MINISTRY OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
UNIVERSITY OF ALGIERS 2 ABOU EL KACEM SAADELLAH
Faculty of Foreign Languages
Department of English
Master Dissertation
Specialism: Intercultural Issues in Anglophone Literatures
The Impact of Globalization on African
Cultural Identities in Ngugi’s Petals of Blood
Dissertation submitted by:
Supervised by:
MADOUN Adem
BECHANI Fatima
Academic Year: 2016/2017
The Impact of Globalization
on African Cultural Identities in
Ngugi’s Petals of Blood
I- Board of Examiners
Chair: Ms. OUNOUGHI Saida, University of Algiers.
Supervisor: Ms. BECHANI Fatima, University of Algiers.
Examiner: Mr. BOUCHERIFI Boualem, University of Algiers.
II- Declaration
I hereby declare that the substance of this dissertation is entirely the result of my
investigation and that reference or acknowledgement is made, whenever necessary, to
the work of other researchers.
I am duly informed that any person practicing plagiarism will be subject to disciplinary
sanctions issued by university authorities under the rules and regulations in force.
Date:
Signed:
III- Dedication
This dissertation is dedicated to my dear mother, my father who unfortunately is not
among us anymore, my brother and my sister who have provided me with an
immeasurable amount of encouragement and support.
IV- Acknowledgements
First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my teachers who
have shown great enthusiasm in educating me and for helping me grow as a student and
as a person. I also want to thank my supervisor Ms. Fatima BECHANI for her guidance
and support throughout my dissertation project.
V- Abstract
This dissertation intends to examine the impact of globalization on African cultural
identities in Ngugi Wa Thiong’o’s Petals of Blood (1977). Analyzed from a postcolonial
perspective, this study deals with different aspects of the struggle and resistance of
Kenyan people against the legacy of colonialism. It also clarifies how Ngugi has
explored the negative effects of globalization, which led to the dislocation of African
cultural identity. Through his depiction of the neocolonial situation in Africa, Ngugi’s
reaction to post-independence has been with disillusionment, but also with optimism.
The suggested solutions by African post-colonial writers turn around people’s unity and
reconciliation to recreate a new continent. In fact, Ngugi’s endorsement of the proletariat
to resist against the threat of globalization is evidently observed in his novel Petals of
Blood. His spirit of nationalism moved him to back the Kenyan working class, peasants
particularly, to fight for truth and justice against the local neocolonialist leaders and
newly indifferent African elite. Being disadvantaged, the poor workers remain strong
and patient to recover their nation’s dignity and subverted cultural identity. The mission
of cultural democracy that the anti-imperialist Ngugi asks for is not easy to accomplish.
But even so, he advocates that the Gikuyu community, men and women, should stick
together and avoid following the culture of the former colonizer so as to build a new
exemplary Kenya, endowed with high virtues and a preserved tradition.
Keywords: Cultural globalization, post-colonialism, African nationalism, Gikuyu
tradition, struggle, resistance, oppression.
Table of Contents
I- Board of Examiners ............................................................................................... i
II- Declaration ........................................................................................................... ii
III- Dedication .......................................................................................................... iii
IV- Acknowledgements ........................................................................................... iv
V- Abstract ................................................................................................................ v
Introduction .............................................................................................................. 1
Chapter One: Traces of Globalization and Cultural Disorientation in
Post-Independence Africa
1. Cultural Globalization and its Challenges in Africa .................................................. 6
2. Post-Colonial African Writers on Neocolonialism .................................................. 13
2.1 Ngugi’s Discourse of Cultural Liberation and Reconstructing African Nation .. 14
Chapter Two: Kenyans’ Struggle and Resistance against Neocolonialism
and Globalization in Ngugi’s Petals of Blood
1. The Struggle of Ilmorog Villagers against the New Black Leaders ........................ 24
2. The Importance of Land and its Alienation in Kenya ............................................. 30
3. The Rural-Urban Dichotomy ................................................................................... 33
4. The Principles behind the Colonial Educational System at Siriana ........................ 37
Chapter Three: Women Representation and Gikuyu Identity in Ngugi’s
Petals of Blood
1. Wanja’s Role in Kenyan Society ............................................................................. 41
2. Nyakinyua as a Protector of Kenyan Cultural Heritage .......................................... 45
Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 50
Bibliography ............................................................................................................ 53
Introduction
This dissertation examines the impact of globalization on African cultural identities
in African literature, namely in Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s Petals of Blood (1977). 1 My aim
is to focus on this literary text since it reflects post-independence realities in Africa in
general and Kenya in particular.
After intensifying social and cultural interconnectedness around the world,
globalization has transformed the earth into a global small town. This phenomenon that
appeared in the twentieth century has started as an economic concept and was developed
into a cultural harmonious process. Globalization has a huge impact on the political,
cultural, and economic life of the Third World. To make facts vivid, before the colonial
period, most African countries were living in a communal settlement with social equality
and land justices, following their own beliefs and traditions. However, since the
penetration of European imperialists, few unscrupulous principles and political
structures have been foisted on black people. As a result, new problems such as
corruption, prostitution, social inequality, land injustices have appeared and disrupted
the social balance of the African community.
After independence, Africa’s dream of reconstructing a new continent grow once
again. Nevertheless, native rulers still could not retrieve their nations’ dignity. Instead
of healing the psychic injury, they imitate the colonizer which prevents the hope of the
struggling masses. To give form to such a deformed history, African postcolonial writers
resort to the portrayal of different neo-colonial maladies that have afflicted postindependence Africa. This continent that supposedly just got free suddenly faces another
form of colonization. With the sudden emergence of globalization, Africans see their
cultural identity gradually fading away and being replaced by that of Europe. Eager to
continue the exploitation of Africa’s wealth, white imperialists have not left Africans
without subverting few aspects of their life. While African governors lack bravery to
oppose the orders of their former persecutors and entrench their own policies, African
1
Ngugi wa Thiong'o, Petals of Blood (Nairobi: Heinemann, 1977). All further references to this edition will
be included in parenthesis in the text as (POB).
1
nationalists feel utterly disillusioned. Globalization does not only bring social
inequality, but also a threat to cultural national identity. That is, not only the African
resources are plundered to bring wealth to Europe, its culture is becoming more
westernized.
Globalization has been reviewed by many scholars around the world. Some argue
that it is a negative phenomenon for the former colonized countries. Post-colonial
theorist Edward Said proclaims that since globalization connects the whole world
together, there is certainly a link between the colonizers and the colonized. He observes
that globalization is a result of imperialism and the capitalist system, which are the basis
of the colonial force. Moreover, his book Culture and Imperialism, he recognizes that
globalization could be dangerous if a country's educational system dismisses the
preservation of its national cultural values. He suggests that urging “students to insist on
one's own identity, history, tradition, uniqueness may initially get them to name their
basic requirements for democracy.” 2 On the other hand, other scholars claim that
globalization is actually a positive project for the Third World. Gayatri Spivak argues
that globalization is a “powerful brave new world-machine” that an individual “cannot
be against” and “can only work collectively and persistently to turn it into strategydriven rather than crisis-driven globalization.” 3 In other words, Spivak claims that
globalization is unavoidable and hence, the former colonized countries should profit
from rather than see it as a menace to their cultural identity and patriotism. The Indian
scholar acknowledges that it is both a challenge and an opportunity, but like Edward
Said, she asserts that education is a key element to cope with it in terms of democratic
truths and cultural history.
As it prevents the world from seeing a cultural diversity, it is obviously noted that
cultural globalization creates one universal culture. Nonetheless, this global culture that
erases all other cultures around the world is somehow founded by the ‘core’ countries,
and not the ‘periphery’. The periphery countries contribute to this project without
knowing its concept. Because of this situation, post-colonial African literature had to
2
Edward Said, Culture and Imperialism (New York: Knopf, 1994), p. 330.
Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, An Aesthetic Education in the Era of Globalization (Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press, 2012), p. 26.
3
2
react to the new threatening phenomenon. One of these literary works includes Ngugi’s
Petals of Blood, a novel which attacks universalism and its effect on Kenyan culture.
This novel also pinpoints immoral treatments of new African leaders in postindependence Africa, including the African bourgeoisie, depicted as a parasitic class and
powerless version of their Western counterpart, dismiss the struggles of the proletariat
and are just mimickers of the western culture. In his book Detained, Ngugi insists that
“this class can only admire that culture from an undesirable distance and try to ape it the
best they can.” 4 With the appearance of globalization and the disappearance of few
cultures, some theorists claim that African nations might confront another sort of
enslavement while the world get in another millenary. However, even if Africans live
under complicated circumstances, they are still able to escape this misfortune and show
resilience to preserve their local culture against the dark side of globalization.
In this dissertation, I shall deal primarily with the way globalization may affect
negatively the African cultural identity in Ngugi’s Petals of Blood and how Africans can
cope with such a situation. Ngugi, considered by many as one of the most influential
post-colonialist writers in Africa, is a symbol of justice and freedom. His novel,
particularly Petals of Blood, proves that he is not just an ordinary author, but a
humanitarian whose concern is people and mainly, the poor proletarians. As the book
deals with the political mismanagement and corrupted leaders, Ngugi plays a role of a
spokesperson for this mass, who have difficulty to express their melancholy. The
Kenyan writer is brave enough to expose a fraudulent government that keeps on
stultifying a purely innocent community. The lost Ilmorog lacks heroes. As a nationalist,
Ngugi calls for a proletarian revolution to turn this chaos into a place of beauty and
fairness.
It is valuable to note that Ngugi depicts the Gikuyu as people of justice and high
moral values. Petals of Blood manifests Abdulla’s fight against British colonialists as a
representation of the Gikuyu masculine courage, and old Nyakinyua to portray the
patience of the traditional Gikuyu women. The ceremonies of Theng'eta and traditional
songs that are mentioned in the story reflect Kenya’s unique culture and thus, Ngugi’s
4
Ngugi wa Thiong'o, Detained: A Writer’s Prison Diary (London: Heinemann, 1981), p. 56.
3
fiction feels responsible for protecting it. In order to achieve such a wish, Ngugi warns
Kenyans not to expulse their inherited tradition and history by mimicking the culture of
former oppressor. As a matter of fact, to save Africa from the dislocation of its culture
and identity, more courageous nationalists should appear. The spirit of patriotism seen
through characters such as Abdulla, Karega and Nyakinyua is vital to the decolonizing
process.
As this dissertation deals with the subjugated Kenyan people, we aim to look into
Ngugi’s demonstration of peasants who are constantly exploited and women who are
doubly abused. Kenyans now are oppressed by both British neocolonialists and new
black elite. In fact, the former still have an important monopoly over the country’s
wealth. The appearance of capitalism also justifies Kenya’s necessity to fight in order
to overcome poverty and political instability. For all these reasons, Ngugi persuades
these persecuted people to revolt and frighten apathetic rulers so that Kenya becomes a
place of justice once again. To preserve cultural values and national identity against evil
neocolonialists’ plans and comprador national bourgeoisie, Ngugi’s literary discourse
requires resistance and patience from African people.
The goal of this research is to analyze Ngugi’s attitude toward the appearance of
new ills such as corruption, social inequality and land inequity in post-independence
Kenya. So the aims are to explore the characters’ social repression and political conflicts
in Ilmorog, and the clash of the four principal characters against the elite’s inhumanity
so as to improve the situation of mass poverty, and finally liberate themselves from
constant persecution.
