JOURNALS

ABSTRACT

One the most efficacious ways of bringing the African literary works to limelight is to juxtapose them with other classical works from other parts of the world. Sometimes, works of different authors, different nationalities, and different periods present similar themes, thought and philosophies. And they target audiences of different origins but obviously similar worries. In his work Les Mouches, Jean Paul Sartre applies his existential philosophy to a text addressed to a french audience of the 20th century. In the same manner, Guy Menga uses his work La Marmite de Koka Mbala, addressed to the Congolese in the later part of the same century to buttress many concepts of the existential philosophy. Using sociocritic as the theoretical framework, the main objective of this paper is to do a comparative analysis of this two works, their authors, periods, societies and particular messages elucidated in these works. The paper concludes that, since similar philosophical concepts can be applied to texts of different contexts with the same aim of proffering solutions to existential human problems, these human problems are basically the same irrespective of colour, race, language, society or religion. Every human being wants freedom. Unfortunately, this freedom comes with a heavy responsibility. A regular interrogation of our personal and collective belief system would be of immense importance if we are to master the consequences and accept the responsibilities that go with the much desired freedom.