So Long a Letter Analysis

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Mariama Ba's "So Long a Letter" is a small novella translated from the French that takes the form of a long letter written by a widow, Ramatoulaye, to her friend, Aïssatou, over the mandatory forty-day mourning in period following the death of her husband, Modou. For his own selfish reasons, Modou marries a second wife, Binetou and decides to cut ties with his 12 children and Ramatoulaye. Ramatoulaye wants to portray Modou as conniving, as evident of the tone she takes when describing him, but she cannot deny the fact that Modou is a well-loved, highly educated, and charming individual. Given his suave character, popular stature with his peers and superiors, and his inability to resist sinful temptation, it is not farfetched, though rather ironic given the Islamic origins of the book, to label Modou as an Antichrist-like figure. Though originally a Christian concept, the Antichrist figure in literature is essentially the exact opposite of what a Christ figure in literature is. For example, A Christ figure would not give into a morally bad or unholy temptation, such as the temptations Jesus was faced with in the Judean Desert after his baptism. An Antichrist figure on the other hand would not have the moral constitutions or zeal to stand up to these types of temptations and give into them, since it is the opposite of what Christ would do, hence Antichrist. Biblically, the Antichrist appears alongside the second coming of Jesus Christ on earth, which singles as the end of days, or the Apocalypse. The Antichrist in some literature is portrayed as the son of Satan, since Christ is the son of God. Since the book takes place in Islamic Senegal, it is relevant to point out that the Islamic equivalent to the Antichrist is a figure named Masih ad-Dajjal, which for all intents and purposes shares the same traits as the Christian Antichrist. Modou fits the mould of an
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