In attempt to achieve the purpose of this study, this research will be analyzed from
a post-colonial perspective. The latter is the most valid to investigate Ngugi’s depiction
of the neocolonial situation in Kenya as the dissertation refers to literary approaches of
post-colonial theorists such as Frantz Fanon, Edward Said and Homi K. Bhabha. Since
Ngugi’s aim is to examine the dehumanizing effects of imperialism on native Africans
and their tradition. This study explores principally issues and outcomes of the
decolonization of Kenya culturally, politically, and economically. The massive changes
that occurred in Kenya after the British left in 1963 led to social conflicts and political
4
disorder that disturb the life of the periphery country. As seen in Petals of Blood,
Ilmorog’s conflicts are a product of neocolonialism and native Africans are struggling
to attain full cultural democracy. The African culture has been so affected that people
have hard time to reinstate it. The fact that European and African cultural
homogenization has created cultural hybridity, native Africans could not find a balance
between two different cultures.
In order to answer previous questions, this research is divided into three chapters:
The first chapter studies the traces of globalization in post-independence Africa. First,
it deals with the term ‘cultural globalization’, its challenges in Africa, and discusses
briefly the influence of westernization on some African countries. Furthermore, it
addresses the anti-colonial discourse of African writers and their objective of renewing
the continent.
The second chapter examines Kenyan people’s struggle against neocolonialism, the
emergence of globalization, corrupt new black leaders, capitalism and social inequality.
Therefore, I aim to explore land importance and its alienation, village versus city, and
the principles behind the colonial educational system in the Kenyan nation-state.
Consequently, the chapter reveals Kenyan leaders’ continuity of following the western’s
path although they are supposedly independent. With an analysis of the characters’
strategy to annihilate evil and reconstruct a new nation, my purpose is to investigate the
writer’s will to cure people’s disillusionment.
The third chapter analyzes how female characters are portrayed in the novel. Special
attention should be paid to Ngugi’s handling of Wanja’s fight to find a proper identity
in a world of depravity and cruelty. Furthermore, it discusses the elder character
Nyakinyua, who symbolizes the ideal Gikuyu woman with her heroism, optimism and
sense of leadership. The goal of this chapter is to demonstrate how Ngugi has
implemented black women’s bravery to endorse the conservation of Kenyan cultural
identity.
5
Chapter One: Traces of Globalization and Cultural Disorientation in PostIndependence Africa
By intending to examine the traces of globalization and cultural disorientation in
post-independence Africa, the first part of my study manifests the powerful influence of
cultural globalization in the continent. To show how globalization affects African
culture; it is important to analyze how post-colonial writers such as Ngugi and others
like Achebe and Armah have responded to post-independence maladies.
1. Cultural Globalization and its Challenges in Africa:
The dissertation needs a close explanation of cultural globalization. The latter is
responsible for spreading values and ideas around the globe so as to expand social
relations. Apart from colonization, which has a long history with bringing new cultures
around the world, internet and international travel are also the cause of globalizing
culture. The transmission of cultures allows people to participate in expanded social
relations. Thus, cultural globalization implicates the formation of common knowledge
and standards with which people involve their individual cultural identities. Therefore,
it helps the growth of global interconnection between different people and nations.
Arguably, cultural globalization can be defined as a long-range historical procedure of
combining different cultures together. Nonetheless, it can lead to a complete change
from global diversity to a widespread westernized culture. Some scholars believe that
the hegemony of European and American culture will eventually result in the
disappearance of cultural diversity. This kind of cultural globalization, which also can
be seen as cultural imperialism, will certainly lead to a global monoculture and is linked
to the destruction of cultural identities to form one westernized culture. Ngugi claims
that the threat of cultural imperialism in a period of neo-colonialism is dangerously
intensified because “it takes new subtle forms and can hide even under the cloak of
militant African nationalism.” 5 Besides, he states that colonial control had to subvert
culture, politics and economy to be utterly successful. Additionally, he views culture as
5
Ngugi wa Thiong'o, Writers in Politics: Essays (London: Heinemann, 1981), p. 25.
6
the most important aspect of the colonial domination. In the past, the role of culture in
the performance of colonialism was usually neglected, but Ngugi has always stressed
on its importance in his anti-colonial discourse, without obviously ignoring the political
and economic aspects of imperialism. Hence, as it was planned by Europeans,
imperialism has affected not merely the African culture, but many other parts as well.
This idea is well expressed by Ngugi who argues that “imperialism, both in its colonial
and neo-colonial stages, is the one force that affects everything in Africa - politics,
economics, culture.” 6 In fact, this worldwide influence of Western culture known as
‘westernization’, is regarded by many critics as a major threat to the culture of the Third
World. The term westernization has expanded exceptionally fast in the last few centuries
and is considered by some thinkers as the identical of modernization, which is viewed
by Ngugi as “a product of both European imperialism and of the resistance waged
against it by the African, Asian, and South American peoples.” 7
According to Samuel Huntington, the process of cultural globalization can also
result in a clash of civilizations. He argues that the more the world becomes a small
village with different cultures interacting with each other, the more people
consciousness increase, and this intensifies the differences. Huntington rationalizes that
rather than attainting one westernized culture, cultural globalization will be an origin of
dispute. 8 Besides, O’Connor defines it as a “process by which local cultures are
transformed or absorbed by a dominant outside culture.” 9 This is the case of African
countries which have seen a transfiguration of their ethnics due to the invasion of the
West. Cultural homogenization can easily affect the national culture and identity of a
country. Mark Kirby argues that national cultures “are eroded by the impact of global
cultural industries and multinational media.” 10 This point suggests that cultural
6
Ngugi wa Thiong'o, Moving the Centre: The Struggle for Cultural Freedoms (London: Portsmouth, N.H.:
J. Currey, 1993), p. 101.
7
Ibid, p. 22.
8
Samuel Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations: Remaking of World Order (New York: Simon and Schuster,
1996).
9
David E. O’Connor, Encyclopedia of The Global Economy a Guide for Students and Researcher, Vol. 1
(New Delhi: Academic Foundation, 2006), p. 391.
10
Mark Kirby, Sociology in Perspective: AQA Edition (Oxford: Heinemann, 2000), p. 407.
7
globalization, rather than being a beneficial element, is usually associated with the
destruction and domination of other cultures.
It is important to say that this Eurocentric cultural hegemony is a form of
neocolonialism, and a perception that is not appreciated by the African natives as the
process tends to threaten their culture. Nonetheless, some thinkers view cultural
homogenization more as a blend of different cultures than a transmission of one culture,
and with people discovering other cultures, they would systematically choose their
elements. All things considered, globalization influences national cultures. Since its
concept appeared, African natives have been dispossessed of their national cultural
identity. Therefore, national cultures would try to create a uniformed global culture that
will crush one culture over another. So since globalization wants to create ‘one’ global
culture, the other cultures could receive a devastating damage:
A new world order that is no more than the global dominance of neo-colonial
relations policed by a handful of Western nations, whether through the United
Nations Security Council or not, is a disaster for the peoples of the world and
their cultures. 11
In this case, is globalization universal or Eurocentric? After all, it does not seem to be
universal since it is not a combination of various cultures, but a hegemonic culture that
comes from only one location in the world. In addition, one should not ignore the fact
that “the European has all the time tried to preserve and perpetuate his dominant political
and economic position at the top of the pyramid.” 12 As Samir Amin declares,
Eurocentrism is “anti-universalist, since it is not interested in seeking possible general
laws of human evolution. But it does present itself as universalist.” 13 As it is known, this
cultural Eurocentrism is the reason why value systems in most African countries
disrupted. The dislocation and struggle to regenerate values has never stopped since
African countries gained independence. In the African literature, the likes of Chinua
Achebe, Ngugi, and many other contemporary African writers who emerged in the
1960s, have basically a blurry view on post-colonial Africa. Although their literary
11
Ngugi, Moving the Centre, op.cit, p. 16.
Ngugi wa Thiong'o, Homecoming (London: Heinemann, 1972), p. 24.
13
Samir Amin, Eurocentrism (New York: Monthly Review Press, 1989), p. 7.
12
8
works deal with the possibility of African post-colonial renewal and liberation; they
seem to see the difficulty of accomplishing such a wish.
If colonialism was more of a military conquest used to undermine the power of the
colonies, globalization is more precise and its plan is to ignore all moral principles.
Actually, this project is about removing all cultures to the benefit of the Western culture.
These cultures were scratched by European colonialists and that African post-colonial
writers attempt to retrieve in their literary discourse. Therefore, this dilemma of Africans
not knowing which culture they should welcome is indeed an issue. Homi K. Bhabha
argues that by having two different cultures, one has a better understanding of the
present, or, a more authentic vision for the present. According to him, if you do not look
at an outside culture, you would never acknowledge your own. His book The Location
of Culture stresses that “we find ourselves in the moment of transit where space and
time cross to produce complex figures of difference and identity, past and present, inside
and outside.” 14 Certainly, local culture cannot stay in its shape beyond a certain time,
and cultural contact might authorize local values to last more. Bhaba’s suggestion is
somehow similar to Ngugi, who also believes that “cultures that stay in total isolation
from others can shrivel” while those that “maintain a balanced give and take with
external relations are the ones that are healthy.” 15 However again, the economic, cultural
and political order created by the West is biased in some way. Thereby, the Western
neocolonialists prevent the centre and periphery to have a harmonious cultural link due
to their feeling of superiority. For this reason, the moment culture goes from a
Eurocentric to a worldwide diverse vision, maybe cultural contact would become
unsuspiciously permissible for Africans.
As a powerful influential project, globalization has the capacity of replacing the set
of beliefs, customs and behaviors of the periphery with that of the centre. It is argued
that the politics and values of imperialists are being strongly spread through countries.
As a result, their way of life is being circulated around the globe as an example. 16 In the
14
Homi Bhabha, The Location of Culture (London: Routledge, 1994), p. 1.
Ngugi, Moving the Centre, op.cit, p. 16.
16
J. Isawa Elaigwu, From Might to Money: The Changing Dimensions of Global Transition to the 21st
Century (Kuru: NIPSS, 1995), p. 7.
15
9
field of literature, the colonial discourse often despises the history and knowledge of
other continents, especially those of Africa. As Chinua Achebe claims:
The colonialist critic, unwilling to accept the validity of sensibilities other
than his own, has made a particular point of dismissing the African novel. He
has written lengthy articles to prove its non-existence largely on the grounds
that the novel is a peculiarly Western genre. 17
Although globalization is a prolonged historical procedure, it is “a recent
phenomenon” 18 that has never known before. As Marshall McLuhan predicted, the
series of actions of globalization has transformed the globe into a global village after
traversing the whole world. Even though it started as an economic ideology, its political
and cultural dimensions are also responsible for propelling the Third World. The
strength of globalization is such a force that individualistic cultures can barely fight
against it. According to Felix Wilfred, underdeveloped nations will be alienated from
the world and will be stuck in primitiveness if they do not get incorporated and accept
this process. But how can Africans be part of this project without being culturally
imprisoned, or economically exploited? Ngugi emphasizes on the fact that the Westernbased new world order should look for a “more equitable international economic,
political and cultural order” and “a world order that reflects the diversity of world
peoples and cultures.” 19 For reinforcing his points, Wilfred argue that globalization is
not as value-free as it is depicted in Europe. In fact, they consider it as the final phase
of Western cultural and economic domination of the globe following colonialism.
Wilfred sees it as a “continuation of a long tradition of over five hundred years, the
tradition of imperialism” and the “political, economic, and cultural domination of some
nations over others.” 20
In order to clarify the possible abrasion of national cultural values by the powers of
globalization, here are some clarifications. For instance, sub-Saharan African countries
have experienced a cultural quandary since many decades due to their submission to
17
Chinua Achebe, Morning Yet on Creation Day (London: Heinemann. 1975), p. 23.
