The Guardian of the Word: Analysis of Major Characters
"The Guardian of the Word: Analysis of Major Characters" delves into the key figures in the epic tale of Sundiata, a celebrated African hero. Sundiata himself embodies the characteristics of a classic mythic hero, showcasing bravery, resourcefulness, and a sense of destiny that guides him through adversity, from a challenging childhood to a triumphant return to his homeland. His journey reflects themes common in many cultural narratives, emphasizing courage and the eventual triumph of good over evil.
The narrator, Babu Condé, serves as a griot, or traditional storyteller, whose insights provide depth to the narrative. He adopts a modern psychological lens while maintaining a reverent attitude toward the ancient tale and its characters. Sundiata's mother, Sogolon, plays a significant role, influencing her son's fate through her magical abilities and complex emotions. In contrast, the antagonist Sumaoro represents tyranny and cruelty, ultimately foreshadowing his downfall due to his own vices. Supporting characters, including Sundiata's father, Maghan Kön Fatta, and his jealous first wife, Fatumata Béreté, further enrich the narrative, setting the stage for the epic conflict and resolution at the heart of this legendary story.
The Guardian of the Word: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Camara Laye
First published: Le Maitre de la parole, 1978 (English translation, 1984)
Genre: Novel
Locale: Ancient West Africa
Plot: Adventure
Time: The thirteenth century
Sundiata, a great warrior, brave and resolute but humane. Sundiata's life follows a pattern common to mythic heroes in many cultures, African and otherwise: the auguries at birth (in this case, a violent storm), an inauspicious youth (he is unable to walk until the age of ten), exile from his homeland (to escape jealous relatives), many tests of bravery and manhood, encounters with supernatural persons and events, and an eventual triumphal return to his homeland. In addition to having courage and prowess, Sundiata is clever and resourceful, an able military tactician and leader of men, and lucky. Like all national heroes, despite the formidable odds against him, Sundiata seems destined to triumph from the outset. This “lucky” or “destined” quality imparts to Sundiata an almost supernatural or godlike aura, also characteristic of the mythic hero. At the same time, he is warm, humane, loyal, and loving, and he elicits these qualities from others.
Babu Condé (kohn-DAY), the narrator, a griot (traditional storyteller). Not an active participant in the story that he tells, Babu is nevertheless its most important character, perhaps because his method of telling and attitude toward his materials are crucial to the reader's apprehension of these materials. Babu narrates from a religious perspective (Islamic) about an ancient people who had not yet embraced that religion, although they were on the verge of doing so. More important, he narrates from a modern perspective, discussing his characters in a psychological depth that would have been unfamiliar to Sundiata's contemporaries and describing certain practices with a modern frankness. Still, it is obvious that Babu addresses his subject not only with respect but also with reverence. Most evident of all is the griot's love of storytelling itself, of the joys of language. It is not mere coincidence that the title of the work refers not to a participant in the action but to Babu, who is indeed the “guardian of the word.”
Sumaoro (sew-MOW-roh), a tyrant. Although both he and Sundiata desire to rule, Sumaoro is the young warrior's opposite in almost every other respect. Sumaoro is arrogant, brutal, cruel, and venal. He achieves his ends through force and terror, and he takes great delight in abusing his power. Although there is an almost supernatural quality about him—he is invulnerable to all but one rather strange weapon, the identity of which he guards carefully—the reader believes that he is destined to fail, just as surely as Sundiata is destined to triumph. His fall comes about through his venality, so the climax truly can be said to be a triumph of good over evil.
Sogolon Condé, Sundiata's mother. Sogolon is ugly and a hunchback, yet still she manages to bewitch the king into marrying her. “Bewitch” is the proper term, for Sogolon possesses the power to cast spells, which she does frequently over the course of the work. Rather than being an evil tempt-ress, however, Sogolon appears more the frightened, confused child during her courtship, wedding, and torturously long honeymoon, long because the king is unable to consummate his marriage. Of the two parents, it is Sogolon who has the greater influence on her son and on the plot of the story.
Maghan Kön Fatta, Sundiata's father, king of the Manden. Maghan Kön Fatta is a great hero himself, but his major contribution to the tale of Sundiata is to die, leaving the field of battle to his two wives, Sogolon and Fatumata Béreté.
Fatumata Béreté (beh-reh-TAY), Maghan Kön Fatta's first wife. Fatumata is the stock older wife of African literature. Suspicious, spiteful, jealous, and shrewish, she gains her way by treachery and is never to be trusted. It is she who sends Sogolon fleeing from her homeland, with Sundiata in tow, thus setting events on their course.