Abstract

Man lives in a world of words. Words constitute language. To understand humanity, one must study language which makes humans human. This paper examines not the long-flogged theme of colonization and alienation in the literary works of Mongo Beti, but the linguistic devices used by him to portray and satirise the naїvety, cultural conflict and mistaken identity inherent in the personalities of his heroes, due to their inability to understand neither themselves nor their environment. The paper which adopts a stylistic approach is based on the works of Erickson’s (1959) Theory on personality and identity diffusion. It portrays the naїvety and cultural conflict exhibited by the early African elites and white missionaries and implications of same on the social, political and developmental needs of the African society and Nigeria in particular. Recommendations are made accordingly.