Malcolm Waters, Globalization (London: Routledge, 1995), p. 7.
19
Ngugi, Moving the Centre, op.cit, p. 16.
20
Felix Wilfred, “Globalisation and Cultures - The Other Voice” in Bulletin of Ecumenical Theology (1997),
nos, 1-2, 15-05-17, pp. 42-43.
18
10
European nations during colonialism. The reason behind this is that African people
underestimate their culture when they compare it to that of Europe. The latter point has
been observed by Bello Sule, who argues that Africans “tend not to appreciate
[themselves] or [their] cultures and therefore disregard or undervalue contributions this
heritage can make to [their] contemporary development efforts.” 21
The emergence of the capitalist system since a long time has resulted in a world of
individualism, a system that is spread everywhere in the world. As a matter of fact, this
system is viewed as the final step of world civilization and to which all cultures around
the globe ought to fight to achieve. But then, there is the African continent, known for
the extended family living where every individual is linked to all members of the
community. No poor is forsaken. The privileged members have responsibility to take
care of the community and individuals who need help like orphans and sufferers. These
attributes are now considered as backward and primitive by some Africans and for this
reason, tensions are seen between traditional and modern people. In the pre-colonial
period, Africans used to practice their tradition and believe in their culture without being
distracted by the European influences. Eventually, a gradual weathering of traditional
and cultural values started to become visible. This erosion was facilitated after the
insertion of the colonial educational system. As Michael Maduagwu testifies:
In traditional Africa, education was essentially functional preparation to meet
the challenges of the society. The colonial education system on the other
hand, was designed to alienate the African from his or her culture, to loathe
his or her language and manual work. 22
Although most African nations attained liberation, the educational system imposed by
the Western is remaining the same. The danger about this system is that the focus is
much more on the individual than the community. Since its importance was mostly
based on moral and mental capacities, Africa’s traditional education has been frequently
associated with the support of people’s unity and harmony. African heads of state have
preserved the colonial education and disregarded the character education even after
21
Bello Sule, “Africa's Cultures - Paradigm for African Technological Development” (May 1998), 16-052017, http://www.i-p-o.org/Maduagwu.htm
22
Michael Maduagwu, “Globalization and its challenges to national cultures and values: a perspective from
Sub-Saharan Africa” (March 1999), 16-05-2017, http://www.i-p-o.org/Maduagwu.htm
11
independence. This disregard has led to a mental distortion that describes the African
community nowadays. Hence, immoderate materialism as well as uncontrolled
corruption is seen among governors, who have forgotten that almost every cultural
system is inheritably based on ethnocentrism. Therefore, they have unthinkably taken
European cultural values and integrated all western educational elements in the African
education. Nonetheless, the main failure that African leaders could not achieve is more
the integration of the positive African cultural values into the taken European values.
After all, one cannot see the destruction of cultural values in Africa unless he takes a
look at its educational system. So even if Europe established this type of system during
the colonial period purposely in order to exploit Africans mentally and materially, the
African elites continue to stick to the abusers’ unscrupulous ideologies:
A native neo-colonial elite was now flying the flags and managing the armies
and the police ready to crush the population, ensuring, by every military and
political trick possible, the stability necessary for the continued Western
control of the economy while loudly claiming their non-alignment in
international affairs. 23
As mentioned earlier, the African child has learned to dislike manual labor and now
prefers to work in administrative or managerial jobs. The dismissed traditional values
have led to the damage of agrarian production system. The integration of the colonial
education pushed the educated African to view farming as a demeaning work. As a
result, in several African countries nowadays, the elite depend mainly on the rural
habitants, mostly old and illiterate, to fulfill their agricultural needs. Consequently,
agricultural production is no more sufficient to nourish the whole population. In
traditional African communities, everyone was fundamentally a farmer even though
they may have a professional career. Nigerian historian Emmanuel Ayandele recalls the
period in Africa where most “artisans, religious leaders as well as artists were involved
in part-time farming.” 24
23
Ngugi, Moving the Centre, op.cit, p. 67.
Emmanuel Ayandele, "African Renaissance : The Cultural Dimension" (1998), 17-05-2017, http://www.ip-o.org/Maduagwu.htm
24
12
The principal objective in this dissertation is to show that, just like colonialism,
cultural globalization seems to cause a serious effect to fragile native cultures. Africa is
already losing its traditional rituals due to the assault of religions. In addition to that,
“foreign languages are given high priority and national languages are often actively
suppressed.” 25 For instance, African languages are dying because of their absence in
science and are limited just to ethnic performances. Consequently, if globalization takes
over, the globe will speak only one language. Malcolm Waters argues that “English is
becoming the lingua franca of the global communications system” and “may well
become the common public language of the globalized system.” 26 This statement by
Waters indicates that globalization has also eroded African languages with the power of
mass media, which is mostly controlled by the West. Moreover, Ngugi claims that
English has never been an African language. It is true that the written literature about
Africa that has been written mainly in European languages “has, mistakenly, been called
African” 27 and should rather be called Afro-European literature instead since African
literature must be written only in African languages. Thus, as Europeans want to alienate
Africans from their language and tradition, Ngugi asserts that writing in African
languages is a piece of the anti-imperialist struggle of African people. The Kenyan
novelist, who grew up in school system with a hatred of the culture, refuses to see
Kenyan students growing up in a Western “imposed tradition of contempt for the tools
of communication developed by their communities and their history.” 28 Losing the
remaining cultures and values is a clear indication that African countries are facing
another form of colonization and enslavement. Nevertheless, the African continent is
still able to get out from this bane and preserve its local values.
2. Post-Colonial African Writers on Neocolonialism:
The African continent has always been a place of pure values and tradition.
However, writers such as Joseph Conrad and Joyce Cary have denied the culture of the
colonized people and underpriced their beliefs in their writings. Certainly, Europeans
25
Kenneth Parker, ‘Interview with Ngugi wa Thiong'o’ in Marxism Today (September 1982), p. 35.
Waters, Globalization, op.cit, pp. 203-204.
27
Parker, ‘Interview with Ngugi wa Thiong'o,’ op.cit, p. 34.
28
Ngugi wa Thiong'o. Decolonising the Mind: The Politics of Language in African Literature (London:
Portsmouth, N.H.: James Currey, 1986), p. 28.
26
13
had a big impact on most African countries, positive and negative, but according to
many Africans, they could have survived without their coming. Post-colonial African
literature explored the negative side of globalization and new issues which have affected
people more than the colonial time.
Talking about transformations of democratic Africa, writers like Ngugi Wa
Thiong’o, Chinua Achebe, and Ayi Kwei Armah have reacted to that with
disappointment in their writings. After the departure of the colonial forces, Africans did
not expect other serious conflicts to appear. Under those circumstances, their hopes of
liberation have somehow crumbled. Conversely, the role of post-colonial writers was
key to guide African nations to the right path and eventually gain complete freedom.
Besides, these nationalist writers who wish the best for the African continent have a
sense of responsibility to change an unpleasant social and cultural situation. Ngugi
articulates perfectly this concern:
The writer and his work were products of the African revolution even as the
writer and the literature tried to understand, reflect, and interpret that
revolution…From every tongue came the same tune: Tell Freedom. 29
But this African revolution does certainly not please every individual. Fearful of
people’s consciousness, the Kenyan government had to react and disallow novelists who
write about politics. As an illustration, Ngugi was arrested after his political novel Petals
of Blood was published. Ngugi views writers as concrete beings who narrate the reality
of a given society and history. So a writer, according to him, is “both a product and a
reflector of these social conditions.” 30
2.1 Ngugi’s Discourse of Cultural Liberation and Reconstructing African Nation:
Ngugi’s fight for cultural liberation is frequently seen in his late novels. Many
writers have dealt with the same theme and addressed the importance of culture for
national, political and economic freedom. Chinua Achebe associates the collapse of
post-colonial African society with the failure of the leaders who separate themselves
from masses and their problems, and draws a picture of women as central in the new
29
30
Ngugi, Moving the Centre, op.cit, p. 80.
Parker, ‘Interview with Ngugi wa Thiong'o,’ op.cit, p. 34.
14
social context of post-colonial period. He advocates the need for fight to bring back
human pride and liberty. Moreover, Achebe backs his fellow citizens to re-build a new
socialist and classless society. After all, it is in the communal effort of the normal men
and women that any community can maintain its harmony and honesty. As a matter of
fact, group awareness and collective effort can expel the real enemy of Africa. The
struggle for freedom relies on the enlightened individuals, who have deep compassion
and peaceful connection with the people to produce new values for a new social and
political order. The problem that the new African society confronts is the consequence
of the expulsion of women. To cure the illness and recover the nation’s dignity, the
people, men and women, should be treated as matters of a new nation. Achebe
consequently values the negligible people in his literary texts with elements of heroism,
and suggesting that the real rescuers are the people themselves. By dismissing the
concept of European cultural and political domination, reunion is made possible by
expanding person-to-person link across class, gender and political orders. By
discovering the errors of the past, Africans can avoid repeating those disasters which
have stroke their communities. Out of the deformed past, Africans should build an
illustrious future in terms of social advancement and cultural development. Thereby,
Achebe proclaims the coming of a messianic age and the establishment of a worthy place
for all people.
To add, the Ghanaian writer Ayi Kwei Armah is among African authors who
defended African values and identity. His books on liberation are revolutionary. They
also portray a collective African history, and show a sense of a strong relationship with
the African community. Armah’s dream is to free the continent from the powers of
colonialism and neocolonialism. In literature, critics have seen the idea of liberation
from different angles. According to Ngugi, liberation in literature could be summarized
as a “writer’s imaginative leap to grasp reality” so as to help his “community’s struggle
for a certain quality of life free from all parasitic exploitative relations.” 31 That is to say,
literature becomes important only if it deals with people’s “daily struggle for the right
31
Ngugi, Writers in Politics: Essays, op.cit, p. 75.
15
and security to bread, shelter, clothes and song.” 32 In fact, liberation in literature invites
people from the continent to point out the positive parts of their heritage and encourage
them to find answers to their problems. Armah regards the worth of African culture as
an important element of the fight for cultural liberation. In his assessment, the culture
that the western brought should be treated and cured to make Africa fully culturally
independent. Amilcar Cabral shares the same point of view when he talked about
cultural liberation. As he testifies:
A people who are free from foreign domination will not be culturally free
unless, without underestimating the importance of positive contributions from
the oppressor’s culture and other cultures, they return to the upwards paths of
their own culture. 33
In his novels of liberation, Armah remains calm and optimistic of Africa’s future.
Even if there is hatred, debauchery, cultural threat, he continues to remind African
people that the situation is still hopeful. As the cultural distortions keep the Africans lost
and divided; Armah accepts the difficult challenge of writing to free the African mind
from these hostile deformations of a desirable identity and culture. His novel Two
Thousand Seasons (1973) 34 is a responsive fight to rectify these distortions and this is
noticed in the storyteller’s recall and carefulness, “beware the destroyers,” 35 followed
by the remembrance of Africa’s rich history and knowledge. His fight against slavery in
this particular novel is similar to the Mau Mau style of struggle for independence in
Kenya depicted in Ngugi’s Weep Not Child (1964). 36
Being a major voice in decolonizing Africa, Ngugi is regarded as “one of the finest
novelists in black Africa, as perhaps the best writer to have come not only from his
country Kenya, but from the whole of what used to be British East Africa.” 37 Besides,
he has proved himself as an outstanding figure among modern African writers. His
fictional works are frequently associated with social conflicts, with Petals of Blood
32
Ngugi, Writers in Politics: Essays, op.cit, p. 75.
