A literary analysis of the West Africans’ reaction to the introduction of western education in Africa: the case of selected Francophone and Anglophone novels

Abstract

This paper analyzes the Francophone and the Anglophone Africans’ attitude towards the introduction of Western education in Africa by the British and French colonizers. Camara Laye’s The African Child and Cheikh Hamidou Kane’ Ambiguous Adventure are used as samples of Francophone writing and John Munonye’s The Only Son and Oil Man of Obange represent Anglophone writing. The research demonstrates that Francophone education was  received with more reluctance and apprehension while the Anglophone Africans received British education with more co-operation and collaboration. The paper shows that both Francophone and Anglophone novels ultimately attempt to oppose Modern European hegemony.