38 pages • 1 hour read
Cheikh Hamidou KaneAmbiguous Adventure
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1961A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Essay Topics
What is the titular “adventure,” and why is it “ambiguous”?
What kills Samba in the end?
In what sense does work impede one’s closeness to God, according to Samba’s discussion with his father? How does this relate to Western modernity?
What role do Samba’s romantic feelings for Lucienne and Adèle play in the novel? What do these women symbolize or embody?
In what sense is the establishment of the foreign school in the Diallobé community a form of warfare? Why does the community decide to acquiesce to the colonizers and send the “elites” there?
Rewrite the ending so that Samba does not die. How does this impact the overall thematic content of the story?
Describe the characteristics of medieval knights and the roles they played in pursuits of conquest and defense of their kingdoms. How are they alike or different from the “knights” of the Diallobé community, like Samba’s father?
Compare and contrast the characters of Samba and Demba. If Samba became a teacher of the Glowing Hearth school alongside Demba, how might their approaches to educating the Diallobé community differ?
Consider the role of gender throughout the novel. Are there any notable differences in the representation of female and male characters? If so, what are they?
Some characters consider the presence of the foreign school to be detrimental to the future of the Diallobé community. Can you think of another indigenous community that was threatened by the introduction of a colonizing education system? Compare and the contrast these two situations.