Amilcar Cabral, National Liberation and Culture, African Literature: An Anthology of Criticism and
Theory (Eds) Tejumola Olaniyan and Ato Quayson (Oxford: Blackwell, 2007), pp. 484-491.
34
Ayi Kwei Armah, Two Thousand Seasons (Nairobi: E.A.P.H., 1973).
35
Ibid, pp. 1-2.
36
Ngugi wa Thiong'o, Weep Not Child (Nairobi: Heinemann, 1964).
37
Albert Gérard, African Language Literatures: An Introduction to the Literary History of Sub-Saharan
Africa (Essex: Longman, 1981), p. 121.
33
16
being his most vividly political book, instructive in its analysis of a deceived rebellion.
Additionally, he has contributed a lot to the debate of post-colonialist and postindependence social and political conditions that occurred in his homeland. His works
represent his revolutionary political perspectives and his humanist dedication to social
improvement. Throughout his texts, either written in English or Gikuyu, he is regarded
as an instructor and a guardian of African national culture. He was influenced by the
terror and disappointments of the political changes that took place in Kenya following
independence. Therefore, his anger was plainly felt through his novel A Grain of Wheat
(1966). 38 In the latter work, he demonstrates that “the situation and the problems are real
– sometimes too painfully real for peasants who fought the British yet who now see all
that they fought for being put to one side.” 39
In his anti-colonial discourse, Ngugi became clearly irritated by the neocolonial
African rulers. As all of his fellow post-colonial writers, he started to have a suspicion
that the essential promises made by the nationalist elite about liberty will not come as
planned. In this context, the critic Frederick Cooper declares that “African novelists
were the first intellectuals to bring before a wide public inside and outside the African
continent profound questions about the corruption within postcolonial governments.” 40
Since he was exposed to Frantz Fanon while he was a student at Leeds University,
Ngugi’s ideas about many issues have been metamorphosed like violence for
independence and the essence of neocolonialism. In fact, Fanon’s criticism of the
national bourgeoisie and his prophecy of their neocolonial attitude are both found in
Ngugi’s works. Therefore, Ngugi, like Fanon, believes that violence is a fundamental
element in the process of liberation.
Being compassionate with his people, Ngugi is known for speaking from a
proletarian’s perspective. After the publication of Petals of Blood, a review called
“Ngugi’s Bombshell” in Kenya’s The Weekly Review states that the African reader
would feel as if Ngugi is “walking all over [his] soul” 41 due to his genuine depiction of
38
Ngugi wa Thiong'o, A Grain of Wheat (Nairobi: Heinemann, 1967).
Ibid, p. 2.
40
Frederick Cooper, ‘Mau Mau and the Discourses of Decolonization’ in Journal of African History (1988),
p. 313–320.
41
Hilary Ng'weno, “Ngugi’s Bombshell” in The Weekly Review (27 June 1977), pp. 39-40.
39
17
the outcomes of his nation’s independence. Moreover, it is worth mentioning that Joe
Kadhi, a former managing editor of Daily Nation, also stresses that “no writer has yet
been able to expose the evils of such a system in as bold and fearless a manner as Ngugi
has done in his present book.” 42 This is a reference to the novel Petals of Blood, in which
the political message is so direct and plain. His responsibility and sensitiveness for
helping his community is reflected in his words:
I believe that African intellectuals alien themselves with the struggle of the
African message for a meaningful national ideal…The African writer can
help in articulating the feelings behind the struggle. 43
We can note that the political views and issues investigated in books like Petals of Blood
are characterized by his humanism as he manifests explicitly throughout this book that
his concern is not only about setting up a new political structure, but rather manifesting
the deterioration of human beings and their values.
In order to reinforce his attitudes, Ngugi’s Homecoming shows that he sees a
powerful relationship between creative literature and the political-social forces in the
African community. For this reason, there is no surprise that most of his late works are
powerful accusation of some elements of social and political life in newly changed
Kenya. The people hoped and sacrificed for an objective that has never been
accomplished. To demonstrate, nationalism, which is a big part of the decolonization
process, continues to be underrated by black elites:
… even after independence the new regimes maintained this hostility to
national patriotic cultures that reflected peoples' total opposition to the
continued plunder of their labour and wealth by imperialism and its local
black allies…Cultural centres built by the efforts of peasants and workers
have been destroyed. 44
As Ngugi points out in Petals of Blood, Kenyans have just exchanged white leaders for
black leaders and thus, corruption has become a contagious disease in the country’s life.
42
Joe Kadhi, “'Petals' Will Land with a Thud” (Nairobi: Daily Nation, 1977), p. 14.
Ngugi, Homecoming, op.cit, p. 50.
44
Ngugi, Moving the Centre, op.cit, p. 63.
43
18
In this dissertation, I am going to stress the importance of African writers who have
always tried to correct the West’s depiction of Africa while valuing their continent’s
history. They attempted to describe their works as “an act of atonement with [their]
past” 45 and “pieces of information [they] could gather about [their] ancestors that
developed into a desire to write [their] story.” 46 According to Basil Davidson, this act
of bringing back culture signifies reconstructing a “shattered community, to save or
restore the sense and fact of community against all the pressures of the colonial
system.” 47 This idea of reinitiating indicates a powerful feeling of cultural nationalism.
The significance of the rise of Kenyan nationalism was superbly expressed in Ngugi’s
Homecoming:
To look from the tribe to a wider concept of human association is to be
progressive. When this begins to happen, a Kenya nation will be born. It will
be an association, not of different tribal entities, but of individuals,
…Nationalism, by breaking some tribal shells, will be a help. 48
In the point above, Ngugi induces people from different ethnic groups to step beyond
their ethnical background and have a vision to build a nation. Most importantly is that
although Ngugi wishes to see the birth of Kenyan patriotism in the moment of
decolonization, he does not understand patriotism as a biased entity which rejects other
unpopular ethnical groups. Instead of that, he argues that nationalism is constantly
changing and should respect all individuals. For this reason, Ngugi appears completely
conscious that nationalism can be yet another restriction which leads to another sort of
subjugation unless it is comprehended correctly. Consequently, nationalism should
share power evenly to every group of people rather than restrict it under the power of
only one specific group.
The appearance of cultural nationalism came as a reaction to the colonialists’
endeavor of suppressing the African knowledge. Intellectuals like Fanon and Edward
Said’s aim was “to confront orthodoxy and dogma” and “represent all those people and
45
Chinua Achebe, 'Named for Victoria, Queen of England' in Hopes and Impediments, (London: Heinemann
Educational Books, 1988), p. 13.
46
Ibid, p. 14.
47
Basil Davidson, Africa in Modern History: The Search for a New Society (London: Allen Lanes, 1978),
p.155.
48
Ngugi, Homecoming, op.cit, p. 24.
19
issues who are routinely forgotten or swept under the rug.” 49 All these revolutionary
writers came to speak truth and develop “new realities” and knowledge of Africa as
Simon Gikandi points out. 50 The description manifested by African writers is a reaction
to what the colonialists tried to suppress as well as the wrong stereotypes given by
Europeans to Africans. Said argues that “the post-imperial writers of the Third World
therefore bear their past within them - as scars of humiliating wounds.” 51 One point to
be noted is that during colonization, African “languages were associated with negative
images of humiliation.” 52 Therefore, the African writer does not only flood the plans of
imperialists, but spread African knowledge of history. In response to the colonial
discourse, these revolutionaries claim that the African natives did have a culture before
being colonized and like all people, they had their strengths and frailties. In the old
times, even their struggles were accepted and dealt with in a wise manner:
Drama in pre-colonial Kenya was not, then, an isolated event: it was part and
parcel of the rhythm of daily and seasonal life of the community…It was also
entertainment in the sense of involved enjoyment…It was the British
colonialism which destroyed that tradition. 53
By all means, Ngugi’s literary discourse is part of the Kenyan historical, political
and economic discourse. To clarify, he does not merely cope with the field of culture,
but has a vision of revising the past for his country to have a bright future. In his novels,
he seems often unpleased with most principles that came from the West. In July 1979,
he made a point about the purity of old African civilization and its human relations. He
thinks that “some African civilizations had not developed the conquest of nature to a
very high degree, but they had developed to a high degree their control of social
nature.” 54 In this statement, the Kenyan writer suggests that modern European or
American civilization is inferior to the old African civilization in terms of human values.
He claims that European civilization is “a man-eats-man society” and “is still in a state
49
Edward Said, Representations of the Intellectual (New York: Vintage Books, 1994), p. 11.
Simon Gikandi, ‘The Growth of the East African Novel’ in G. D. Killam (Ed.) The Writing of East and
Central Africa (London: Heinemann, 1984), p. 231.
51
Said, Culture and Imperialism, op.cit, p. 212.
52
Parker, ‘Interview with Ngugi wa Thiong'o,’ op.cit, p. 34.
53
Ngugi, Decolonising the Mind, op.cit, p. 37.
54
Ngugi, Writers in Politics: Essays, op.cit, p. 67.
50
20
of social cannibalism.” 55 Unlike wise, the old African community is characterized with
brotherliness, mutual respect, and heroism and bravery: two attributes which were
highly admired at a period of African history. For this reason, Ngugi does not understand
the native African who mimics the western’s culture, especially the fact that “no
civilization has so far been built on the basis of blind imitation of other people” and
hence, he informs Africans that they “do not have to imitate other people's
languages…other people's cultures, in order to be civilized.” 56
For over many years, the role of the African elite has always been extremely
essential in Ngugi’s narratives. For example, the educated elite symbolize the new
structure of state and the modern ideologies that have been established. The urban
educated elite, who have now replaced the white rulers, play a role of mediators between
the colonial principles and ideologies, and the people who struggle to accept the
oppressor’s policies. 57 This problem has created characters like Waiyaki in The River
Between (1965)
58
, who tries to suppress anti-colonial resistance, and the character
Kihika who calls for patriotic sacrifice in the novel Weep Not, Child. It is said that
“nations are symbolic communities whose full materialization depends on the ability to
weave together a narrative that will win the sympathy of the intended subjects.” 59 The
nationalistic message that Ngugi asks for in The River Between is founding an
independent school that unite all ethnic groups. For example, Waiyaki is given a role of
a modernist patriot and protector of this probability of togetherness that Ngugi has
always sustained and wished for his people. Most of the times, Ngugi’s anti-colonial
discourse seeks to cure and regenerate the African society to itself. For instance, his
book Matigari calls for revolution. The main character is the only one who believes in
changing post-independence Kenya. He fights for his country to be free by trying to find
truth and justice. Ngugi’s fiction tends to inspire African people to be braver and
confront their government rather than sitting back waiting for a miracle. He advocates
55
Ngugi, Writers in Politics: Essays, op.cit, p. 67.
Ibid, p. 67.
57
James Ogude, Ngugi’s Novels and African History: Narrating the Nation (London: Pluto Press, 1999).
58
Ngugi wa Thiong’o, The River in Between (London: Heinemann, 1965).
59
Stuart Hall, David Held and Tony McGrew (Eds), Modernity and its Features (Cambridge: Polity Press,
1992), p, 292.
56
21
that his people must ‘act’ to make a positive change just as Matigari, who is not afraid
to retrieve the life he hoped for before independence. Similar character as Abdulla in
Petals of Blood, this character is described as a messiah and someone who is willing to
save his compatriots from a pure chaos. The spirit of Ngugi’s main characters in
Matigari and Petals of Blood are purposely implemented to scare both the British
neocolonialists and Kenyan government:
European literary imagination were all being challenged by the energy of the
Okonkwos of the new literature who would rather die resisting than live on
bent knees in a world which they could no longer define for themselves on
their terms. 60
This quotation highlights Ngugi’s sense of patriotism. He prefers to fight and lose with
honor than lose his dignity by living under the West’s authority. His anti-imperialist idea
is a quest for that spirit of an undefeated individual whose weapons are not dropped until
the maltreated are liberated.
