War Through the Eyes of a Child.
Allah n’est pas obligé by Ahmadou Kourouma Cover Image

La guerre aux yeux d’un enfant. Allah n’est pas obligé d’Ahmadou Kourouma
War Through the Eyes of a Child. Allah n’est pas obligé by Ahmadou Kourouma

Author(s): Anna Maziarczyk
Subject(s): French Literature, Sociology of Literature
Published by: Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu Marii Curie-Sklodowskiej
Keywords: Ahmadou Kourouma; Allah is not obliged; child narrator; war; child; child soldier;

Summary/Abstract: This article is devoted to a child’s narration in Allah is not obliged by Ahmadou Kourouma. Considered transgressive, it is rarely used as a narrative strategy in literature, not least because it is quite risky: a child’s story imitated by an adult can easily appear artificial and simplistic. Drawing on critical works devoted to this type of narration, this article explores how it functions to tell the story of war and what aims it has. It demonstrates that Kourouma invests a child’s narration with very strong expressive potential to draw the world’s attention to the brutal exploitation of children in armed conflicts.

  • Issue Year: 47/2023
  • Issue No: 4
  • Page Range: 17-28
  • Page Count: 12
  • Language: French
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