Le grotesque dans la vie et demie de Sony Labou Tansi et c’est le soleil qui m’a brulée de Calixthe Beyala : analyse stylistique

Abstract

The grotesque, an old and still relevant phenomenon, captivates many African novelists. Our study focuses on the grotesque in Sony Labou Tansi's La Vie et demie and Calixthe Beyala's C'est le soleil qui m'a brûlée, emphasizing that the grotesque is not only negative but can also aim to improve things. The main question arising from this is: What expressive means underlie the language and how things are said that account for the grotesque in these works? Our main idea is that the grotesque appears in both novels through language tools such as registers of language (formal/informal), figures of speech, made-up words, direct meanings, and associated meanings. The goal is to show that the grotesque is used because novelists want to be innovative, express their worldviews, and take a stand on society's concerns. We will also show that the language and ways of saying things we identify do not show the grotesque in the same way in both works. However, we will emphasize that the grotesque evokes strong emotions in readers, revealing the social realities of their environment. For this study, we rely on two theoretical frameworks: Charles Bally's stylistics of effects, which focuses on expressing emotions through language. He believes stylistics is about analyzing language elements as they reveal their ability to affect and move people. And Émile Benveniste's theory of enunciation, which connects language and the individual, placing the sentence not in the realm of language as a system of signs, but as a communication tool used by a speaker, making the sentence an event. Our analysis reveals that the grotesque, through the use of figures of speech, implications, and specific semantic fields, proves to be a powerful tool for denouncing social injustices. Its use aims to expose society's ills and express a biting social satire. Beyond its critical dimension, the grotesque educates and awakens readers' awareness of the realities of their environment.