Overall, African culture plays a big role of bringing people together and creating a
harmonious and peaceful atmosphere. However, native cultures are under threat due to
the quick emergence of globalization. While the Eurocentric hegemony will be
responsible for the destruction of native cultures, Africans might see themselves
politically, culturally, and socially imprisoned. Still, they should not utterly reject being
part of this project. That is to say, they have to be part of it, but with the conservation of
their language, religion and history.
60
Ngugi, Moving the Centre, op.cit, p. 21.
22
Chapter Two: Kenyans’ Struggle and Resistance against Neocolonialism
and Globalization in Ngugi’s Petals of Blood
Through a postcolonial analysis of Petals of Blood, this chapter investigates Ilmorog
villagers’ struggle for cultural democracy, corruption and social inequality in Ngugi’s
Petals of Blood. It will discuss the issues of land ownership, the rural-urban dichotomy,
and Western policies in the educational system. The objective to be focused on is to
reveal that Kenyan government continues to follow the western’s policies although it is
supposedly independent from the British. With an analysis of the characters’ strategy to
overcome oppression, the focus is on Ngugi’s criticism of the new Kenyan leaders and
what the country needs in order to avoid degeneration.
As an important voice in the struggle for democracy in Kenya, Ngugi’s late stories
do not solely seek for cultural freedom, but also require the search for a new social and
political order. In this search, Ngugi “foregrounds land as a recurring economic and
political metaphor in the decolonization process in Kenya.” 61 As a satirist writer, he uses
satire to mock the government for their evil deeds and obedience to western authorities.
He depicts them as puppets of European imperialists and for this reason, he calls for
revolution against colonial oppression to achieve national cultural liberation.
Petals of Blood portrays the poor quality of life in post-independence Kenya. The
four main characters Munira, Wanja, Karega and Abdulla must leave the city and go to
the deserted village Ilmorog due to Mau Mau rebellion. More precisely, these characters
are obliged to face the repercussions of the rebellion and of a persistent effect of
colonialism and westernization. Characters in the story have hard time to reconnect to
their old traditional values due to New Kenya, which has become culturally
metamorphosed after the departure of British oppressors.
61
Ogude, Ngugi's Novels and African History, op.cit, p. 27.
23
1. The Struggle of Ilmorog Villagers against the New Black Leaders:
Corruption in Kenya has led to a big loss of resources. After Kenya’s independence,
Jomo Kenyatta and his successor, Daniel Arap Moi, established an authoritarian rule
and were controlling people’s public life in every aspect like administration and politics.
The government managed almost everything related to the Kenyan economy. At the end
of their reign, Kenyatta, Moi and Kibaki led their country to a disappointing political,
social and economic evolution. An authoritarian rule, mismanaged economy, and even
punishing the people who oppose their orders and restrictions; the level of responsibility
within the country’s leaders has diminished tremendously. Presidents have marginalized
the Kenyan community by utilizing their powerful posts for their own benefits and
neglect people’s needs. To be more vivid, the people who were ruling the country did
not take the chance to improve the situation and all they have done is exploit people and
enrich themselves. This has then become a way of life of governors as every president
elected takes his bag of money and leaves. In fact, Kenya has inherited the same colonial
constructions that were helping financial benefits of the British Empire. Policies used
by colonial system are being repeated once again. Thereby, the presidency built just
after independence has become a real example of decay.
Ngugi’s Petals of Blood tells the story of the change of a small village and the four
essential characters who come from different places, but play major roles in
transforming it. All of them have unsolved pasts that they have to resolve in their new
community. A sort of a detective novel, the analyzed novel begins with the strange
murder of Chui, Kimeria, and Mzigo, the three most popular entrepreneurs in the
community. It is narrated through different viewpoints by the main characters and utilize
the flashback as one of its principal methods to present a general review of Kenyan
history. The central point of the novel is post-independence Kenya, and through his
characters, Ngugi examines how the rewards of freedom have been unevenly erased and
how the dreams of the national liberation are deceived by the new ruling classes. Petals
of Blood can be seen as Ngugi's effort to uncover the exploitative attributes of
neocolonial capitalism and to act as a spokesman for the subjugated people.
24
New Kenya is influenced by capitalism and Ilmorog has seen a lot of changes. This
is perhaps best seen in the use of Theng'eta in different historical periods. Shared by all
the members of the community, this traditional drink is usually served during
ceremonies. In the colonial period, the drink was banned by British colonialists who
thought that it makes the workers so lazy that they refuse to work. Nonetheless, it has
changed in the new capitalist Kenya. As a matter of fact, it has become a product made
in a brewery owned by Kenyan businessmen and foreign investors, and hundreds of
workers are employed. This change in terms of way of production is an evidence that
Ilmorog has transformed from a pre-capitalist to a capitalist society, and the mode of
production has changed from agriculture-based to industrial-based. The Theng'eta
business is initially owned by Abdulla, but he has to sell it to Mzigo to help Wanja get
her grandmother's land back. This event is a good representative of the malicious sphere
of the exploitative capitalist system in which money turns around, but frequently winds
up in the businessmen's hands.
The changes represented by Theng'eta production demonstrates that Ilmorog, the
once-miserable community, now completely approves the beliefs of capitalism and
metamorphoses itself into national economy managed by international owners. Once a
communal drink made for traditional purposes, Theng'eta is transformed into a
commodity, produced to make financial gains in an international market. However, the
profits from the drink never return to local people like Abdulla, but go to Kenyan
businessmen who eventually share them with European investors. Seeing it from a
Fanonist point of view, Chui, Kimeria and Mzigo do not manufacture anything, but
borrow money from foreigners and buy the Theng'eta business which is initially
launched by Abdulla. As Fanon puts it:
The national bourgeoisie of underdeveloped countries is not engaged in
production, nor in invention, nor building, nor labor …The psychology of the
national bourgeoisie is that of the businessman, not that of a captain of
industry. 62
62
Frantz Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth (New York: Grove Press, 1963), pp. 149-150.
25
In this case, they act only as the mediators who search for building Kenya in the image
of the Western mother country.
Being critical of the bourgeoisie and local elite, Petals of Blood narrates the
appearance of the new governing classes in post-independence Kenya, who unite
themselves with the exploitative principles of neocolonialism. The departure of the
European colonialists does not signify the termination of colonial control. Unlike wise,
the middle-class people and educated elites who take over the political and economic
authorities from the colonizers reconstruct the colonial system and use power over their
own people. Instead of establishing political and economic plans that would change the
country after independence, they only search for creating links with multinational
businesses for their own good.
As the book exposes evidently the deceit of the new political system in Kenya,
Ngugi has seen a massive cultural change in his life and wants to use his art as a tool to
reveal the evil purposes of local black bourgeoisie. According to him, a political and
cultural democracy is reachable only if people connect and confront their harsh reality
together. It is notable that Ngugi does not fear the opposition of Kenyan leaders against
him. As a nationalist, his concerns are very much about his country and people than his
oneself:
…the African writer now, the one who opts for becoming an integral part of
the African revolution…Such a writer will have to rediscover the real
languages of struggle…learn from their great heritage of orature…to remake
their world and renew themselves. 63
Dealing with orature, Amadou Hampâté Bâ, the Malian intellectual of African
traditional culture, made a point in UNESCO conference about oral tradition in the
African continent. He says that “in Africa, each time an old person dies, it's a library
that burns down.” 64 Ngugi is exceedingly protective of Kenyan orality. In his narratives,
the elder characters often represent the African folklore and rituals. He is concerned with
63
Ngugi, Moving the Centre, op.cit, p. 92.
F. Abiola Irele, The African Imagination: Literature in Africa and the Black Diaspora (New York: Oxford
University Press, 2001), p. 82.
64
26
the loss of these wise individuals and advises Kenyan youth to learn from them before
they vanish.
To justify his arguments, Ngugi deeply narrates the ordeal undergone by Kenyans.
This country that has just got democratic is barely locating its identity. Chui, for
instance, a man who had the same beliefs and ideas as the two patriots Abdulla and
Munira, suddenly changes his mind after becoming part of the elite. To put it differently,
the man becomes a careless fraud. Quite clearly, this force that controls the country’s
leaders does not come from Kenyans themselves, but foreigners, hints Ngugi. However,
he rather blames the African elite who continue to obey orders that come from the former
oppressor. Therefore, he describes this class as a “parasitic class” and a “paid supervisor
for the smooth operation of foreign economic interests.” 65 For this reason, this class has
become a new problem to the anti-colonial struggle. The submission shown by Africans
has added more damage to the African dignity. The passive Kenyan people who have
acknowledged the superiority of westerners believe that they were provided with a
civilization that Kenya needed. But in reality, Great Britain’s plan to bring few elements
of their ‘progress’ was the easiest way to pull Africans from their cultural roots. Ngugi
observes that “the imperialist cultural tradition in its colonial form was meant to
undermine peoples' belief in themselves and make them look up to the European
cultures.” 66
As a reaction to the neocolonial situation, Ngugi tends to bring consciousness to his
people and remind them of the poor, who are utterly neglected, as well as agrarians and
peasants, who earn low wages. The narrator in Petals of Blood blames the leaders who
are responsible for villagers’ poorness, and the country’s dismissal:
… it was they outside there who ought to dance to the needs of the people.
But now it seemed that authority, power, everything, was outside Ilmorog ...
out there ... in the big city. They must go and confront that which had been
the cause of their empty granaries. (POB, p.139)
65
66
Ngugi, Detained, op.cit, p. 56.
Ngugi, Moving the Centre, op.cit, p. 61.
27
With their inhuman attitudes, the African elite take their powerful position to exploit
everyone just like the white man has done during colonial time. They listen to the
commands of former colonialists, who have certainly no intention to develop the
periphery countries. Although Ngugi is often confident of a bright future, these sorts of
events make him anxious about the fact that Kenya is very far from accomplishing
complete independence:
First it has been the external factor of foreign invasion, occupation, and
control, and second, the internal factor of collaboration with the external
threat...under colonialism and today under neo-colonialism, the two factors
have interacted to the detriment of our being...The storm repeats itself, in a
more painful way under neo-colonialism. 67
To convey his message to the concerned masses, the Kenyan novelist chooses
several narrators and protagonists. Throughout the novel, every character proposes his
scheme to subsist disadvantageous conditions. Moreover, he explains every scene its
meaning by showing conflicts, opposed point of views among the community and
propounds solutions that leads Kenya to a rebirth of soul. The transformation of Ilmorog
from a village to a new town in Petals of Blood could be an indication that Kenya has
become materialistic. This materialism also brought power abuse and decay. In fact, all
the richness of companies of brewery goes to the elite in the city while villagers are
living in misery. At this point, New Kenya is the true definition of a corrupt place. Ngugi
manifests his anger at the capitalist ideology and international trade which led to social
inequality in Kenya:
…Capitalism can never bring about equality of people. The exploitation of
one group by another is the very essence of capitalism. The peasants and
workers are very much exploited in this country. They get very low pay, very
poor housing…Women are doubly exploited and oppressed. 68
In order to show the sad injustice, Ngugi draws the contrast between the nationalist
villagers, who represent wisdom and honesty, and the country’s capitalist leaders, who
represent fraudulence and evil. This difference can be seen between Abdulla, the fighter
67
68
Ngugi, Moving the Centre, op.cit, p. 96.
