Sassouma Berete and Sogolon Kedjou in The Epic of Sundiata Essay

Mothers play a very influential role in a young mans life. Even though Sogolon Kedjou and Sassouma Bà ©rà ©tà © both had an impact on there son's life, their character traits were at different ends of the maternal spectrum. Despite minuscule similarities Sogolon Kedjou and Sassouma Bà ©rà ©tà © were depicted in direct contrast in the epic Sundiata. When comparing the two Sogolon Kedjou and Sassouma Berete both did what they thought would help to get their son's to become king. Sogolon knew everything that Sassouma was capable of doing to hurt her family, so she came up with the idea to leave the kingdom. Soglon said, "Lets us leave my son" (113). She thought this would be the best thing to do for all her children so she could keep them alive. "Despairing of ever injuring you, Sassouma will aim her blows at your brother or sister"(115). Although it was Sundiata's destiny to become king there was no set time placed on when this would occur. Therefore traveling to different kingdoms gave them time, and allowed for the fulfillment of not only Sundiata's destiny, but the destiny of his sibling too. Sassouma on the other hand wanted her son Dankaran to reign as the king of Mali after his father passed away. Sassouma knew her late husband would not pass the throne to her son, so she decided to banish Sogolon and her family to the backyard. Sassouma thought this would help her son's path to becoming the next king of Mali. She thought Sundiata was competition and a distraction to her son, so she wanted him dead. "I want to kill Sundiata. His destiny runs counter to my son's and he must be killed while there is still time" (115). Although Sogolon and Sassouma Berete were both wives and mothers, Sogolon was portrayed as a good mother... ... to mine" (111). From this quote, it clearly shows how much arrogance and vanity the queen really had. In contrast to this, and despite the intense humiliation that she went through, Sogolon humbly left Sassouma's home "with a lump in her throat."(111) She never talked back to Sassouma, and she would never let Sassouma see her cry. Since Sogolon and Sundiata let his fait play out, they ended up on top. Sundiata takes his rightful place and becomes the king of Mail which he was born to lead. In conclusion, despite minuscule similarities Sogolon Kendjou and Sassouma Berete were depicted in direct contrast in the epic Sundiata. It is obvious that, despite the fact that both queens wanted the best for their sons, their characters and methods were different. Since they were so different it influenced not only Sundiata and Dankaran but all of the king's children.