The beur novel: from the stereotype to the pastiche, the case of Ali le Magnifique by Paul Smaïl

Abstract

This article addresses the phenomenon of stereotyping from a narratological and literary point of view, especially its deployment in "beur literature". In this context specifically, the stereotypes are to be understood as "cliché", because if the stereotype reflects the reality of society to some extent, the cliché, initially, is reinterpreted in literary fiction, where it performs a poetic and rhetorical function. Therefore, studying the cliché in the literary context is of major importance, since this kind of writing is able to generate textual typologies, mainly created of clichés, thus inviting some critics to use the designation "stereotypical literature". The object of this study, the novel Ali le Magnifique, would be part of this "stereotypical literature", since it is considered as a pastiche of the beur novel, and any pastiche requires a codified writing which is the result of a horizon of expectations and a play on stereotypes. The following questions will be addressed: What is this pastiche made of? How does the false beur novelist manage to write a pastiche of the beur novel? Why Paul Smaïl's pastiche? It has to be stressed that Paul Smaïl's pastiche emphasizes some stereotypes, such as racism, discrimination, or unemployment, which, in turn, form important writing clichés. The aim of this paper is to see more precisely, through Ali le Magnifique, which are the main clichés and commonplaces that give this literature an easily recognizable style.Résumé : Notre article aborde le phénomène de la stéréotypie d'un point de vue narratologique et littéraire, plus spécialement son déploiement dans la littérature dite « beure ». Dans ce contexte précisément, il serait plus judicieux d'appréhender le stéréotype sous l'appellation de « cliché » car, si le stéréotype a une part de réalité dans la société, le cliché, lui, est dès le départ faussé et détourné par la fiction littéraire où il ne remplit que des fonctions purement poétiques et rhétoriques. Dès lors, étudier le cliché littéraire s'avère d'une importance majeure, puisque cette écriture du poncif est à même de générer des typologies