R. Efpatridis – ENG 4U1 – 2013-2014
The Return
In 1965, Ngugi wa Thiong'o, then known as James Ngugi, published a short story entitled The Return in which
he recounts the sad return of Kamau after years of incarceration in detention camps for his involvement in
the struggle for independence.
Kamau arrives home to discover to his delight that River Honia, the source of life and symbol of resilience of
the human spirit, still flows but the village is no longer the same. Karanja, his fellow inmate in detention, who
had been released earlier, had misinformed the people that he (Kamau) had died in detention. On his arrival,
the villagers look at Kamau as a ghost. His agony is compounded by the fact that his expectation of a hero's
welcome is never realised. But the worst of it all is that Karanja had taken his wife, Muthoni, away.
The Mau Mau Uprising was a military conflict that took place in Kenya[B] between 1952 and 1960. It involved
Kikuyu-dominated anti-colonial groups summarily called Mau Mau and the British Army, the local Kenya
Regiment mostly consisting of white Kenyans, auxiliaries and anti-Mau Mau Kikuyu.[1] The capture of rebel
leader Dedan Kimathi on 21 October 1956 signalled the ultimate defeat of Mau Mau, and essentially ended
the British military campaign.The uprising created a rift between the European colonial community in Kenya
and also resulted in violent divisions within the Kikuyu community.
The Return showcases Ngugi’s attempt to expose the trauma suffered by the Kenya’s Gikuyu people, both as
individuals and on a community level, during the period that the British declared a state of emergency as it
was struggling to contain the Mau Mau uprising.The story takes you on a long road of hope that ends in
disillusionment, it goes with a reader through the labyrinths of betrayal, it exposes the expectations of a man
who longs to meet his wife after a five year period of detention; the very woman a man had lived with for
only two weeks before being arrested.
Going through the return one passes through the heart breaking experience of how other people can use the
plight of others to satisfy their personal interests. When Kamau arrived home, eagerly looking forward to the
embrace of his wife, his mother brings a bombshell. The episode is explained as follows: ‘She was a good
daughter,’ his mother was explaining. ‘She waited for you and patiently bore all the ills of the land. Then
Karanja came and said that you were dead. Your father believed him. She believed him too and mourned for
a month. Karanja constantly paid us visits… Then she got a child. We could have kept her. But where is the
land? Where is the food? With land consolidation, our last security was taken away. We let Karanja go with
her…’nThe bottom line however is that Karanja, son of Njogu, had never been in the same detention camp
with Kamau. The falsification of Kamau’s death was therefore a plot to get hold of Kamau’s wife. Typical of
Ngugi, he toes the theme line from the beginning of the story to the end. All talk is centred on Kamau’s
journey from the prison to home, his hopes, his aspirations, and the encounters he came across on the way.
The Return can be classified as a historical piece of literature that traces the problems associated with war on
cultural trends and life. The author, Ngugi wa Thiongo, is a literary and social activist. He was once a
distinguished Professor of English and Comparative Literature as well as the Director of the International
Center for Writing and Translation at the University of California, Irvine.
SPOTLIGHT ON THE AUTHOR
"When whatever forces put you down, you don't stay down."
Kenyan writer and professor Ngugi wa Thiong'o says that this is
something he constantly tells his children.
It is advice that has kept him going since he was born in 1938, at
a time when his nation was still a British colony.
He recalls his high school years at an elite boarding school. It
was a safe haven where students learned table manners and
played chess. But "it was a contradiction," he says. "In the grounds, I would feel wonderful; I'm learning
Shakespeare. But literally the moment I stepped outside the gates of Alliance High School, something
dramatic would happen to remind me that war was going on. People were dying."
Searching For home
One moment that sums this up is when Ngugi returned home for a school holiday to find that the British
had destroyed his village. "That scene is, even today, it's traumatic," Ngugi remembers. "I did not know
where my mother was." That sense of searching for a lost home has always come through in his writing.
"There are some people who have noted that the theme of return keeps cropping up in my works," he
says.
After A Play, Prison
Ngugi is grateful for his role as a writer. "It's an honor to be able to tell the world about that scene of
devastation that so many Kenyans are not in a position to talk about," he says. But he has paid a heavy
price for the privilege. In 1977, he was jailed after a performance of one of his plays upset government
leaders. Those officials didn't like the content — a critique of post-colonial life — or the fact that the play
was staged in Ngugi's village.This was so empowering to the community," he says. "You'd have thought
that seeing intellectuals from the University of Nairobi connecting with the rural folk would be something
the government would really encourage, but no. ... They used a sledgehammer to destroy the whole thing
and put me in prison," Ngugi laughs.
