The Journey Motif

Abstract

Let me begin by drawing attention to a couple of what I consider critical misjudgments about Beti's Mission to Kala. Someone has suggested it is a picaresque novel and that the protagonist, Jean-Marie, is a picaresque hero. The statement is misleading because the plot of the classic picaresque novel is mainly episodic, and character growth is almost nil. Beyond this, the classic picaro normally comes from the lowest stratum of society, has little breeding, lives on his wits, and, only a very thin line separates his rascality from actual criminality. A picaro is always a prankster and a rascal who begins and ends as one with little or no character development. But the plot of Mission to Kala is not strung together haphazardly. The story line has -causality, and events are ordered and arranged organically. There is a marked growth, change, and development at the end in the character of Jean-Marie. The characters themselves are convincingly motivated, and there is a dynamic interaction among them. It must be admitted, of course, that Mongo Beti errs at the end of his novel by giving a false impression of the picaresque. It is an artistic blemish that I shall devote time to later in this study.