Anita Shreve, “Interview with Ngugi wa Thiong'o” in Viva (July 1977), p. 35.
28
who faced British during Mau Mau rebellion and lost one leg, and the narration of the
rulers’ selfishness and carelessness. To clarify, the author also manifests the hypocrisy
of British priests. For instance, the Christian rich priest Jerrod Brown provides ill people
with spiritual nourishment when they need food or water. The writer indicates that even
the Christian religion, which is supposed to help people and bring peace, plays a big part
of alienating African people from their culture:
Christianity as an organized religion is corrupt and hypocritical: besides
acting as an agent of imperialism. It exercised a highly disruptive influence
on African life and was the chief villain in alienating the African from his
own culture. 69
Imperialism seeks to manage fully the whole system of production as well as control the
distribution of the wealth in their countries. For instance, during colonialism, European
bourgeoisie were plainly showing that their aim was to plunder African resources. Ngugi
asserts that there is a link between economic and political control. While in the colonial
period Europeans were controlling politics by having settler representatives, the neocolonial control is done using the African bourgeoisie. However, the cultural hegemony
makes the politico-economic control easier. Actually, the control of education, language
and religion helps the dominator's objective of spreading a certain ideology. This results
in the manner African sees himself and the Europeans. In other terms, they aim at
making “slavery” and obedience as the normal human state. 70 It would be a real tragedy
if Africans could no more contradict the dominating nations. To illustrate, Petals of
Blood manifests Chui’s egoism as he continues to care solely for the rich foreigners
instead of helping the poor. As a consequence, the most respected woman in the story,
Nyakinyua, reveals her opinion about the difficult situation they are facing when she
says: “It is our turn to make things happen…We had power over the movement of our
limbs…But there came a time when this power was taken from us” (POB, p.138). Ngugi
in this context suggests that as long as people are silent, the more power they will lose.
For this reason, he often speaks from the angle of the persecuted Africans who are unable
to maintain the fight. He voices the struggle of the silent using his pen, which “may not
69
70
Ngugi, Homecoming, op.cit, p. 31.
Ngugi. Moving the Centre, op.cit, p. 69.
29
always be mightier than the sword but used in the service of the truth it can be a mighty
force.” 71
2. The Importance of Land and its Alienation in Kenya:
My dissertation sheds the light on land as an important element in the life of
Kenyans. Since it is the primary source to earn a living, the landowners have a sense of
belonging by the goodness of the land that they own as it is linked with their ancestors.
Land also provides individuals social safety. This is why most conflicts in Kenya turn
around land ownership and use, and reveal why individuals and communities put an
emotional value to it. Ngugi insists that “the soil which in the traditional view was
always seen as a source of creative life and fertility...In this lies the hope of Kenya.” 72
During the pre-colonial period in Kenya, it was easier for people to acquire land as
the land size is huge and inhabitants are low. It was enough to fulfill every individual’s
needs as it was shared in a communal base. Additionally, in the pre-colonial period,
there were some conflicts concerning land but the issues were frequently resolved at the
end. It is when the British occupied Kenya that serious land problems started to appear.
The British colonialists worsen the situation by imposing many new laws on Kenyans
that did not favor the latter’s interests like alienating different communities from their
land. After a period, Kenyans were alienated from their land by the colonial
administration and obliged to go to crowded places and unsuitable conditions for a
human being to settle. This remains even after Kenya’s independence where
landownership becomes more problematic among the communities.
In the colonial time, the political, economic and social gaps between British
colonizers and native Kenyans led to bigger clash and hostility. By 1945, almost twenty
percent of the Kenyan fertile lands are possessed by approximately three-thousand
Europeans. The key point that should be noted is that land partitions were the origin of
dispute between Kenyan peasants and European settlers. In fact, this issue is clearly
voiced by Ime Ikkideh, who claims that “the record of British usurpation of land in
71
Ngugi Wa Thiong'o, Barrel of a Pen: Resistance to Repression in Neo-Colonial Kenya (London: New
Beacon, 1983), p. 69.
72
Ngugi, Homecoming, op.cit, p. 24.
30
Kenya must be one of the most sordid scandals in colonial history.” 73 Just after
independence, a huge number of Kenyan peasants remained working on the lands owned
by the non-Africans or the rich Kenyans, just to eke out a living. Nowadays, it is
estimated that forty-five percent of the agricultural lands in Kenya are owned by
foreigners and same as the colonial times, the Kenyans still work tirelessly just for
livelihood. About seventy-five percent of Kenyans live in the countryside and most of
them are peasants.
As has been noted, Ngugi’s narratives advocates that the disappointments and tough
conditions experienced by Kenyans should be endured. In Petals of Blood, he mentions
rain as a symbol of hope and this is often linked to the elders, who are always optimistic
of a better tomorrow in Ilmorog. Nonetheless, the author portrays the village in the
period of drought as a “desert place” (POB, p.10). The drought has an important
meaning as it plainly represents the privations of the lower classes in neocolonial Kenya
who feel pain from the lack of link between the people and politicians. The point that
Ngugi wants to transmit when he narrates the difficult life of peasants and herdsmen is
that even if their efforts are not fruitful enough, they are able to achieve something. In
his eyes, this little success still holds great importance as it requires hard work and
patience in a period where the cycle of seasons is unstable. The ‘spirit of land’ that the
writer refers to is the spirit that somehow what Kenya needs to prosper.
For the most part, Ngugi’s concern in the novel is not only people, but the new
economic system and ideologies that oppress Africans, and make them submissive to
the West’s plans. He does not rely on governors, the African elite, or landowners, but in
the peasants and workers, who will someday annihilate the parasites and oppressors.
Ngugi puts his faith in classes that are fighting for a new system and a more ethical
future. 74 He mentions Nelson Mandela, the man who spent twenty-seven years in prison
to save his nation, as an example of a real revolutionary and that in him, the world has
praised the courage and resistance of the South African people. 75 His book Detained
73
Ime Ikiddeh, "Ngugi wa Thiong'o: The Novelist as Historian" in Bruce King and Kolawole Ogungbesan
(Ed.), Celebration of Black and African Writing (London: Oxford University Press, 1975) p, 210.
74
Ngugi, Writers in Politics: Essays, op.cit, p. 75.
75
Ngugi. Moving the Centre, op.cit, pp. 164-65.
31
stresses that the comprador bourgeoisie and elites were scared of this working mass
“who showed no fear in their eyes” and “proclaimed their history with unashamed pride
and who denounced its betrayal with courage.” 76 An example of this courage is Karega’s
will of action when he asks the villagers to go for a trip to talk to Kimeria, the Member
of Parliament, so that they can express their issues concerning the drought-troubled
community. He attempts to make the country move forward by defending the rights of
proletarians when he goes back to the workers who were against the owners of
Theng’eta Breweries. This man is just among any worker who has been oppressed. That
is, he does not have any advantages and yet, he retains a view of a more equitable
society. Another example of heroism is Nyakinyua, a symbol of wisdom and vigilance.
This old woman is seen as a leader and an example to follow in her community. Being
dispossessed of her land in New Ilmorog, she maintains the same attitude and spirit as
her old days to prevent the opportunistic Kenyan elite from taking it. As mentioned
before, to earn a living, former colonized Africans relied mainly on the land. Frantz
Fanon’s The Wretched of the Earth recalls the significance of agriculture to the African
people as the “the most essential value” since it brings them “bread and, above all,
dignity.” 77 The fact that “they have nothing to lose and everything to gain,” 78 Fanon also
tells us how peasants are the ones who are able to make a change in the community and
frequently face their oppressors violently without hesitation. Nyakinyua’s offensive
reaction illustrates perfectly this sense of fight to clean up newly black enemies from
the system and overcome constant oppression. Fearless and confident, she even refuses
to fight with her fellow peasants: “I’ll go alone... I'll struggle against these black
oppressors... alone ... alone...” (POB, p.328).
After modernization, the lands of peasants are confiscated since they cannot “pay
back the loans” (POB, p.327). Although none of the main characters lose their land in
this way, it is important to mention that Kenya reproduces what occurred during the
colonial period. Fanon criticizes the African elite and their disharmonious relationship
76
Ngugi, Detained, op.cit, p. 71.
Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth, op.cit, p. 44.
78
Ibid, p. 61.
77
32
with the working class. According to him, this “lack of practical links between them and
the mass of the people… will give rise to tragic mishaps.” 79
3. The Rural-Urban Dichotomy:
In Petals of Blood, the village and city have opposed attributes. Ngugi states that
unlike the city, which represents corruption and evil, the village is where every African
should belong as it symbolizes hope and prosperity. The distinction shown between
village and city tends to emphasize the negative aspects of colonialism and clarifies the
contrast drawn between traditional and modern Kenya. The story’s narrator shows his
admiration for the old Ilmorog: “Even without the moon Ilmorog ridge, as it drops into
the plains along which Ilmorog river flows, must form one of the greatest natural
beauties in the world” (POB, p.80).
The semi-legendary founder of Ilmorog, Ndemi, represents the folklore of the
village and has cultivated the lands in a period where Ilmorog was a place of peace and
beauty. Nonetheless, this little village is no more like it used to be. It has turned into a
tragic and primitive place. Nevertheless, some people continue to preserve their ethnical
values and beliefs, attend different ceremonies and assist each other. On the other hand,
the urban life is totally the reverse as their principles are regarded as degrading. The
elite’s main interest is all about seeking power and money. Nderi wa Riera, Ilmorog’s
corrupt Member of Parliament for the people, ignores the villagers’ demands when they
call him for help, and is an opportunistic politician whose sole interest is power for his
personal gains. Portrayed as a dictator, Nderi dismisses his electorate and keeps his
position of unfair authority.
By mentioning the tall buildings, hotels and gardens in the novel, Ngugi pinpoints
that urbanism is not in a state of progress, but decomposition. As planned, the target of
British neocolonialists to wipe off the African communal system appears to be a success.
For instance, international trade and business world makes the country leaders less
sensitive to the working mass. In addition to that, the urban elite seek any chance to
exploit successful individuals of the countryside, and utilize their position of power to
79
Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth, op.cit, p. 148.
33
stultify the villagers. Again, Ngugi stresses the fact that people’s expectations after
seeing the independence flag are far from being achieved.
For the purpose of manifesting the disintegration of values, the novel displays the
transformation of Ilmorog from a rural village to an industrial place. To illustrate, Wanja
is obliged to quit her successful business and head for prostitution to avoid being
exploited in other ways. She hints at the decline of Kenyan values: “This world ... this
Kenya ... this Africa knows only one law. You eat somebody or you are eaten. You sit
on somebody or somebody sits on you” (POB, p.345). Some characters had to choose
demeaning paths just to survive and avoid worse outcomes. For instance, Abdulla leaves
his former hometown Limuru for one reason: to escape its responsibilities and painful
memories. After independence, he returns to this town, supposing to find the rewards of
his fight, which is the retrieval of the land for the people; however, he finds out that his
heroism is not given importance. As a consequence, he and other peasants are emptyhanded for everything they have done to protect their threatened country, whereas
characters like Kimeria turn the economic system to their favor, although, they have
never fought during colonialism.
In the village, even the people who are usually on good terms are having angry
arguments and disagreements caused by the “dust and the searing sun” (POB, p.89).
