The Great Trees of Tomorrow

When I saw this line I didn't think anything of it, but now i'm putting it all together. God's bits of wood turn in to the trees of tomorrow, it all makes sense. It's all a metaphor for the Sudanese children growing up and changing the world. The quote comes from when Maimouna, the blind woman, was nursing baby strike and said to herself "I am nourishing one of the great trees of tomorrow" (221).  On the topic of baby Strike, I thought  that she would be a key character in the book after her naming has such importance and relevance, but she somewhat simply disappeared completely from the novel. Though I suppose thats the same as what happened with Abid'id'ji as well, she seemed so important at the begginging but then faded out until the end. In these couple of chapters, very close to the end of the novel the African's power is evident as its clear they are completely in control of the strike, it also becomes very obvious that they are going to win, at least to me. Bakayoko is growing on me as a character, although I wish he had more emotions, as many characters have pointed out to him in the novel, he is very difficult to relate to with the attitude that he has.

Bakayoko

The long awaited arrival of the leader has arrived. It seemed as though the author was building up characterization and anticipation for this chapter when we finally meet this man, Ibrahim Bakayoko. I can't really decide my take on him yet though, because sure he seems very confident in himself and sure, he is a strong speaker. Though as we talked about briefly in class today, he was not there for the majority of the happenings of the strike and just shows up for the meeting and it's somewhat unclear as to if he really has the best interests of the striking people in mind. Though it's said that he represents the "soul" of the strike, this simply means that he is trying to continue and inspiring the people to keep going. But this may mean that he's not thinking through what the people should do realistically. The way he talks is an interesting change but it also gets me somewhat annoyed because after all the Sudanese have done to even get the admistration to meet with them it almost seems like he's throwing their chances at gaining anything away. Especially by chocking a member of the administration, that's just the opposite of what you should do to get what you want.

A New Sense of Power

As the book goes on it appears that the Sudanese are slowly gaining power over the Europeans. The apprentices actions shocked the Europeans and struck fear into all of them. The young boys actions are harmless for the most part, simply destructive, though as most young boys would act if given a slingshot. The africans seem to be gaining ground in achieving what they want with the strike. But even so they continue to talk down to them and about them, as is seen in chapter 14 which they are talking about how dependent the africans are on them. The Europeans come across and snobby and self absorbed to me. The seem to find it practically inconceivable that the Africans could live without their help and all the resources they provide for them. I guess it goes back to the issue we discussed more in the beginning of the book, about whether or not colonization is a good thing, and for whom. Personally, I still consider it true that the African people don't depend on the Europeans nearly as much as they think. Different isn't always worse, and even though the people lives were different in the time before the africa scramble and the colonization it doesn't mean it was worse. It was simply a different way of life.

How the Mighty Have Fallen

With chapter 12 came the first signs of the French weakness as a result of the strike. All through the beginning of the book all we've seen is the Sudanese people struggling under the French peoples persistence. Though with Doudou's conversation with Isnard, and the appearance of the drunken LeBlanc, we see that the French are really struggling with the strike. Lahbib see this event as “the first crack in their armor” (153-154). Doudou’s significant step in this chapter is him standing up to Isnard. He declines his offer of three million francs which is a huge blow to Isnard. Isnard’s miscalculation was that he could bribe Doudou with flattery and try to break him with money and power. Although at least to me this attempt at manipulation was clear from the very beginning with how Isnard's acts all of kindness were simply that, an act. This chapter shows “the first crack in their armor” because this demonstrates a weakness among the French, that they are in panic and doing everything to get the workers back. Now the people of the strike know that the French are desperate for their help and know that they can now win. I also think that Doudou’s question to Isnard about same advantages among the white man and black man is also very significant because it brings up a core problem of this strike, equality.

My, How The Tables Have Turned

Seeing the marks from their tiny feet,

Sounkare thought, finally, something to eat!

So hungry that he could practically already taste,

with all the strength he could muster old Sounkare realized he had to make haste.

At the other end of the bench sat the rat,

with with a good solid rump, firm and fat.

The female then appeared doubling his feast,

Sounkare took on the challenge with the drive of a beast. 

The old man seized the heavy copper tube and hurled it at the pair,

but the object only passed through the air. 

For the rats were much quicker than he,

and the piece of metal simply hit the floor noisily.

Sounkare sighed, leaning on his cane,

after all of his efforts to find food were in vain.

Just a few feet away was a grease pit, 

and the two rats were sitting on the other side of it.

They were watching, and patiently waiting,

as the old mans life was slowly fading.

The cane fell and an icy liquid ran down his back,

and it was finally the rats time for attack. 

Old Sounkare, the chief watchman, had passed, 

his body betrayed him and he was still at last. 

Other rats appeared from every which way, 

and their faces dug in with little delay.