The Contradictions of Neocolonialism in Ousmane Sembene 's The Money Order

الملخص

The sociopolitical and economic climate of post-independence Africa has been one of intense civic unrest and convulsion. As a committed novelist, Ousmane Sembene strives to oppose and expose the repressive practices of neocolonialism, employing his literary craft in a fight for social justice and a rise in national consciousness. Therefore, the focus of the present paper is to examine the contradictions of neocolonialism as fictionally delineated in his novel The Money Order (1965). These contradictions are caused by the national body-politic, namely: politicians, the educated elite, bureaucratic professionals and the commercial class. Relying on Fanon's revolutionary views in The Wretched of the Earth (1963), the study highlights the ideological stance of the novelist that has prompted fictional elements of social realism to unveil the predicament of the masses and give moral guidance and a sense of direction to society. The paper concludes that the contradictions of neocolonialism can only be resolved through a true revolution launched by the masses themselves.