Little Boys Come From The Stars By Emmanuel Dongala

Little Boys Come From the Stars by Emmanuel Dongala is an insightful story about the struggle for liberation in post-colonial Africa (possibly Congo Brazzaville), told through the eyes of a young boy named Michel (“Matapari”). However throughout the novel, there are four profound developmental themes which strike the reader: liberalisation, agriculture, education and colonialism. This piece will discuss how the afore mentioned themes play a role in highlighting the post-colonial struggle for liberation as told through the eyes of the protagonist, Matapari.

The overarching theme discussed in the novel is liberalisation. Matapari witnesses the struggle for liberty in a war-ridden, militarised and autocratic regime. However, he adds his own youthful spin to how he perceives the struggle. Often witty, satirical and filled with humour, Matapari depicts that teenagers have a light

He realises that education is the key to liberalisation. In stark contrast to his uncle who believes that clever schemes can overthrow the ruling authority, Matapari believes that his people must decolonise their minds, and that only when they educate themselves can they be free.

Matapari realises the power of books and that violence is not the answer. “I knew about and realised that there were more ways to kill a man than to save them” (153). Matapari realises that education is a better saviour than violence. Dongala also uses education to allude and to highlight the extreme ill-education in numerous African states. He uses Matapari as a channel to state that if only more of our people resorted to educated instead of violence and warfare we could advance as a