Houseboy Summary

What does it mean to be too Green? That is the question I am asking about the character Toundi in the novel Houseboy by Ferdinand Oyon. You can’t look up the term ‘Being Green’ because it has no academic meaning, it is a metaphor. Being ‘too Green’ is being too naïve, new, young, not wanting to accept your reality. The character Toundi is all of these, until he is hit with the reality of his life of his place in society, his ultimate fate. In the novel Houseboy we see Toundi, as he comes to this realization after he rejects his father and is then rejected by both cultures. He goes from a less established culture to what he believes that is more established culture which he comes to comprehend is a complete ruse. Is it possible that his lack of looking at the dark ugly truth of his society, prevent him from seeing the truth and maturing as a person. Thus leaving him stuck in a childlike state. His ‘greenness’ leaves him constantly vulnerable and open to others impressions upon him.

Body: The story starts out with Toundi and he is carrying a dying man, he feels a certain sadness. Toundi doesn’t understand why he is feeling sad for a man he doesn’t know or care about. The dying man says to Toundi “Brother, what are we? What are we blackmen who are French?” pg. 4 Toundi seems to not know the answer to this question, unfortunately he will never know the answer to this question. He fails to understand what is happening around him, until it is too late. His character refuses to see the changes and twisted lies people are telling him, or the scheme that is being run. How the European’s make fun of the little African children by watching them fight over sugar cubes. He does not recognize that the European’s think that the little African children fighting over sugar cubes is funny, it’s purely a game for them. “Still I am glad I’m dying well away from where they are. My mother always used to say what my greediness would bring me in the end… If I had known it would