Respect for Family
Throughout The Dark Child, Camara Laye emphasizes the immense respect he has for every member of his family. The theme first arises when Laye writes of his father's exalted place in their community as an expert metalworker and goldsmith. Laye spends his free time in childhood observing the mystical rituals his father incorporates into his gold smelting process, reveling in the celebratory atmosphere created by the praise singers who entertain him in the workshop. Laye also has a deep appreciation for his grandmother in Tindican, who treats him as her "little husband" and, like his father, seems to be respected as the center of her group of friends. Laye also admires the various uncles and aunts who walk him to and from Tindican, or teach him how to harvest rice, or house him and treat him as a son while he is studying in Conakry. Laye's greatest respect, however, is for his mother, who openly treats him as her favorite child, improving his hut every time he visits Kouroussa, and showing her fierce protectiveness over him when he wants to move away. Ultimately, the respect Laye has for his family makes his move to Paris particularly difficult, as he is leaving behind everyone who has supported him on his journey.
Supernaturalism
Supernaturalism—the belief in entities that defy the laws of nature or scientific understanding—is another dominant theme in The Dark Child. The theme comes up in Chapter One when Laye describes his father's relationship to his totem animal, the snake. Laye's father and mother explain to their son that a particular snake possessing supernatural powers visits Laye's father in his dreams and informs him of future events. Laye has no reason to doubt their claims because he sees the snake regularly slither into his father's workshop and coil itself on his stool. His father strokes the snake, seeming to communicate with it, before creating gold jewelry. Laye's father's gold smelting process also incorporates supernatural elements with the uttering of incantations. Laye later relates his mother's supernatural powers, which include the ability to threaten witch doctors over great distances and the ability to communicate with a wounded horse. But while both his parents seem to possess supernatural powers, Laye himself never makes such a claim. Instead, he pursues a Francophone education and is steadily drawn away from his parents' mystical culture toward Europe.
Ritual
Ritual—ceremonial actions performed in a prescribed order—is a major theme in the memoir. Laye introduces the concept in the second chapter when detailing his father's gold-smelting process. Far more complicated than simply heating gold flakes, Laye's father's gold ritual demands bodily purification with oils, consultation with his guiding spirit snake, and the uttering of incantations that rid the gold of evil spirits. There is also a strong sense of ceremony in the Tindican rice harvest Laye takes part in alongside his uncle. Rather than individual farmers harvesting crops they personally planted, the harvest is performed collectively, and within the collective work there are roles divided among people according to age and gender. Coming-of-age rituals are also fundamental to Laye's story. He immerses the reader in the Kondén Diara ritual in which older boys bring Laye and his friends into the bush to fool them into believing roaring lions are approaching. Once they overcome their fear, the boys learn chants exclusive to their initiated status. The night of Kondén Diara functions as a precursor to the ritual circumcision that marks Laye's passage into manhood. Instead of circumcising boys at birth, circumcision is reserved for post-pubescent males, and the operation signifies that they are no longer boys but men. Laye writes of these ritual experiences with sentimentality, but he is also conscious that he is writing for a Western audience that has likely never heard of the rituals woven into the fabric of Guinean life.
Uncertainty
Uncertainty—anxiety over the unknown—is among the most important themes in The Dark Child. The theme first arises when Laye and his father discuss Laye's father's totem, the snake. The conversation about the guiding spirit of their race takes a mournful turn when Laye's father intimates that he knows Laye is destined to spend more time at school and less with him in the forge. The sight of his father's grief anguishes Laye, and he doesn't know whether he should stay in school or stay close to his father. This uncertainty comes up again when Laye helps his uncle harvest rice in Tindican. In a similar scene, his uncle comments that Laye, as a student, is not destined to become a farmhand. While Laye senses that this is true, he trembles at the thought that he is on a course toward a career that no one in his family has ever had. Laye's fear of uncertainty returns in the final scene. On his way to Paris, he cannot know whether he is making the right choice in leaving his people and country behind.
Pride
Pride—awareness of and satisfaction in one's own achievements and in those of people with whom one is associated—is another important theme in The Dark Child. Laye touches on the theme early in the memoir when writing about how customers would send praise singers to his father's workshop before asking him to make them a piece of jewelry. Laye's father, understanding his exalted social position, would be pleased to hear the singer praise the virtues shared by him and his ancestors. Laye also depicts his grandmother as a proud woman who loudly announces the arrival of her favorite grandson when he visits her in Tindican. Laye's mother is similarly proud of Laye, who she lavishes with affection in the form of further updates to his hut every time he comes home from Conakry. Ultimately, the memoir itself is emblematic of the pride Laye has in himself and his culture. Rather than obscure his cultural background while living in France, he celebrates his people with a book that captures their inherent dignity.
Independence
Although he is writing about a colonized country, Laye emphasizes Guinean people's independent spirit throughout The Dark Child. While it is true that French culture has infiltrated their native culture, Laye's family members maintain lifestyles that accord with their Malinke and Muslim traditions. Laye also directly addresses the theme of independence when writing about his mother's strong will. Laye understands her "authoritarian attitude" may surprise readers who expect African women to be subservient, and he explains that Guinean society expects women to be independent and dignified. Laye also addresses the theme when writing about the bullying he and his friends put up with at school, commenting that such domination went against his people's spirit of independence and equality. Published four years before French president Charles de Gaulle offered colonies a referendum on cutting ties with France, the spirit of independence emphasized in The Dark Child presages how Guineans voted overwhelmingly in favor of governing themselves.
Colonialim's Influence
Colonialism's influence is another key theme in The Dark Child. Growing up in Guinea when it was still a French colony, Laye is immersed in a mix of customs from his Malinke heritage, his Muslim faith, and French colonial governance. Laye never directly shares his opinion on the ways France has influenced his culture, and yet the displacement of his people's traditional ways is at the heart of Laye's conflict. Rather than take over his father's forge and stay close to his people and their customs, Laye achieves good enough grades in his French-language school and college to be offered an opportunity to continue his studies in Paris. It is also significant that Laye originally wrote the memoir in French for a Francophone audience. This stands as a testament to the degree that colonialism influenced the trajectory of Laye's life.
