Lois Through The Eyes Of An African In Paris

Paris through the Eyes of an African

An African in Paris by Bernard Dadié describes a black man’s experience of Paris. The narrator, Tanhoé Bertin, is given a free ticket to Paris from the Ivory Coast, his home. The novel is written in first-person as a letter to a friend. The style is informal, and the reader gets to see Paris through Bertin’s writing and experience his reactions to his observations. Since the main theme of the novel is discovering Paris through an African’s perspective, the city of Paris itself is an important aspect of the novel. Paris, in Bertin’s eyes, is analogous to a beautiful woman, desirable but out of his reach. He’s impressed by Paris’ long history, and he marvels at the Parisians’ pride for their city and their

He tries to strike up a conversation with a Parisian woman (after first sharing his admiration of her perfection with the reader), but his attempt fails. Not only does this happen once, but twice! He recounts two episodes in which he attempts to engage a young, attractive female in discussion, but both attempts fail. After he speaks, “she withdraws, her face darkens,” (49-50). Not only is his representation of Parisian women degrading, with its multiple mentions of women’s attractive bodies and features, but his representation is analogous to how he feels about Paris. He loves Paris, which is evident in his excitement about visiting and his thrill at every aspect of Parisian life. But he’s not allowed to live there permanently, and as a tourist, he must leave after 2 weeks. By visiting Paris, he is close to the city physically, yet he is far from being Parisian. Similarly, he is close in proximity to Parisian women, but due to social restrictions, they do not interact with him and essentially live in an alternate world. His affections for Parisian women are representative of his feelings for Paris: he loves and desires both Paris and its women, but they are both out of his permanent

In tones of awe and wonder, Bertin references centuries of Parisian history from the Crusades to the reign of Louis XIV (the Sun King). He solemnly discusses St. Geneviève, the patron saint of Paris, who saves the city from the invading Normans. The scholarly centers of Notre-Dame, the Latin Quarter, and the Sorbonne are described proudly by Bertin, asserting that “Paris has forever been a great intellectual center,” (102). Parisian political, social, and intellectual histories are incredibly interesting to Bertin, as are all other aspects of Parisian life. His passion for Paris is evident as he describes his joy in taking walks by the Seine, visiting Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Louvre, Tuilerie Gardens, and Versailles. He’s intrigued by the passion with which French approach basic rights, such as freedom and free speech. The French hold their rights above all else, according to Bertin. “For them, nothing is worth more than freedom—the right not only to call themselves Parisians but to be Parisians, and to know that one of their kind sits in the town hall and fights for those rights,”(89). He respects them for regarding their rights as extremely important and taking freedom seriously. He describes the independent, secret newspapers that were published (throughout French history) to inform French citizens of the truth (88), and he considers the revealing of truth to be the