Literary Arabic and Islamic Values as the New Conditioned Stimuli for the Good Citizen Status in Maissa Bey's Bleu blanc vert

Literary Arabic and Islamic Values as the New Conditioned
   Stimuli for the Good Citizen Status in Maissa Bey's Bleu
   blanc vert

   Lavinia Adina Horner

   Romance Notes, Volume 59, Number 2, 2019, pp. 395-406 (Article)

   Published by The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Department
   of Romance Studies
   DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/rmc.2019.0035

       For additional information about this article
       https://muse.jhu.edu/article/744850

[ This content has been declared free to read by the pubisher during the COVID-19 pandemic. ]

LITERARY ARABIC AND ISLAMIC VALUES AS THE
 NEW CONDITIONED STIMULI FOR THE GOOD CITIZEN
     STATUS IN MAISSA BEY’S BLEU BLANC VERT

                              LAVINIA ADINA HORNER
                                    Kansas State University

ABSTRACT
This article relies on the terms employed by Ivan Pavlov in his classical conditioning experi-
ment. The first stimulus used by Pavlov is a biological one, and it is represented by food. While
food produces an immediate response in the form of salivation, a neutral stimulus —the bell—
does not initially produce any reaction in the dog. During the conditioning process, Pavlov
associates the bell with the food and the dog begins to salivate. Consequently, we notice that
the bell transitions from a neutral stimulus to a conditioned stimulus that causes the desired
reaction in the dog. Following the same approach, the political leaders of postcolonial Algeria
use Literary Arabic and Islamic values as conditioned stimuli (the bell) in an effort to convince
the young generation that they will receive the food (the good citizen status) when they are
embracing the values they promote. In Maïssa Bey’s Bleu blanc vert (2006), we observe that
the conditioning process in independent Algeria happens in classrooms used as experimental
spaces. I argue that through repetition the new political leaders aim to reshape young minds and
erase old French values that no longer fit their narrative.

SOMETHING OLD AND SOMETHING “NEW”

MAïSSA Bey is an Algerian writer born in 1950 in Ksar el-Boukhari. At the
age of six, she lost her father who was tortured and killed by the French dur-
ing the Algerian War of Independence. In Bleu blanc vert, she underlines the
intricate ties that continue to exist between now-independent Algeria and its
former French colonizer, especially on a linguistic level. In what follows, I
will demonstrate that the new narratives employed by the postcolonial lead-
ers in order to break free from the colonial past are nothing but a masked ver-
sion of the old narratives used by the French. Ahmed Ben Bella, the first
president, enforced the Arabization1 process in Algeria after 1963, therefore

    1
      The process of establishing the Arabic language and culture as well as the religion of
Islam as the dominant values of a country.

Romance Notes 59.2 (2019): 395–406

396                                   ROMANCE NOTES

intending to replace all other languages with Literary Arabic. Algerian spoken
Arabic, or Darja, was the language used by Algerians on a daily basis, while
Literary Arabic was not mastered by the majority of the population. In addi-
tion, the Berber or Amazigh languages (Tamashek, Mzab, Shawia, Kabyle)
were used by many individuals, so the Arabization process ignored the Berber
presence in Algeria. In Berber Culture on the World Stage: From Village to
Video, Jane Goodman states:

April 20, 1993. I am standing with my video camera on a hill overlooking the entrance to the
University of Tizi Ouzou [. . .] One banner poses a question, in French, that Mammeri had
asked years before: “If we are Arabs, we don’t need to be Arabized. If we are not Arabs, why
Arabize us?” As demonstrators begin to march, they chant, fists raised, in French and
Tamazight: “We are not Arabs, Tamazight in the Schools.” (34)

