Camara Laye's demonstrative story, The Dark Child, depicts the author's childhood and adolescence in colonial Upper Guinea at the beginning of the 20th century. Simple in construction, the story gives emotional value to the experiences common to young boys of Laye's social class as well as those specific to his family. Laye's highly detailed depictions of traditional village life and belief systems focus on maturation, particularly that of a young boy achieving manhood during a time of profound historical transition. Laye depicts his growth under a strong and ancient Malink? values ​​but also in contexts of colonial oppression and degradation in a deceptively innocent way, including subtle but important reflections on his youth from the perspective of an adult since removed from that culture. This marks the author's aim to highlight the life-changing culture shock that occurred throughout West Africa. Laye's subtle and indirect references to colonization and the sometimes unsettling merger of Western and West African civilizations are aimed at non-African audiences as both a mockery and a teaching tool, while his poignant thoughts and emotions are relate to all its readers on a more human level. In this way, Laye seeks to achieve a level of understanding with his Western audience that is both academic and empathetic. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Much of Laye's narrative gives comprehensive and straightforward depictions of life processes important both to his strong culture and to himself, using them to give value to the critical colonial eye . For example, Laye explains in chapter seven his introduction to the society of the uninitiated, an important rite of passage that, at first glance, represents nothing similar in European coming-of-age. Instead of explicitly stating the inherent and profound effect this experience had on his perception of his culture and his transformation into adulthood, Laye gives a meaningful description of his childhood emotions throughout the ceremony : “Even though (the tom-tom) was played in a remote part of the compound, its notes immediately woke me up, hit my chest, hit me to the heart, as if Kodok?, our best player , had been played for me alone" (93-94. ) This description, linking the simplicity of the beating of a drum to one of the most important organs, the human heart, implicitly demonstrates the extremely powerful connotations that this ceremony was for Laye. Laye assumes the narrow-mindedness of his Western readers regarding the weight of such an initiation described, and thus takes into account the cultural gap at the origin of the "ignorance" of his audience. He attempts to erase this hostile social differentiation by carefully, vividly and explicitly painting a portrait of a time when he felt his life was worthwhile, even as the colonizers tried to prove otherwise. At the same time, Laye forces his audience to be aware of the subtle influences of colonialism that take a quiet toll on these centuries-old, culture-defining traditions. Kendra L. Matko of Western Michigan University's Colonial and Postcolonial Studies Program explains: "Nowhere in (Laye's) autobiography do we see evidence of Laye's primitive, dark, and 'uncivilized' culture. Africa as depicted in classic colonial works like Conrad's Heart of. Darkness, but instead meets a calm, solid and emotionally constructed narrative,in the context of sophisticated nonfiction that calmly relays the milestones of the author's childhood and young adult experience. As much as the Malinks? If society struggles to maintain certain strong customs, particularly the male initiation ceremony, the toxic influence of colonialism manifests itself in the small actions and thoughts of community members. Throughout the novel, Laye uses his mother as a symbol of maintaining cultural values; returning to it represents a return to tradition and youth. Laye recalls his internal battle after the initiation ritual, in which he knows he must enter adulthood with equanimity while still feeling inclined to stay with his mother. Later in the novel, when Laye must decide whether or not to leave his home for Paris, his main reservation lies in leaving behind his mother, the foundation of his roots. Ironically, Laye's mother sometimes submits to the colonized mentality. When Laye returns home from attending school in the larger, more industrialized town of Conkary, his mother has modernized his bedroom to fit the European style she believes her son expects and favors. “Originally (the cabin) was like other cabins, but gradually it began to acquire a European appearance. I say “start” because the resemblance was never exact. Yet I was acutely aware of the changes, not only because they made the hut more comfortable, but even more so because they were tangible proof of how much my mother loved me. Above all other concerns, this radical shift toward embodying a colonial lifestyle demonstrates the infusion of that lifestyle into the tradition's most ardent custodians. Here, Laye also alludes to his own assimilation into Europeanism, when he describes the Western style of his cabin as "more comfortable." This more discreet demonstration of cultural deterioration in light of the rise of colonial powers showed Western audiences the extent of European influence. Laye illustrates this through his own family's subconscious submission to these influences, appealing to readers' understanding of family as an important institution and thus teaching the realism of British rule in gentler, more widely accessible terms . Pathos of his audience, Laye includes aspects in his narrative that are relevant to all his readers based on their common bond with the human race. Later, in his portrait of his entry into the society of the uninitiated, Laye more distinctly paints the natural childish feelings enveloped in the process, and it is thus that Laye vividly recalls his great fear of establishing a connection with all its readers. . Left willfully ignorant of the nature of the ceremony, Laye describes his apprehension about engaging in the activity, cowering from the loud, unfamiliar sounds and their mysterious source. Added to his inherent fear of the unknown was the fear he felt due to the pressure to maintain the courage and composure of a grown man, traits with deep-seated meaning: "I was not to show nor run away and hide. I had to resist or scream even less when my elders took me away” (96.) Laye's somewhat ironic description of his heightened fear at a time when society commands him to suppress that fear communicates a supposed sense of understanding on the part readers. Here, Laye expects the reader to identify with his fear, so deep that he can relay it in its natural, uncensored form decades and several life experiences later. Laye's more refined method of communicating with his readers has been criticized..