People are locked in, forced to endure this hardship. Meanwhile, the city, where all
upper class live, is provided with everything needed such as means of transportation,
roads and hotels. Ngugi illustrates this constant frustration through Wanja, who is unable
to relax because of anxiety and boredom. Furthermore, she tells optimistic people that
there is no more hope to stay in the village since they live in the same conditions every
year:
It is a bad season. They say that every year. They hope that by saying that the
next harvest will be better. But all they'll get is this windfall of dust: and this
scraggy earth waiting to be saved from a heartless sun by rain that may never
fall. (POB, p.89)
Through the narrative, Wanja symbolizes the modern Kenyan womanhood who has a
strong psychological influence on the villagers of Ilmorog. She tries to remind them of
their terrible life conditions and encourage them to stand up for themselves. In contrast,
34
she plans to escape from ‘empty’ rural life. Ngugi characterizes her as a complex
character who is both woman of the city and village. Arguably, her fascination of the
urban life and western culture is an indication that the Kenyan youth are no more
concerned with their tradition and customs. By depicting her transition from rural
innocence to urban decadence, Ngugi demonstrates the enormous impact of
modernization on rural communities.
In a neocolonial period where Kenya needs more nationalists, Ngugi claims that
new Kenyan generation are not really embracing their native values, instead, they are
much more fascinated by the urban life. Wanja’s behavior continues to prove her
detestation of the countryside when she says: “I hate Ilmorog. I hate the countryside so boring! I could do with clean tap water. Electric light and a bit of money” (POB,
p.90). Unlike the old days, young Kenyans somehow do not understand the art of
patience and resistance. In Ngugi's eyes, being too westernized results in “cultural
sterility and death” while nationalism leads to “cultural regeneration and strength.” 80 As
a matter of fact, the notion of patriotism that has been part of the old African blood is
starting to disappear, and modern Africans prefer the easy path rather than maintaining
the battle for eternal Uhuru. 81 This new Ilmorog, that “rose from a deserted village into
a sprawling town of stone, iron” (POB, p.313) and neon-lights, has already fascinated
the villagers. The traces of globalization are evidently seen through Ngugi's description
of New Ilmorog, with the appearance of the African economic bank, the police station
and the Trans-Africa Highway, “which not only divides the community into two, but is
also not what the latter requires.” 82 The money spent on the land of poor peasants gives
rise to a new social structure and awareness. As the narrator confirms:
Ilmorog peasants had been displaced from the land: some had joined the army
of workers, others were semi-workers with one foot in a plot of land and one
foot in a factory, while others became petty traders in hovels and shanties they
did not even own, along the Trans-Africa Road, or criminals and prostitutes.
(POB, p. 359)
80
Ngugi, Writers in Politics: Essays, op.cit, p. 48.
Uhuru: a term often used by Ngugi which means ‘freedom’ in Swahili.
82
Patrick Williams, Ngugi wa Thiong'o (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1999), p. 84.
81
35
The availability of lorries, buses, matatus, and roads that facilitate trade continue to
remind us that the new transformed village is no more the place it used to be. Although
it has become a better town, Ngugi seems to be unpleased with the other side of progress:
the new selfish attitude of Kenyan people. In other terms, they are becoming more
individualistic and greedy even though New Ilmorog is more luxurious: “It was New
Kenya. It was New Ilmorog. Nothing was free.” Once more, Ngugi focuses on the
importance of money and exploitation in the new life of Kenyans. As stated earlier, even
Wanja, a symbol of Kenya’s future, has chosen the path of destruction. This choice also
reminds us that in this era, “few had become workers on the wheat fields and ranches”
(POB, p.332).
Over the course of the novel, the Western’s impact on Kenyan society is more
discernible. Since the city represents Kenya’s decline, Ngugi claims that the country
leaders should manage the political structure more fairly and oppose their foreign
enemies who continue to benefit from their resources. This advantage only increases
‘their’ economic revenue while Kenya remains poor. Ngugi is quite adamant that
imperialism is never advantageous to Africans:
…I came to realize that Kenya was poor…because the wealth produced by
Kenyans ended in developing the western world.... This was what I was trying
to show in Petals of Blood: that imperialism can never develop our country
or develop us, Kenyans. 83
With attention to Kenya’s poverty, this decline is also due to Mau Mau rebellion which
made the citizens flee from where they belong. Since that happened, some individuals
have lost patience. Nevertheless, as perceived in Petals of Blood, this ordeal is unable
to stop Ngugi from keeping his responsibility of encouraging struggling people and
healing their despair.
Being critical of the new Kenyan urbanism, Ngugi insists that immoral urban world
of money comes from foreigners. To put it differently, it is a new phenomenon created
by the Europeans, and not Africans. In Petals of Blood, he draws the distinction between
83
Ngugi, Writers in Politics: Essays, op.cit, pp. 63-97.
36
European and African ethics when he describes the African rural community as morally
pure, and the Western city life as ethically deteriorated. The prominent Kenyan
novelist questions whether absolute cultural decolonization is ever possible if the
ideology of individualism persists in the country. As a humanitarian, he acknowledges
that the poor proletarian class should not be subordinated since it is the mass that works
the most for the least pay.
4. The Principles behind the Colonial Educational System at Siriana:
It is notable that to exploit Africans in every aspect, the objective of colonial
education in Kenya was to create an educated labor power so that leaders can help in
administration and the economy of the colony. However, Africans were suspicious of
the educational system since it was not the same as the one offered to Europeans. As
Kenya was close to independence, the British imperialists decided to limit the
development of education, so that Kenyans cannot reach a higher education.
Although the colonial education might be a threat to African cultural identity, Ngugi
believes that cultural contact can be beneficial if people share their own culture
peacefully, without evil plans so as to achieve global mutual understanding. Even Ngugi
considers himself “a product of both an oral and a Kenyan national tradition and a
written international tradition.” 84 As a writer, he has been influenced by African writers
as well as foreigners. Nonetheless, he claims that imperialists cannot fully control the
African economy and political system without eroding African culture by imposing their
own:
…the political domination of a people could never be complete without
cultural and hence mental and spiritual subjugation. The economic and
political conquest of Africa was accompanied by cultural subjugation and the
imposition of an imperialist cultural tradition whose dire effects are still being
felt today. 85
Since Kenya’s independence, the colonial education is divided with Europeans and
Asians always having priority, while black people are put in the lower division. Issues
84
85
Parker, ‘Interview with Ngugi wa Thiong'o,’ op.cit, p. 36.
Ngugi, Moving the Centre, op.cit, p. 60.
37
related to education remains after independence as the Kenyan government keeps some
similar policies as those of the West. Ngugi reminds us that during colonialism,
Europeans have even indoctrinated African students that colonialism and slavery have
been advantageous aspects for them:
In schools, African students were encouraged to paint collaborators with
colonialism in good positive colours…Up Frogs Slavery by Booker T.
Washington, a book that argued that slavery had actually been quite beneficial
to black people was in many school libraries and classrooms all over Africa. 86
In Petals of Blood, Ngugi devotes much discussion and action concerning
educational issues. Ngugi views educational and cultural institutions as instruments for
psychological captivity and are used to perpetuate psychological “slavery” in the postcolonial state. For example, Karega is desperately in search of a different education that
would reinstate his self-respect as an African and replace the kind of estranging
education given at Siriana High School by the colonial teachers such as British
headmaster of Siriana, Cambridge Fraudsham. Karega is uncertain that formal education
leads to people's Uhuru. In fact, the lawyer in the novel says that formal education “was
meant to obscure racism and other forms of oppression. It was meant to make us accept
our inferiority so as to accept their superiority and their rule over us” (POB, p.197).
Fraudsham’s way of teaching is colonialist in perspective as it follows the colonial idea
of the master-slave relationship. He symbolizes the conceit of the colonial school
system. With its impertinent curriculum imposed on Kenyans; students are
systematically humiliated and denigrated due to their race. Nevertheless, the nightmare
does not end after his departure. Once Chui is announced as Siriana’s new headmaster,
he becomes “a black replica of Fraudsham” (POB, p.205). That is, he does not change
the system when in reality, he was the one who used to encourage African students to
rebel against this Western-based education. Reluctant to Africanize Siriana, he teaches
English literature instead. By speaking the language of the former colonizer, Chui
evidently prefers teaching the cultural values of the British to his students and embracing
them over the African ones. Therefore, he has forgotten his origins. Douglas Killam
86
Ngugi, Moving the Centre, op.cit, p. 61.
38
proclaims that “to understand the present, you must understand the past. To know who
you are, you must know where you come from.” 87 Chui is among the educated in
colonial schools who became “collaborators with the enemy, all in exchange for the
privileges and the safety of their own skins and stomachs.” 88 One principal point to be
noted is that although the British have offered African bourgeoisie students like Chui a
good education, African history was downgraded. Thus, European history remained the
dominator in the curriculum. For instance, under the rule of Fraudsham, the colonial
educational order is intensified since the students study the history of the Celtics instead
of their own. Said’s Culture and Imperialism declares that “one of the purposes of
colonial education was to promote the history of France or Britain, that same education
also demoted the native history.” 89 Arguably, Achebe insists that western imperialists
do not give Africans all of their knowledge, but mainly the knowledge that creates
conflicts and misunderstandings between the educated and non-educated African
natives:
… no matter how much the native was exposed to European influence he
could never truly absorb them… Now, did this mean that the educated native
was no different at all from his brothers in the bush? Oh, no! He was different;
he was worse…it had deprived him of his links with his own people whom
he no longer even understood. 90
Clearly, Achebe observes that the educated African native is blindly and brainlessly
following the West’s principles. He points out that the colonial system of education is
offered to the African bourgeoisie principally for dividing African people, and then have
an easy monopoly of control over their economic-political system.
In general, this chapter stresses that Ngugi’s Petals of Blood looks for a humanistic
future. In most cases, he attempts to motivate struggling masses to react violently so as
to preserve their culture and country’s dignity. For this reason, Ngugi blames the Kenyan
elite for following the West's culture fully. Instead, the author suggests that Africans
87
G.D Killam, ‘Themes and Treatments in Ngugi Wa Thiong’o Novels’ in Samuel Omo Asein &
Albert Olu Ashaolu (Ed.), Studies in African Novel, Vol. 1 (Nigeria: Ibadan University Press 1986), p 288.
88
Ngugi, Writers in Politics: Essays, op.cit, p 88.
89
Said, Culture and Imperialism, op.cit, p. 223.
90
Chinua Achebe, ‘Colonialist Criticism’, 03/07/17, http://www.davidsiar.com/ColonialismPostcolonialism/Colonialist_Criticism.doc
39
should be selective by taking the best out of the Western culture without rejecting their
own cultural values. To reach his goal, he advocates that Kenyan educational system
should be more Afrocentric and less westernized before Africa loses its identity. In
addition, governors should not undervalue land since it is Kenya's source of life and
prosperity.
40
Chapter Three: Women Representation and Gikuyu Identity in Ngugi’s
Petals of Blood
The central point of this chapter is to investigate Ngugi’s implementation of
women’s heroism to advocate the preservation of Kenyan traditional culture and
national identity. To reach his goal, Ngugi gives the modern Kenyan woman the
opportunity of free speech. However, he does not ignore the fact that women continue
to be wrongfully treated. In most cases, his way of depicting women in Petals of Blood
is essential in depicting the African continent: an exploited and oppressed human being.
Throughout the course of post-independence phase in Kenya, the role of women in
Petals of Blood in political and economic growth is pivotal. It is obviously noted that
African women reveal some feeling of strength and resistance against all signs of
patriarchal domination. While the novel presents different types of African women,
every woman attributes to herself an extra role of helping their male fellows, fighting
on the side of their husbands, and accomplishing their personal female roles as wives
and mothers. Hence, the women in this novel are resilient and brave.
