MBOUDJAK, THE TALKING DOG: THE HUMANIST ALLEGORY IN PATRICE NGANANG'S DOG TIME

If the introduction of the animal into literature is not something new, like The Fables of La Fontaine that remain a classic illustration, Temps de chien marks a particularity in the works of Patrice Nganang. But anytime the animal is introduced in the text, together or sometimes in the same way as the human characters, whether it is explicitly personified or not, it suggests that there is a message that the author would like to convey in the interest of human beings, but which he conceals through the animal. The allegory in this novel is symbolized by the dog Mboudjak who identifies with every character, including the author himself, in permanent quest for humanism through the neighborhoods of Madagascar in Yaoundé. To that end, we will focus on the theme of humanism and the main character of the novel, the dog Mboudjak and his double in the game of identification with the author Nganang and some other characters. They are all together pursuing the same project: the quest for humanism through the leitmotiv "Where is the human?