Gaining An Education, Losing A Language
It was in prison that Ngugi decided to drop his Christian name and to write his fictional work in his native
language, Gikuyu. He describes the loss of African languages as one of the continent's "greatest
tragedies. Imagine the kind of home I come from. ... My mother, my brother — and by extension the
entire village — speak an African language." He says his family sent him away to school "in the hope that
if I get to that education, I can bring that knowledge for collective empowerment." But Ngugi says studies
in English and other European languages mean educated Africans can no longer communicate with their
communities or even their families.
"The messenger ... becomes a prisoner. He never returns," he explains, "because he stays within the
language of his captivity."
Mother, Teacher
Ngugi points to his mother's influence for the reason he never succumbed to this or other obstacles. "She
could not read or write, but she sent me to school" he says. She constantly pushed him. "Even when I got
100 percent in anything, she'd still ask me whether that was the best I had done," he says. "In every
situation she comes to my mind, whether I am trying my best in whatever circumstances I might be in,
whether in jail or in exile, or under attack."
Answer the question allocated to you in your assigned group. Create notes for yourself, and
take notes while other groups are presenting their answers.
1. From what narrative perspective is the story told?
Is it consistent?
Is this perspective an effective method used to relay the plight of Kamau? (What might
be lost or changed in the story if the narrative technique were altered?)
How does this narrative perspective affect or influence your understanding of the text
or perception of events?
MOOD: The
2. Identify and explain the central conflicts in the story.
Why does each conflict occur and how is each resolved?
For what purpose does the author create each conflict in his story?
3. Select 2 different points in the story.
Identify the mood created at each point.
Explain what techniques are used by the author to effectively create or
develop each mood. (Provide evidence to support your opinions).
4. How does understanding the historical context of the story and reading
biographical information about the author help you develop a better
understanding of the themes? (identify and explain at least 3)
5. What is the tone of the author toward his subject matter and the
characters? How is it developed?
How does the author’s tone affect your response or interpretation of
the text?
6. Other than symbolism and pathetic fallacy, identify at least 4 other
stylistic/literary devices used by the author. Explain how each is used
effectively.
TONE: The attitude of an
author, as opposed to a
NARRATOR or PERSONA,
toward her subject matter
and/or audience. Tone is
often "the emotionalintellectual attitude of the
author toward the subject
he/she is writing about."
The tone is usually
consistent throughout
an entire work. Tone is
often determined by
the plot-what the story
is about because the
writer can interject
his/her own opinion
about the subject into
his/her own writing.
NARRATIVE PERPSPECTIVE: refers to the
point of view used by the narrator to tell
a story. The narrator is not usually the
same person as the author. The narrative
perspective is usually one of three types
of characters in a given work, (1)
participant (protagonist or participant in
any action that may take place in the
story), (2) observer (someone who is
indirectly involved in the action of a
story), or (3) non participant (one who is
not at all involved in any action of the
story). The narrator is the direct window
into a piece of work. Depending on the
part of the character of the narrator plays
in the story, the narrator may
demonstrate bias when presenting a
piece of work.
atmosphere that
pervades a literary work
with the intention of
evoking a certain
emotion or feeling in
the audience. In drama,
mood may be created by
sets and music as well as
words; in poetry and
prose, mood may be
created by a
combination of elements
such as diction, voice,
use of detail/description,
vivid verbs, short
sentences, setting,
imagery, flashback,
foreshadowing, leaving
information out, etc.
"Authors often use
concrete details to
engage the reader's
imagination, establishing
mood: they often draw
on sensory imagery.
Authors appeal to the
reader's senses of sight,
smell, sound, etc. to
establish mood whether
it is one of tension,
humour, sadness,
excitement, etc. The
mood often changes
throughout a story.
THEME: a common thread or repeated idea
that is incorporated throughout a literary work.
A theme is a thought or idea the author
presents to the reader. Generally, a theme has
to be extracted as the reader explores the
passages of a work. The author utilizes the
characters, plot, and other literary devices to
assist the reader in this endeavor. In great
works of literature, the author intertwines the
theme throughout the work and the full impact
is slowly realized as the reader processes the
text. The ability to recognize a theme is
important because it allows the reader to
understand part of the author’s purpose in
writing.