As reflected by the protests of the population, Literary Arabic was not happi-
ly embraced by all individuals.
    During colonialism, the French also attempted to impose their language as
the only official language of the colony. It is important to specify that, similarly
to the situation in postcolonial Algeria, the French colonizers predicted the dis-
appearance of all other languages that were used by various ethnic groups. In
“Competition Between Four ‘World’ Languages in Algeria,” Benrabah affirms
“Moreover, in the euphoria of the centenary of Algeria’s conquest by France,
William Marçais, a colonial academic and dialectologist, predicted the death
of all indigenous languages, Berber, dialectal, and Literary Arabic” (44). Fur-
thermore, during colonialism, French teachers employed classrooms as ideal
places where they could sketch the portrait of a good French citizen for their
students: “Pour bien leur expliquer ce qu’elle attend d’eux, madame Lafrance
écrit au tableau: Le bon élève est propre. Il se lave tous les matins. Il apprend
la langue française. Il sait calculer, cultiver les légumes et les arbres fruitiers.
Il connaît l’Algérie, il aime la France, sa mère patrie” (Pierre sang papier ou
cendre 77). In this novel, Bey shows us that the colonizer also used the
French language and values as the conditioned stimuli for the good citizen
status.2 After the colonizer settles on Algerian land, children are gradually
exposed to the customs and values of France. Through repetition, they learn
from their instructors that France is their country, and that they should master
the new language that will provide access to the customs they need to embrace

    2
      I employ the term “good citizen” with irony in this article since in both cases —colonial and
postcolonial— the narratives of political leaders crafted a rigid image of good loyal followers,
thus forcing people to choose a community and its values while rejecting all others. When indi-
viduals displayed a preference for more values, they were classified as traitors or bad citizens.

LITERARY ARABIC AND ISLAMIC VALUES                        397

if they want to become civilized. France portrayed the invasion of Algeria as
an educational project where their language had the role of civilizing an une-
ducated population. Amelia Lyons begins her The Civilizing Mission in the
Metropole with a brief history of the civilizing project, and states that thinkers
from Marx to de Tocqueville justified violence as a method to bring Algerians
out of ignorance and into the modern era. Lyons also mentions prime minister
Jules Ferry, who in 1884 proclaimed that superior races have a right and a duty
to civilize the inferior races. Ferry stressed that France would not fail in
accomplishing its duty. Education and, when needed, violence were portrayed
as necessary tools to civilize the colony.

REPETITION AND CLASSROOMS AS ExPERIMENTAL SPACES

    The president Ben Bella predicted the death of all other languages and
attempted to implement solely Literary Arabic in independent Algeria. Maïssa
Bey’s Bleu blanc vert satirizes Ben Bella’s opinion on language policy and
identity, and the author emphasizes the condescending tone that the new presi-
dent uses to address the population who is expected to accept a decision
already taken in their name: “Parce que maintenant on est des Arabes à 300%.
C’est Ben Bella, notre nouveau chef historique, qui l’a dit : nous sommes
Arabes, Arabes, Arabes. Comme ça, on a bien compris” (17). As seen in this
statement, the key word “Arabes” is repeated three times. Additionally, indi-
viduals are categorized under the same ethnic group as the president attempts
to implement a single identity, thus ignoring the Berber presence on Algerian
land. Language, among other cultural values, is perceived as a site of resis-
tance that must be reconquered to impose new ideologies on people. Adults
are reached via public speeches and children are mainly targeted in class-
rooms. In both cases, repetition is used to ensure the success of implementing
new values.
    Algerian instructors are aware that repetition is the oldest method of
learning and reinforcing behavior. In classrooms, children are exposed daily
to narratives that explain what makes a good citizen. Ben Bella made the
decision to import teachers from Egypt to better accomplish the Arabization
process in schools. Paradoxically, Ben Bella was not able to function in the
Arabic he promoted, and, during a visit in Egypt, he was publicly humiliated
when he could not address his audience in Arabic. The Egyptian president,
Gamal Abdel Nasser, agreed to send instructors to Algeria, but the monolin-
gual initiative proved to be a failure and the language shock therapy only led to
additional confusion among students and to frustration among the Egyptian

398                                    ROMANCE NOTES

instructors. Maïssa Bey emphasizes the difficulty of Literary Arabic and the
children’s struggle to switch between the standard version and the spoken
one on a daily basis “L’arabe qu’on apprend à l’école n’est pas exactement le
même que celui qu’on parle à la maison. C’est plus difficile” (Bleu blanc vert
48). The author then takes us through the back door to provide a glimpse of
the chaos that reigns in the classrooms instructed by Russian, Bulgarian and
Egyptian teachers:

