One of the most ardently discussed questions among writers and critics of modern African literature centered on the choice between artistic commitment and what Claude Wauthier called the ‘Ebony Tower’. The artist was called upon to rediscover the social and political role that he played in traditional Africa. In this view, it was deemed that he should assume responsibility for his people and that his work should reflect their aspirations. Thus, his work must not only describe the oppressive state in which his people find themselves but also encourage them to revolt against their untenable conditions. Besides, his work of art must lead to constructive action. Ousmane Sembène exemplifies this artistic ideal.

Unlike most francophone writers, Ousmane Sembène's formal education ended at the age of thirteen after only three years of primary school. From then on, he was engaged in as many as thirty-six different kinds of occupation. For this reason, it is mostly through extra- scholastic experience that he ‘graduated’ as a novelist, embracing his writing vocation partly because of his identification with the working class. What is noteworthy in his work is his sincere and constant devotion to those he calls his ‘beautiful people’, ‘his determination to be the spokesperson of ‘miseries which have no tongue’, to borrow the expression of the Martiniquan poet, Aimé Césaire.