Representations of Suffering in the Colonial and Postcolonial
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Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2015 The lP agues of Colonialism: Representations of Suffering in the Colonial and Postcolonial Francophone Algerian Novel from 1950-1966 Benjamin Jack Sparks Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the French and Francophone Language and Literature Commons Recommended Citation Sparks, Benjamin Jack, "The lP agues of Colonialism: Representations of Suffering in the Colonial and Postcolonial Francophone Algerian Novel from 1950-1966" (2015). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 1785. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/1785 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. THE PLAGUES OF COLONIALISM: REPRESENTATIONS OF SUFFERING IN THE COLONIAL AND POSTCOLONIAL FRANCOPHONE ALGERIAN NOVEL FROM 1950-1966 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of French Studies by Benjamin Jack Sparks B.A., Brigham Young University, 2008 M.A., Brigham Young University, 2011 December 2015 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my dissertation advisor Dr. Pius Ngandu for all of his guidance and his constant, encouraging smile. I am similarly very appreciative of the constructive criticism provided by my committee members, Dr. Jack Yeager and Dr. Rosemary Peters, which allowed me to delve deeper into the subject of suffering in the Francophone Algerian novel. I also owe much gratitude to Dr. Wade Provo for his editorial advice. I would like to thank my loving wife Megan for her dedication and support through these long, arduous years. Without her support this journey would not have been possible. I am similarly grateful for my three loving children, Evelyn, Harrison and Nathan, who have been patient with me over the past few years. I would also like to thank my parents for always being supportive and encouraging, continually pushing me to do my best. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................ ii ABSTRACT .....................................................................................................................................v CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................1 1.1 Corpus ...................................................................................................................................4 1.2 Methodology and Theory ....................................................................................................15 1.3 Chapter Summary ...............................................................................................................20 CHAPTER 2: VIOLENCE IN COLONIAL ALGERIAN LITERATURE ..................................31 2.1 Forms of Violence...............................................................................................................31 2.1.1 Violence among the Colonized ...................................................................................35 2.1.2 Violence/Resistance against the Colonizer .................................................................39 2.2 Violence through Psychological Complexes ......................................................................44 2.2.1 Inferiority Complex ....................................................................................................46 2.2.2 Superiority Complex ...................................................................................................50 2.3 Violence of the Classroom ..................................................................................................52 2.3.1 Violence through Colonial Education .........................................................................54 2.3.2 Language .....................................................................................................................67 2.4 Torture.................................................................................................................................73 2.5 Conclusion ..........................................................................................................................82 CHAPTER 3: POVERTY IN COLONIAL ALGERIAN LITERATURE ....................................84 3.1 Poverty ................................................................................................................................86 3.2 Expropriation of Land .........................................................................................................96 3.3 Hunger, Starvation and Famine ........................................................................................102 3.3.1 Hunger.......................................................................................................................104 3.3.2 Starvation ..................................................................................................................107 3.3.3 Famine.......................................................................................................................111 3.4 Welfare ..............................................................................................................................113 3.5 Labor/Workforce...............................................................................................................114 3.5.1 Mendicants ................................................................................................................116 3.5.2 Unemployment and Education ..................................................................................119 3.5.3 Child Labor ...............................................................................................................121 3.5.4 The Fellahs ...............................................................................................................122 3.5.5 Supplemental Income by Various Means .................................................................126 3.6 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................129 CHAPTER 4: IMPLICATIONS OF COLONIAL TRAUMA ON FRANCOPHONE ALGERIAN POSTCOLONIAL LITERATURE .......................................................................131 4.1 Representation and Memory .............................................................................................131 4.2 Violence in Algerian Francophone Postcolonial Literature ..............................................142 4.2.1 Forms of Postcolonial Violence ................................................................................143 iii 4.2.2 Violence of the Colonial Classroom and the Implications of the Colonial Education System...............................................................................................................144 4.2.3 Torture.......................................................................................................................152 4.2.4 The Liberation War ...................................................................................................160 4.3 Poverty in Postcolonial Literature ....................................................................................166 4.3.1 Labor/Workforce.......................................................................................................167 4.3.2 Hunger, Starvation and Famine ................................................................................172 4.4 Neocolonialism .................................................................................................................175 4.4.1 Colonial Preoccupation .............................................................................................176 4.4.2 Communism ..............................................................................................................179 4.4.3 Religion .....................................................................................................................182 4.4.4 Neocolonial Resistance .............................................................................................183 4.5 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................185 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................186 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................................192 APPENDIX: BRIEF HISTORY OF COLONIAL ALGERIA ....................................................198 VITA ............................................................................................................................................200 iv ABSTRACT The indigenous Francophone Algerian novel dates from the early 1950s and since then has been a political manifestation of uneasiness. The anticolonial undertones of this literature demonstrate the sufferings and