Alteridad y aliedad: reflexiones sobre identidad y marginalidad en A Good Man in Africa de William Boyd

Abstract

When we hear the word Identity the first image that comes to our mind is a pleasant place where our sense of belonging acts as a protective shield against the unknown, the alien. But this is only an unconscious response built up by an ideological construct that conveniently enthrals our Self and surreptitiously makes us accept certain social conventions and rules. If we just analyse it more carefully we will discover that this hypothetical shelter is just the prime source for a Marginality that not only is felt by those who do not belong to the group, but also by those that are part of it. Identity, then, turns out to be something of a human bondage with a terrific capacity for isolation. And this is precisely what the characters in Boyd’s novel painfully experience and what the author tries to convey through the bitter irony that soaks this satire which, mercifully, is presented to the reader under the mild appearance of a comic novel.