Themes of gender conflict, power dynamics, and social commentary in the novel.

One dynamic that is prevalent in Xala is that of class tensions and class differences. While the novel predominantly focuses on El Hadji—a man of wealth and privilege—as well as his downfall, the end of the text explosively explores how fragile this wealth is, as well as how starkly such wealth stands in contrast to the material condition of the beggars and invalids who appear in El Hadji's home. To the former point, note that, for all the indulgences and privileges that El Hadji enjoys, as soon as his business loses money and he defaults on his debt payments, Oumi N'Doye moves out of her villa and back in with her parents, and her children are forced to give up their lofty goals and material cravings. To the latter point, note the painstaking effort Sembène takes to paint his beggars as grotesque figures—either they are diseased with leprosy, missing limbs, malnourished, or afflicted with infected sores and blemishes. They are forced to do menial labor on the streets and ravenously consume food when they enter El Hadji's mansion in their conclusory riot. Moreover, we learn at the novel's end that the only thing which allowed El Hadji to acquire wealth and abandon his own people is a cruel trick regarding their property. Thus, for how little actually separates El Hadji from the less fortunate presented in the novel, we see throughout the course of the text just how different their respective qualities of life are.