God's Bits of Wood Questions and Answers
God's Bits of Wood
What is the role of women in God's Bits of Wood?
In God's Bits of Wood, women play numerous roles, including the roles of sisters, daughters, wives, mothers, and participants in the resistance movement. Although women are not railroad employees,...
God's Bits of Wood
Why is the book titled God's Bits of Wood?
The book is titled God's Bits of Wood because the character Houdia M'Baye is described as bringing forth "nine bits of God's wood," a metaphor for her children. This metaphor upholds the Wolof...
God's Bits of Wood
What is the significance of the setting in God's Bits of Wood?
The main theme of the novel is the theme of colonization. The plot of the novel is set in the 1940s, which was still a long time before Senegal finally became independent. Through the novel’s setting...
God's Bits of Wood
What is the significance of race, gender, and class in God's Bits of Wood?
Race, gender, and class issues figure prominently into God's Bits of Wood by Ousmane Sembène. Race appears in the struggle between white French owners/colonizers and Black African workers. Class...
God's Bits of Wood
What does God's Bits of Wood reveal about Senegalese and Malian society and the role of women?
God's Bits Of Wood is a book about the railway workers' strike on the Dakar-Niger railway in French West Africa in 1947. It showcases the impact of poverty, exploitation, racism, tradition, and...
God's Bits of Wood
What does the quote "treat as a friend who treats you as a friend, treat your master as an enemy" in God's Bits of...
The directive to "treat as a friend who treats you as a friend, treat your master as an enemy" is based upon an implicit assumption that someone who treats you as a friend must treat you as an...
God's Bits of Wood
What is some imagery in God's Bits of Wood?
Sembène focuses on visuals, but also describes aural imagery.
God's Bits of Wood
How did the railway strike evolve into a nationalist movement in "God's Bits of Wood"?
To strengthen the hand of Britain in its imperialist struggles against Germany, France and other European rivals. The British hoped to stimulate a revolt among the Senussi in Libya against the...
God's Bits of Wood
Are there any quotes in God's Bits of Wood that reflect the Black characters' religious beliefs?
The very title of Ousmane Sembene's God's Bits of Wood reveals the religious beliefs of the book's characters. Let's look at this in more detail. The title comes from a reference to one of the...
God's Bits of Wood
To what extent is God's Bits of Wood a working-class novel informed by Marxist ideology?
Ousmane Sembene's novel God's Bits of Wood is definitely a working-class novel, for it centers on the efforts of West African railroad workers to improve their lives. These people struggle through...
God's Bits of Wood
Which quotes from Sembène Ousmane's God's Bits of Wood support the idea of colonizers causing internal conflicts...
In God’s Bits of Wood, there are quite a few efforts to break up the unity of the strikers and weaken their resolve through internal conflicts. Let’s examine some of these so that you know where to...
God's Bits of Wood
Is the quote "I know now what it is what washes the water. It is the spirit." from God's Bits of Wood also found in...
There is no direct parallel to this quotation from God's Bits of Wood in the Bible, although there are some scriptural verses that allude to similar concepts, particularly of water and the spirit...
God's Bits of Wood
What are Sembène Ousmane's opinions on leadership qualifications in God's Bits of Wood?
Sembène Ousmane has the opinion that leadership should only be for the benefit of the people, not for the good of the rulers. Ousmane clearly believes that colonial power is unethical and...