Mon professeur de mathématiques, par exemple, il a dit à Myriam qu’elle ne réussirait jamais
parce qu’elle était toujours ‘couchée avec lui’ et qu’elle ne s’intéressait pas à son cours ! Il vou-
lait dire qu’elle dormait pendant la leçon. Il n’a même pas compris pourquoi toute la classe a
éclaté de rire. Il y a aussi des Égyptiens, pour les cours d’arabe. Mais ils s’énervent souvent.
Parce qu’on ne comprend pas facilement ce qu’ils disent. Ils ont un drôle d’accent. (54)

These snapshots of the everyday life are presented to us in Bleu blanc vert
through voices of children who wisely observe the discrepancies between the
adult narratives and the actual linguistic plurality of the country. The adult
narratives in postcolonial Algeria that promote a linguistic tabula rasa follow
the same pattern that the colonizer used in the past, and therefore reopen a
chapter of language-related violence.
    During a conversation that Ali has with his teacher in the classroom, rules
are repeated and identitarian violence arises when the teacher creates a gap
between him and Ali through the language he chooses: “Le professeur a ajouté
sur un ton menaçant et en agitant un doigt encore plus menaçant sur nous: vous
devez respecter l’Algérie indépendante et ses martyrs. Je respecte l’Algérie. Et
ses martyrs aussi” (Bleu blanc vert 14). The adult separates himself from the
children by using the pronoun “je” instead of “nous.” Moreover, the teacher
states “vous devez respecter” instead of “nous” to broaden the gap between him
and his students and to suggest that their attitudes towards Algeria differ. His
narrative dominates all other possible narratives that might question his beliefs.
He criticizes the past, yet he performs the violent narrative of the past and dis-
misses the opinions of his students. The dialogue in the classroom seems to be
replaced by a demand for obedience —another reminder of the colonial
approach. After 1962, the French language and values are rejected by those who
fought for Algeria’s independence. Consequently, children are told that if they
do not respect the new language and values presented to them in the classroom,
they betray their country and disrespect the heroes who died to ensure its free-
dom. When repetition does not work, violence —verbal or physical— becomes
the next alternative.
    Despite violent verbal reactions, children continue to question adult nar-
ratives that are repeated to them daily, and they confess that the French lan-

LITERARY ARABIC AND ISLAMIC VALUES                         399

guage persists in their memory even though political changes occurred in
their country: “Il a dit qu’on devait maintenant oublier la France. Le drapeau
français. Et la Marseillaise. Mais moi, je me souviens encore des paroles”
(14). The statement “mais moi, je me souviens encore des paroles,” under-
lines the resistance of the young postcolonial generation whose members
refuse the language amnesia imposed by the government. Children deny the
monolingual image of Algeria and complicate the adult discourse by remind-
ing them of the education they received during the recent colonial times. It is
interesting to observe that children are portrayed by Bey as brave and curi-
ous, but their courage often fades in the presence of authority figures and
children choose to keep silent: ”Je n’ai pas osé lever le doigt encore une fois
pour lui demander si c’était une nouvelle loi” (14). The words “encore une
fois” imply that a question was already asked by the student, and the words
“je n’ai pas osé” suggest that the question was not received well by the
teacher and therefore the student is afraid to start a new conversation and
repeat the cycle of verbal violence. Bey does not settle on a single way of
presenting the children’s attitudes, therefore she alternates instances of fear-
ful approaches with instances of defiant ones.
    Children remember the restrictions repeated to them, but, at times, they
bravely attempt to investigate and discover other paths that lead to the same
result, thus defying the authorities’ demand for blind obedience. Ali hears dis-
courses that are repeated to him daily in the classroom, and he comprehends
that old French values are no longer welcome in Algeria. He is also aware
that, in order to be considered a good citizen, he must embrace solely his so-
called native language and Islamic culture. Since the blue-white-red color
scheme is forbidden, Ali proposes to use black-white-red instead of the blue-
white-green suggested by his teacher: “Mais puisque je suis indépendant, j’ai
posé mon stylo bleu et j’ai sorti de ma trousse mon stylo noir. Ça ne fait plus
bleu blanc rouge. [. . .] Ainsi, je respecte mon professeur et mon pays. Et ma
liberté” (14–15). The young child is testing the frontiers, but he soon realizes
that the authorities are not proposing flexible solutions to help them achieve
the status of good citizens, but they are proposing their solutions. We note that
the teacher resorts to violence when the child deviates from the path he sug-
gested: “Quand il est passé dans les rangs et qu’il a vu ma copie, il me l’a
prise. Il l’a déchirée. Puis il a pris mon cahier posé sur la table. Il l’a déchiré
aussi. Il avait l’air très en colère. Je n’ai pas compris pourquoi. Il a dit: ça
t’apprendra à obéir” (15). The message that children must obey is emphasized
once again —this time under the form of a warning— and the teacher hopes
that the values that he attempts to implement in the classroom will be better
remembered and respected by his students.

