Colonialism And Apartheid As “ideological State Apparatuses” In Mouloud Mammeri’s Le Sommeil Du Juste(1955) And John Maxwell Coetzee’s Waiting For The Barbarians (1980) : A Comparative Study

Résumé: The present work is a comparative study between Mouloud Mammeri’s Le sommeil du juste (1955) and John Maxwell Coetzee’s Waiting for the Barbarians (1980). The main purpose of this study is to show how these authors mirror the negative effects of two political systems on the natives : the French colonialism in Algeria for Mammeri and the Apartheid system in South Africa for Coetzee. To reach this aim, we have used Louis Althusser’s theory of Ideology. We have focused on “Ideological State Apparatuses” and “Repressive State Apparatuses” . We have also relied on Frantz Fanon concept of Violence and his notion of “superiority and inferiority”. The study has revealed that the Western concept of “Civilizing Mission” used to justify colonialism is highlighted by the two authors in their narratives . This concept is discussed in the first chapter Social and Historical Background. The study has also shown that identity crisis is also explored in the two literary works . Arezki in Le Sommeil du juste and The Magistrate in Waiting for the Barbarians are torn between two systems of values. This issue is discussed in the chapter named Characterization: Identity Crisis where it is shown how the two protagonists experience an identity crisis. The research work has also revealed that the two authors criticize the harshness of the two oppressive systems and this is discussed in third chapter ,Thematic Study, through two main themes : Discrimination and Violence. As a conclusion, Le sommeil du juste and Waiting for the Barbarians are a representation of the negative effects of the two ideologies: French Colonialism and Apartheid on the natives as colonized and the subjugation of the indigenous.

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