at the European Club for the first time, Toundi relates how others try to bait her with crude or rude comments, though she seems disinterested by everyone. The wives are particularly annoyed by Madame’s presence, as their own husbands seem to forget about them in the presence of the Commandant’s wife. A fight breaks out between M. Salvain and M. Fernand, as the whites have been talking about how the natives “get ideas” and, at least in Paris, are now given positions of power. They all despise this, though the schoolmaster says that natives are neither as stupid nor as without character as the others think.
Toundi relates how the natives sexualize Madame, an act that is highlighted when he accompanies her on a walk to the market and all the natives shout obscenities at them in passing. When Madame asks what they are saying, Toundi says that they think she is beautiful, though he omits the obscenities. He has a talk with Madame and, while they speak, she notes that Toundi seems to not appreciate his job. She says he acts like he is waiting for something better to come along. Madame tells Toundi that he is the Commandant’s houseboy and that nothing can be done about his station in life, so he should not aspire to heights he cannot reach.
The Commandant goes away for a few weeks and Toundi notes that Madame grows restless and bored. She asks him several times if anyone has called for her. During this time, Toundi finds a laundryman for Madame, named Baklu, who is very carefree. He also notes that the prison-director, M. Moreau, has called on Madame, and wonders if the prison director is the person that Madame has been so anxious about. Toundi soon finds out that it is in fact M. Moreau who Madame was waiting for previously. Though shocked and saddened by this realization, Toundi notes that of all the men in Dangan, the prison director is considered a man among men. Toundi still does not want to believe that Madame is having an affair with the prison director. The other servants, like Baklu, make fun of him, as they think his refusal to believe in the affair is because he has feelings for Madame.
Toundi finally admits to himself that Madame is having an affair with M. Moreau. He is saddened that Madame could betray the Commandant. With the Commandant gone, Madame gives into her passions fully. Toundi is made the go-between between her and her lover. One evening, M. Moreau arrives at the Residence and the two have dinner, then Madame sends all the servants away. Toundi notes how obvious the two are in their affair, and comments on how careless whites become when their emotions are involved.
The Commandant appears back at the Residence earlier than scheduled one morning, causing alarm. The natives think he has had a dream about his wife sleeping with another man. The Commandant seems ruffled, and Madame is cold. Toundi notes how strange the relationship is between them. Though the Commandant asks him if anything is wrong at home, Toundi replies that everything is fine.
The first section of the narrative paints a slice-of-life vignette in the Cameroons during colonization. The church is busy with preaching the gospel to the native population, and in Dangan, Africans are used as servants who must endure the whims and violence of their masters. Toundi depicts his village life and the falling away of old customs like cannibalism, and then contrasts these views with his desire to live with the whites. He does so by becoming a houseboy to Father Gilbert, and in doing so, sets the stage for much of the suffering that he will endure at the hands of white people later in the narrative. In depicting Toundi’s desire to encounter whites, a desire mirrored by other African youth because of the presents and sweets they might obtain from the priests, the narrative shows how persuasive the church and white Europeans were in reaching into all facets of native culture. This dig into the native culture was an attempt to erase and replace cultural beliefs with the dominant views of Christianity and European culture. Not only do the whites subject the Africans as a country and a race, they subject them to the desires of a culture that they are at odds with.
Toundi’s acceptance of his role as a houseboy also highlights how fluid identity is for Toundi. If he can have a better life among white Europeans, he has no qualms “abandoning” his village and taking on the new identity of Joseph, as he is called by Father Gilbert. He also adopts Christianity without really understanding it, thus highlighting how much he wants to appease the whites he encounters. The reader understands from the prologue that things do not end well with for Toundi, and the first section prepares the way for that development by setting up how naïve he is in his acceptance of the dominant white culture.
The first section also highlights the ironies implicit in Christianity and the social mores of the white European population. Though the whites claim to be Christian, break up native marriages where there is more than one wife, and punish Africans for having sex and sleeping around, many of the characters in the white section of Dangan are having extramarital affairs. Moreover, the priests themselves can be seen cursing and acting violently toward the Africans in their charge. These revelations highlight a culture that is as dangerous as it is hypocritical. For whites like Madame, the “rules” can be broken, and when her guilt is found out by the Commandant, she is forgiven. Africans like Toundi fare far worse. He is beaten so badly that he dies. Others meet the same fate, which highlights the abuse of power by whites and the unfair treatment of the locals. Even with the unfair treatment, which is blatant and rampant, Toundi and his countrymen often feel that they have no recourse but to put up with the abuse, for fear of what might happen if they do not.
This section also sets up tension for the second half, as Toundi finally admits to himself that Madame is having an affair with the prison director, M. Moreau. Moreau and Madame are so infatuated with each other that they carry on their affair while her husband is away in full view of the servants. This blatant affair has implications that involve Toundi as well. Toundi is not white, meaning that life will be much worse for him if the affair is found out—and it already has been, by the native population of Dangan and much of the white population.