400                            ROMANCE NOTES

    In what follows, I will present a study that depicts the positive and the
negative effects that repetition can have on children. In “Children’s Responses
to Repetitive Television Commercials,” children were exposed multiple times
to commercials that presented a specific product (421). The findings show
that repetition (more than 3 times) worked, and that 78.5% of the participants
remembered the message. However, at the end of the study, children became
extremely annoyed with the repetitive messages that they heard throughout
the day (424). Similarly to children in Bleu blanc vert, the children who were
observed during this experiment expected to hear something new each time,
and they rejected repetitive narratives. In the classroom, Ali also wanted to
craft a new narrative where the definition of a good citizen was slightly mod-
ified, yet still respectful towards his country. The violent reaction displayed
by his teacher indicates that the teacher was not ready to see a result that did
not fit a preestablished pattern.
    If we analyze a different conversation, the one between Lilas and her
grand-father, we can observe once again that violence appears when children
do not obey repeated discourses and attempt to find new answers to their ques-
tions. When young Lilas is told that her dead father is in heaven, she wonders
if he is now a god watching over his family. The grand-father does not like her
question regarding the divinity system in Islam: “Pour toute réponse, mon
grand-père m’a donné une gifle. Je m’en souviens encore. Je n’ai pas compris
pourquoi. Et comment on peut répondre à une question par une gifle. Mais
peut-être que c’était mal. Mal de poser des questions sur Dieu. Il faut faire très
attention avec les dieux” (Bleu blanc vert 39). Repetitive and rigid discourses
do not leave room for new approaches in the life of the young postcolonial
generation, but reinforce rigid values implemented by the authorities.

MONOLITHIC PERSPECTIVES ON LANGUAGE AND IDENTITY

    As in the case of the French colonial policy, we note that in postcolonial
Algeria one language is promoted to the detriment of others, and the European
and Arabo-Muslim values are portrayed as incompatible. In Bleu blanc vert,
the Egyptian teachers sent to Arabize the Algerian population trace clear fron-
tiers between civilizations. They tell their students that the previous European
civilization that shaped them during colonialism now makes them incompati-
ble with the Arabo-Muslim civilization they try to embrace: “Avec des pro-
fesseurs égyptiens inénarrables, qui passaient eux aussi leur temps à nous
reprocher, dans des diatribes que nous laissions filer au-dessus de nos têtes,
d’avoir un esprit et des comportements incompatibles avec notre culture arabo-

