Portrait de l'Etat postcolonial dans le roman de desenchantement francophone en Afrique de l'Ouest

Contrary to the Negritude, the discourse of African Francophone novels no longer exclusively centers on African and French relations, but rather allows Africans themselves to critique themselves. This opposition manifests itself in such a complex way that one can discuss a novelistic genre, le roman de desenchantement, to describe the disapproving portraits of postcolonial African writers of French expression.Given that, my work takes as its point of departure a particular moment in African sociopolitical history marked by the emergence, in 1968, of textual opposition to the mismanagement of independent African states. My analysis thus takes the form of a socio-critical exploration of the inward gaze which led to the various ways in which French-speaking African writers paint the postcolonial state. Their works schematize the pictorial representation of independent states and constitute a certain ideological tendency while defending the core cultural and humanitarian values of the traditional African society versus the new corruptive trends dominating in the sociopolitical life of postcolonial states. In this dissertation Individual chapters analyze the narrative mechanics in these novels and propose readings of each text in light of the chronological and theoretical meaning of postcolonial theory crucial to our understanding of much African literary production. Such an approach led me to conclude that colonialism persists in the collective consciousness of postcolonial society despite the independence, and this world view continues to govern the policy of independent states, the discourse and the behavior of political leaders, and the mentalities of citizens. Therefore, that is why the representations depicting the misadventures of independence and displaying the verisimilitude of African society fill texts. In discussions informed by narratology, literary criticism and theory, and intellectual history, we suggest that the narratives of disillusion display the literary portraits of postcolonial state as part of a critical strategy that resonates with the ideological concerns of most French-speaking African writers. In a manner analogous to the relationship between Negritude and colonialism, the discourse of French-speaking novelists acts as a voice that critiques and denounces the socio-political incompetence of African independent states.