“A man can find a home anywhere”: african mobility and the fall of dreams in <i> Behold the Dreamers</i>

Abstrakt

Inspired by the notion of mobility explored by Zachary Guthrie’s book Bound for Work: Labor, Mobility, and Colonial Rule in Central Mozambique, 1940-1965, this study aims to analyze the journey of the Cameroonian characters in Imbolo Mbue’s novel Behold the Dreamers by showing how travelling outside of Africa can become a means of representing and understanding what is considered foreign and Other. In addition, assist on the understanding of self-perception and self-definition (Moffat), but also how said understanding does not exclude a complex net of illusions, disappointments and failures. As Behold the Dreamers shows, the voluntarily moving outside of Africa in search of a better life is not simple for it is burdened with political, racial, social class, and employment issues, as well as misconceptions of the West.