LITERARY ARABIC AND ISLAMIC VALUES                                 401

musulmane” (225–226). People struggle to identify with or to comprehend this
imposed monolithic identity. Earlier in the novel —with the help of the pro-
noun “on”— Maïssa Bey portrays the embracing of Islamic values not as
informed decisions, but rather as mechanical acts. The subjects appear disori-
ented, and they are forced to blindly obey the new laws strategically repeated
to them: “Je suis arabe et musulman, on ne me permet pas de l’oublier. On me
le répète sur tous les tons. Du plus doucereux au plus menaçant. On m’assure
qu’il n’y a point de salut hors de ce retour aux sources” (145).
    Additionally, the act of voting also appears as an act conditioned by the
fear of being labeled as bad citizens or traitors if deferring from the promoted
values: “Unanimisme sonore et étouffement de toute velléité de contestation.
Après les lois sur les nationalisations des entreprises publiques et des hydro-
carbures, on a voté les lois sur l’arabisation, saluées par les tenants du nouvel
ordre algérien” (144). If obedience is affixed to the good citizen status, dis-
obedience or questioning of narratives are strongly disapproved. In what fol-
lows, I will emphasize the fact that the young generation is aware of the
layered Algerian linguistic and identitarian landscape and is therefore ques-
tioning violent discourses that negatively impact their future.

THE RISE OF FEAR AND ITS CONSEQUENCES ON THE YOUNG GENERATION

    Lilas and Ali undergo the postcolonial experiment which silences voices
that do not fit the mainstream narrative which promotes Islamic values and
Literary Arabic as the only options for good loyal citizens. In turn, their
daughter Alya experiences a violent rise of the indoctrination process that is
perpetuated by teachers in Algerian schools during Islamization. These ide-
ologies promoted by Islamic extremists that opposed the government led to
the Algerian civil war, also known as the Black Decade. During her child-
hood in the 90’s, Alya witnesses even stricter narratives that do not allow any
deviation from their interpretation of the Koran. Innocent childhood games
—such as playing with dolls— are perceived as threats to the Islamic values:

Alya est rentrée ce soir avec de nouvelles résolutions. Elle a demandé un sac en plastique à sa
grand-mère. Elle y a mis toutes ses poupées, et m’a demandé de les ranger dans le débarras. La
maîtresse vient d’expliquer à toute la classe que toute représentation du corps humain était
interdite en islam. Et que les poupées n’étaient qu’une invention des mécréants pour détourner
les petits enfants de la parole de Dieu. (Bleu blanc vert 263)

Alya’s teacher clearly states that children should not be allowed to play with
dolls since that goes against the teachings of the Koran. As a good citizen, Alya

402                                   ROMANCE NOTES

must obey the rules that are repeated to her every day. In the classroom, Alya
and the rest of her classmates do not have a voice, they only listen, and they
fear crossing rigid frontiers. Instead of representing a space of inquiry and
discovery, the classroom turns into a space where children are forced to
accept ideas and customs without critically reflecting on them. The teacher’s
discourse is received with fear and Alya does not have the courage to ques-
tion it, despite her mother’s reassurance: “Elle n’a rien voulu entendre. Elle a
dernièrement refusé d’inviter ses camarades à son anniversaire, parce qu’on
lui a seriné que fêter un anniversaire autre que celui de la naissance du
prophète était une hérésie, une tradition chrétienne” (263–264). The expres-
sion “on a lui seriné” emphasizes the repetition that occurs in Algerian class-
rooms and the fear that is instilled in children during the rise of Islamization.

OMENS OF CHANGE – LINGUISTIC PREDICTIONS AND VALUE
RECONFIGURATIONS

    Maïssa Bey is aware of the restlessness displayed by the young genera-
tion, therefore, in her novel Bleu blanc vert she skillfully predicts in 2006
societal shifts as well as linguistic changes confirmed by a study done in
2013 by Mohamed Benrabah. Benrabah offered students at the University of
Mascara, in the west of Algeria, a questionnaire where he asked: “Out of the
following 10 languages, what is the language you consider the WORLD lan-
guage today? (ONE choice only).” His findings are as follows:

The 10 language options were presented in French alphabetical order with their Arabic translation
as follows: German, English, Arabic, Chinese, Spanish, French, Hindi, Japanese, Portuguese, and
Russian. [. . .] In their 204 responses, students chose six languages which are in the first column
of Table 3. Out of the total number of responses, 188 chose English —that is over 92%— and
only 16 chose some other language. So, English outdistances the other five languages by a very
large margin. (52)

