Algis Petlin

Tahar Ben Jelloun’s short story “By Fire” and Véronique Tadjo’s novel In the Company of Men both use fiction to retell current events through narratives untold by conventional news sources. In his short story, Jelloun recontextualizes the death of Mohamed Bouazizi, the man whose self-immolation triggered the Arab Spring, by telling the story through Mohamed’s perspective. Tadjo’s In the Company of Men retells the Ebola epidemic through both human and non-human perspectives. Through the use of fiction, Jelloun and Tadjo are able to reveal the humanity hidden within highly politicized events and reframe the established narrative.

Mohamed Bouazizi’s identity revolves around his famous self-immolation. However, “By Fire” expands this identity by allowing the reader to feel Mohamed’s anguish. At the beginning of the story, Mohamed reflects over how “his latest job hunt, like many before, had yielded nothing” (Jelloun 2). By drawing from relatable experiences for Mohamed’s hardships, Jelloun allows the reader to better understand how Mohamed was feeling. While Mohamed might not have actually endured every suffering in the short story, the fictional story allows the reader to connect with Mohamed on a personal level. While the public is aware of Mohamed’s difficult life, the established personal connection allows the reader to understand what that life entailed. The degree that Mohamed suffers extends beyond this relatable experience, however. Near the end of the novel, “The police confiscated the one thing [he needs] to make a living, the cart [he uses] to sell fruit” (Jelloun 25). The loss of Mohamed’s ability to provide for his family, the one purpose he had left in life, is the turning point at which he decides to commit suicide. While this experience is less relatable, the impact it has on Mohamed is felt by the reader because of the previously established connection. In doing so, Jelloun uses his fictional story to enhance the narrative around Mohamed’s death, giving a more complete identity to the man whose sacrifice began the Arab Spring.

By deepening the reader’s understanding of Mohamed, Jelloun humanizes him. According to Jelloun, the general public views Mohamed as a “victim and symbol” (Jelloun 31). This deprives Mohamed of his humanity by reducing him to his misfortune and his death. However, through the use of fiction, “By Fire” adds depth to Mohamed by giving him motivations, goals, and emotions. Jelloun also humanizes Mohamed by omitting information. He never mentions Mohamed’s surname in the story which allows Mohamed’s struggles to be viewed from the perspective of any common person. To emphasize this point, Jelloun ends the story by saying “[Mohamed’s story is] the story of a simple man, like millions of others, who, after being crushed, humiliated, and denied in life, became the spark that set the world ablaze” (Jelloun 31). In addition to emphasizing how common Mohamed’s struggles are, this statement has an empowering message to it. No matter how oppressed a person may be, they have the power to rise up and change the world. It is this message that truly imbues humanity into Mohamed’s story. The narrative of Mohamed as an unfortunate victim, through this fictional story, has been transformed into the narrative of a man overcoming his constraints and changing the world.

Tadjo’s In the Company of Men uses fiction to enhance the narrative behind a vastly different event, the Ebola epidemic. Unlike traditional news sources, Tadjo is able to tell this story through the lens of both human and non-human narrators. When writing from a non-human perspective, she takes on the perspective of a Baobab tree who speaks on behalf of nature itself. When explaining the origins of the virus, the tree says “but when men murder us, they break the chains of existence. […] Bats no longer find food […] Bats seek the company of man” (Tadjo 16). While the bats transmit the Ebola disease, their presence in villages originate from the destruction of nature brought on by humans. The impartial and unusual perspective of the trees allows the reader to gain an understanding of the events that began the epidemic. It is entertaining and interesting to read while remaining objective and factual. In this way, the perspective of the Baobab tree is able to enhance the existing narrative. However, Tadjo also approaches her retelling of the narrative from the perspective of the virus itself. While many view the virus to be evil, Tadjo’s interpretation of Ebola says it “has no predilection for [humans]” (Tadjo 119). Tadjo highlights the bias humans have towards the virus. While the virus is dangerous to humanity, Ebola itself has no target species. Combining this perspective and that of the tree, Tadjo suggests that the Ebola epidemic is due to deforestation and the destruction of nature, not a virus that targets humans. Such perspectives cannot be reported on by conventional news sources which, as a result, allows fiction writers like Tadjo to contribute to the narrative through these perspectives.

When telling the story of the Ebola pandemic through human perspectives, In the Company of Men, gives insight into the lives of patients and nurses living through the crisis. In one chapter, Tadjo tells the story of a man whose fiancee has contracted Ebola. As the man begins to despair, he says, “I’m more afraid of losing the one I love. The one who gave me back my will to live” (Tadjo 106). The pain of losing a loved one is a relatable and highly painful experience. In this passionate expression of anguish and love, Tadjo humanizes Ebola patients and their families. Tadjo also depicts the difficulties of being a nurse that cares for Ebola patients. She describes the poor working conditions and stress of working with such a dangerous and terrifying disease. While treating their patients, “many [nurses] took the infection home and didn’t survive” (Tadjo 42). The media often depicts nurses as stoic heroes who are highly valued in society. However, behind this facade lies the hidden struggle faced by healthcare workers around the world. Though Tadjo’s novel is fictional, it depicts the reality that many patients and nurses faced during the Ebola outbreak and humanizes them. Their heroic actions are magnified by the risks they take to save the lives of their patients. In this way, Tadjo’s fictional novel complements the real sacrifices Ebola nurses made, showing a new side to the narrative reported by the media.

Jelloun and Tadjo’s literary works illustrate the power of fiction to reframe the narrative known by the general public. They do this by revealing the humanity within the hidden figures that lived through these events. Though it is impossible to interview a dead man, Jelloun in “By Fire” was able to tell the story of Mohamed Bouazizi and recontextualize his self-immolation. Tadjo, in her novel In the Company of Men, used both human and non-human perspectives to explore the cause of Ebola and humanize those who lived through the disease. While these authors wrote about recent major events in Africa, their literary tactics can be applied elsewhere. Fiction could be used to explore the minds of the dead 9/11 terrorists or tell the story of COVID-19 through the lens of the virus itself. In this way, fiction is not the opposite of reality, it is the complement of reality.

Works Cited

Jelloun, Tahar Ben. “By Fire.” The New Yorker, September 16, 2013. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/10/26/who-will-greet-you-at-home

Tadjo, Véronique. In the Company of Men. Don Quichotte Éditions, 2017

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