It is interesting to observe that students chose a third space where they rated
English as the World language, thus rejecting the French-Arabic binary that
was so strongly disputed after the Algerian independence.
     In Bleu blanc vert, the young generation dreams about recolating to foreign
countries. When Algeria does not offer them the nuanced environment that
they need, immigration is perceived as an alternative. With the help of Samir,
Lilas’ brother, Maïssa Bey predicts the appearance of the English language in
the Algerian linguistic inventory and the desire to trespass borders. Samir
dreams of leaving and of reconstructing his life abroad. Bey emphasizes the

LITERARY ARABIC AND ISLAMIC VALUES                                    403

young generation’s desire to leave the country and to experience something
new, but she also mentions the obstacles that block their path: “Et mieux
encore, pour que le verrouillage soit plus efficient, nous ne pouvons plus cir-
culer librement dans les pays étrangers” (145). Despite these restrictions, Samir
attempts to find ways of obtaining the necessary papers to relocate: “Samir, le
frère de Lilas, ferait n’importe quoi pour pouvoir s’en aller” (146). At the end
of the novel, Bey mentions that Samir eventually found a method to cross the
borders (213). We should note that, not only did the leaders of postcolonial
Algeria cause the departure of pieds-noirs in 1962, but they also caused the
departure of the so-called native citizens given the adamant decisions that
threatened those who demanded diversity. Even during his stay in Algeria,
Samir crosses borders with the help of music. He listens to songs in English
and he uses silence as a language of protest against a society that does not
accept him: “Samir ne parle pas beaucoup. [. . .] Je sais qu’il aime la musique.
Les chansons anglaises et américaines. Genre Elvis et les Beatles” (56).
    Latent voices in independent Algeria silently prepare the revolt to follow,
and the young generation rejects the norms imposed on them by rigid adult
narratives. These inflexible narratives that promote strict Islamic values refuse
to even give a name to homosexuality. Bey suggests that Samir is not like other
men in their neighborhood, but people refuse to acknowledge his difference:

Personne n’aurait jamais pu imaginer qu’il n’était pas tout à fait ‘comme les autres’. J’en parle
parce que je sais aujourd’hui pourquoi il est parti. Pourquoi il lui était impossible de confier
son tourment à quiconque. Tourment causé par la pire des choses qui puisse arriver dans une
société aussi radicale dans ses rejets et ses interdits que la nôtre. Une société qui nie, condamne
et réprime farouchement toute différence, toute déviance. (231–232)

Additionally, Bey mentions that, if there was a lack of terms to define homo-
sexuality in the Arabic language, there was not a shortage of insults aimed at
it. Homosexuality was referred to as “atteinte pathologique” (232), and Bey
states that even Samir embraces this term after having heard it repeated by
others. Despite desperate attempts to hide homosexuality, Algerians know
that it exists in their society just as it exists in other societies across borders:
“Et pourtant, ils sont nombreux ceux qui vivent dans et avec cette particular-
ité, innommable en arabe, sauf en termes grossiers et insultants” (232). For
Samir, foreign countries represent the opportunity to free himself from the
silence that he must embrace in independent Algeria.
     Inside the country, the languages of Others are spoken by everyday Alge-
rians —mostly in secret and in fear of reprisals. We find out that Ali’s mother
wants to learn French in order to become independent and educated after being
abandoned by her husband. Lilas’ mother becomes her secret mentor : “Maman

404                                    ROMANCE NOTES

lui apprend à parler français, et je crois même qu’elle lui apprend à lire et à
écrire. En cachette” (113). Furthermore, we notice that French continues to be
the language used by many writers even after the Independence. The children of
harkis continue to write in French and present their version of the colonial trau-
ma. Fatima Besnaci-Lancou (1954–present) focuses on presenting the memo-
ries of harkis, and her writing, many decades after the independence, reflects
the ongoing linguistic relationship between France and Algeria. Also, the pres-
ence of both French and Arabic words and expressions throughout the literary
works of many Algerian writers reflects overlapping languages and (hi)stories.
    In Maghreb divers: langues parlées, littératures et représentations des
Maghrébins à partir d’Albert Memmi et de Kateb Yacine, Alek Baylee Toumi
addresses the failure of the postcolonial linguistic experiment and the delu-
sional ideology that envisioned a monolingual Algeria. He states that it is as
ridiculous to claim that Arabic is the only language of Algeria as it would be
to claim that, in Europe, the French speaks the same language as the Spanish,
or the Portuguese speaks the same language as the Italian. He affirms that
what would make it even better would be to claim that all Europeans are
Christians. According to him:

On ne nous a que trop habitués au slogan de l’unicité, une seule langue et un seul peuple arabe uni
et uniforme, une religion avec une seule interprétation officielle. [. . .] Les décisions d’un gouver-
nement post-colonial d’Afrique du Nord n’ont rien à avoir avec le fait que, par exemple, Albert
Memmi, Tahar Ben Jelloun ou Kateb Yacine ont écrit, écrivent et publient toujours en français. (6)

The various factors that affect societies on economic, political and cultural
levels transform generation after generation. Languages, influenced by soci-
etal transformations, mutate as well. Often times, for political reasons, lead-
ers attempt to delegate official “owners” of dominant linguistic heritages. In
the introduction to Possessed by the Past, we read that:

Heritage passions impact myriad realms of life today. They play a vital role in national and eth-
nic conflict, in racism and resurgent genetic determinism, in museum and commemorative policy,
in global theft, illicit trade, and rising demands for repatriating art and antiquities. Decisions
about what to conserve and what to jettison, about parenthood and adoption, about killing or
converting or cosseting those of rival faiths all invoke heritage to explain how we feel and to
validate how we act. (x)

With so much at stake, language narratives, especially in postcolonial coun-
tries, become an undeniable source of political power and valuable means of
reshaping images, statuses and rights. They issue verdicts on public memory
and history, and therefore influence the path followed by a country in its quest
for identity.

LITERARY ARABIC AND ISLAMIC VALUES                         405

     Maïssa Bey herself confesses that she initially found it difficult to identify
the benefits of the French colonization and to cross the strict borders imposed
by postcolonial political narratives. However, following periods of long
reflection, she arrived at a point where she could see nuances and move away
from the monolithic approaches embraced by the Algerian leaders. In her
novel L’une et l’autre, she portrays herself as the product of intricate legacies
—French and Arab— and she acknowledges the influence of the French col-
onization on her formation as an individual and as a writer: “Je suis votre
hôte aujourd’hui. A la fois celle qui est reçue et celle qui accueille. Vous me
recevez chez vous et je vous accueille dans ma demeure des mots, au seuil de
laquelle je me tiens, portes ouvertes” (12). She continues to define herself
and states: “Algérienne par nationalité. Issue d’une famille profondément
attachée à l’islam, donc musulmane. Et femme, avec toutes les représenta-
tions que ce mot peut faire surgir quand il est associé aux précédents”
(12–13). Additionally, when she refers to her heritage, she mentions that she
is the product of “des appartenances multiples” (13).

CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS

    In Bleu blanc vert, we observe that the new policies in postcolonial Alge-
ria mutilated the body of the country and caused feelings of displacement
among the young generation. Bey questions the mythical image of a Literary
Arabic mother tongue and the reinforcement of Islamic values through voices
of children who refuse to become an experiment of yet another educational
mission initiated by nationalist agendas. Not only does Maïssa Bey predict
linguistic changes confirmed by Benrabah in 2013, but she also predicts in
Bleu blanc vert tensions that occur nowadays in Algeria between the old politi-
cal regime of Abdelaziz Bouteflika and a young generation that demands a
change and new narratives. During a recent protest in Algiers on March 19,
2019, large groups of young students held banners with messages written in
French saying “Il faut désinfecter le système” (Belghoul). The word “désin-
fecter” chosen by the young protesters implies that the old regime reflects an
outdated mentality that must be replaced by a new clean direction. With the
help of Bey’s Bleu blanc vert, we also notice that, at times, Algeria becomes
trapped in short-lived episodes of political events that follow the predictable
pattern of old narratives-violence-new narratives. These repetitive cycles sig-
nal the fact that when change occurs in the country it occurs merely on the
surface, therefore demanding a deeper rethinking of values that truly reflect
the elaborate needs of the Algerian society.

406                                ROMANCE NOTES

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