1. Wanja’s Role in Kenyan Society:
Being regarded by eminent critics as the dean of African novelists, Ngugi’s
portrayal of women in many ways are traditional and stereotypical although his
sympathy for the sufferers of oppression does at times extend to women as a
marginalized group. Being the victim of a submissive image, the African woman
experiences both colonial and male domination. In Ngugi's narratives, women are still
seen to have an essential role in the fight against injustice and exploitation. Speaking
about the role of women, Jennifer Evans testifies that “in Ngugi’s novels women are
shown to have a fundamental role in the struggle against oppression and exploitation,
and often courage and hope are ultimately found in their hands” 91. Judith Cochrane
observes that female characters in Ngugi’s fiction are “guardians of the tribe.” 92 That is
91
Reddy K. Indrasena, The Novels of Chinua Achebe and Ngugi: A Study in the Dialectics of Commitment
(New Delhi: Prestige Books, 1994), p. 101.
92
Judith Cochrane, “Women as Guardians of the Tribe in Ngugi’s Novels” in Critical Perspectives on Ngugi
wa Thiong’o, (Ed.) G. D. Killam (Washington, DC: Three Continents, 1984), p. 90.
41
to say, they are shown as the principal force of the Kenyan people, guardians of
traditional culture, and emblems of real Gikuyu identity. Kathy Kessler also argues that
Ngugi “positions women in the narrative and in the historical context in ways that foster
the renovation of identity and tradition and redefine their roles in the development of a
revolutionary consciousness.” 93 Since Ngugi's female characters are systematically
provided with traditional goodness and principles, his female images are not fixed. He
shows that women and their lives are changing, and female characters of courage such
as Nyambura, Mumbi and Wanja are viewed in the vanguard of social change.
Simultaneously, it is through female images that Ngugi displays historical continuance
most efficaciously, and stresses how standards drawn from the traditional world
discover their expression in the modern world.
In order to examine the unpleasant events of the neo-colonial scenario of Kenya,
Petals of Blood reveals the deformed values ruling human relationships in the novel
most plainly when he describes Wanja, the most complex character that can be seen in
any of his preceding novels. In her role as a prostitute, this young woman exposes the
exploitative materialism that controls people's lives. Her humanity is lessened to a
commodity market, and her personal relationships to financial deals. Wanja has a sort
of liberty and independency, but Ngugi shows this to be as adverse and delusory as the
supposed democracy of a neo-colonial state. She seems to indicate society's disputes and
denials. Her career exemplifies the dilemmas that many Kenyan women are confronting
in a quickly changing community, but it can also be seen as an image of the destiny of
Kenya. The revered image of African women is now seen as a whore, exploited and
subjugated by the new black elite. Again, Ngugi emphasizes on the fact that “gender
discrimination like women’s oppression is not an accident but a product of imperialism
in its home base.” 94
As stated above, Ngugi is not critical of individuals, but of the economic and
political system. Karega regards this system as “a world in which one could only be
healthy by making others carry one's leprosy” (POB, p.360). The pawns of this system
93
Kathy Kessler, “Rewriting History in Fiction: Elements of Postmodernism in Ngugi wa Thiong'o's Later
Novels” in Ariel, (1994), p. 79.
94
Ngugi, Moving the Centre, op.cit, p. 128.
42
like Kimeria, Chui and Mzigo are unquestionably traitors who merit little compassion,
but one also should not view Wanja as an innocent person. Her future is misdirected.
Although she is exploited; she exploits other men as well when she opens her
whorehouse the ‘Sunshine lodge’. Her ideology “eat or be eaten” is an expression of the
devastating rivalry of capitalism, and is no more ethical than the self-interested avarice
of the Kimerias and Chuis. This loss of naivety of young Kenyan womanhood indicates
that Wanja is dissimilar to the brave women of Ngugi's previous works.
It is worth noting that female characters in Ngugi's first three novels have tended to
be romanticized. A Grain of Wheat presents a wider range of characters compared to the
innocent young women and virtuous mothers of The River Between and Weep Not Child,
but the current female image continues to be righteous. Ngugi makes it plain to readers
that his heroines are inspired by anything other than idealism, and a wish for verity and
fairness. Ngugi invokes the importance of literature to endorse deprived people: “I
believe that we in Africa or anywhere else for that matter have to use literature
deliberately and consciously as a weapon of struggle.” 95 Given these points, Ngugi’s
heroines continue to be innocent of any evil or demolition. Even Mumbi, despite her
infidelity to Gikonyo, keeps a certain honest virtue. Maybe it is this kind of female
virtuousness that stimulates Adrian Roscoe's review that the women characters are not
presented with “tough handling.” 96
In Petals of Blood, Wanja is not put in such position of great and uncritical
admiration. She has more flaws and is more human than her precursor characters. She
has a kind friendly character, but can be egocentric, heartless and vengeful sometimes.
Despite everything, Wanja's strengths are her dominant characteristics, just like Ngugi's
earlier heroines. In fact, she does have the praiseworthy features that Ngugi link with
the true Gikuyu woman. Eustace Palmer puts her among the “remarkable breed of Ngugi
95
Reinhard Sander and Bernth Lindfors, “Ngugi wa Thiong'o Speaks” (2006) (Oxford: James Currey), p.28.
Adrian Roscoe, Uhuru's Fire: African Literature: East to South (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1977), p. 186.
96
43
women—Mwihaki, Nyambura, Muthoni, Mumbi, Wambuku—all of them brave,
resilient, resourceful and determined.” 97
It is significant to mention that although all of these women are ill-treated, some
academics still believe that “Wanja is invested with a fiercely feminine and aggressively
individualistic personality.” 98 Eustace Palmer asserts that none of Ngugi’s female
characters are really feminine, but Ngugi’s emphasis on the masculine side of Wanja's
personality appear to lack justification, expect if the women's extraordinary attributes
and absence of passivity are considered as basically masculine characteristics. Women
like Muthoni, Nyambura, Mumbi and Wanja are associated with creating new roles for
women and attempting to change gender stereotypes. For instance, Gikonyo is very
similar to Wanja’s spirit, whose life is a continual fight for liberation as a woman. Wanja
openly expresses it as follows:
If you have a cunt - excuse my language, but it seems the curse of Adam's
Eve on those who are born with it—if you are born with this hole, instead of
it being a source of pride, you are doomed to either marrying someone or else
being a whore. (POB, pp. 347-348)
Although Mumbi and Wanja can both be described as new types of women, they do
not represent their traditional heritage, but its modern expression. The close and
harmonious relationship each of these young women enjoys with an older woman who
is the embodiment of tradition, expresses their association with a feminine heritage. The
nature of these relationships between women derives from traditional notions of
community, and appears as exemplary in the contemporary context of developing
capitalism. In A Grain of Wheat, the quality of feminine solidarity and understanding
between Mumbi and Wangari shows mother-in-law and daughter-in-law not as
contrasting figures, but as complementary images of two ages of Gikuyu womanhood.
In Petals of Blood, the close relationship between Wanja and her grandmother
Nyakinyua has a similar function.
97
Eustace Palmer, “Petals of Blood. African Literature Today”
https://www.jstor.org/stable/484887
98
Indrasena, The Novels of Chinua Achebe and Ngugi, op.cit, p. 101.
(1979),
vol
10,
p.
6,
44
2. Nyakinyua as a Protector of Kenyan Cultural Heritage:
This section attempts to analyze the character Nyakinyua as a heroic symbol of
Kenyan traditional values. To a large extent, many reviewers have described her as the
embodiment of the Kenyan tradition. Quite often through the narrative, she is
represented as someone who highly disproves the conventional image of the traditional
woman as the quiet obedient gender. In fact, Nyakinyua is a woman who throws “erotic
abuse” (POB, p.247) in circumcision songs, pushes the women to bombard KCO
officers and takes an eager part in the journey to Nairobi. As Charles Nama puts it, both
Nyakinyua in Petals of Blood and Wariinga in Devil on the Cross (1980 ) 99 “represent
the struggle against corruption and adulteration of foreign culture…against the neocolonial elites which have subjugated women to secondary roles” 100. Even her death,
which occurred “few days after the news of the bank threat,” (POB, p.328) may be
regarded as the last complaint against the loss of her land.
Wanja has bequeathed Nyakinyua’s brave and intransigent spirit. She highly
respects her aunt as she showed great support for her spouse in the forest to defeat British
colonialists. For this reason, as Amuta states, “Wanja is a typical Ngugi woman, élan
vital combining great adaptive skills with dynamism, enterprise and forbearance.”101
While Nyakinyua seems to be a woman of the past, and the major voice of the people's
past, Wanja is very much a woman of the modern era. When she arrives by vehicle with
her modern possessions, she fascinates people of the village. She resuscitates Abdulla's
store, and helps Ilmorog's economic development by promoting Theng'eta. She is
praised in popular songs as “she turned a bedbug of a village into a town” (POB, p.313).
It is by working in the lands that Nyakinyua and Wanja unite most intimately, and
Wanja's eagerness and participation in this active work show her empathy for the soil,
the foundation of people's identity and customs. A short period with the soil entirely
99
Ngugi wa Thiong'o, Devil on the Cross (London: Heineman, 1982).
Charles, Nama, “Daughters of Moombi: Ngugi's Heroines and Traditional Gikuyu Aesthetics,” in
Caroline Boyce, Davies and Anne Adams Graves (Eds), Ngambika: Studies of Women in African Literature
(Trenton, New Jersey: African World Press, 1986), pp. 146-147.
101
Chidi Amuta, The Theory of African Literature: Implications for Practical Criticism (London: Institute
for African Alternatives/Zed Books, 1989), p. 129.
100
45
changes Wanja's bearing and appearance. Karega says that “he had witnessed the
gradual withering away of her earlier calculated smoothness, the practised light in the
eyes, and the slow birth of a broken-nailed, lean beauty” (POB, p.155). After the return
to Ilmorog, Wanja is strongly associated with the women's farming collaborative, the
Ndemi-Nyakinyua group. At times such as this, when Wanja tries to help the community
instead of offering her body to men, Ngugi describes her as most attractive and most
satisfied. Abdulla and Munira are both amazed by her complete change. The climax of
this change is Wanja's love affair with Karega. This has a perfect, rural quality and is
shared with pleasure, except for Munira, by the whole of Ilmorog:
But we were soon intrigued, fascinated, moved by the entwinement and
flowering of youthful love and life and we whispered: see the wonder-gift of
God. Crops will sprout luxuriant and green. We shall eat our fill and drink
Theng'eta at harvest-time. (POB, p.289)
Ngugi creates a new type of communal trust and hope and this is seen when the
participation of Karega and Wanja takes control of the village. Nevertheless, the promise
of these golden days is not yet accomplished. The ill-timed departure of Karega and the
death of Abdulla’s donkey marks the end of old Kenyan community, and the cessation
of Wanja’s personality as woman of the earth. Ironically, Wanja’s further transformation
to wigged and painted brothel, she finally turns upon her retrieval of Nyakinyua’s land.
As an example, after Nyakinyua’s death, Wanja sells her part of the new business with
Abdulla so she redeems her land. This act is aimed by Ngugi to pay tribute to the elder
wise Kenyans and somehow dignify the old tradition of resistance; however, Wanja
constructs a brothel on her land to fulfill the personal needs of Mzigo, Kimeria and Chui.
Wanja is a member of “the strong breed of Ngugi women in the throes of social
change” 102 as she is treated as merely an object by new black ruler.
Since Abdulla had been obsessed with the plan of murdering Kimeria to redeem his
manhood, Wanja slays him instead and gets back her womanhood, and reinstates equity.
This is a powerful message by Ngugi as he hints that women have a huge influence in
102
Indrasena, The Novels of Chinua Achebe and Ngugi, op.cit, p. 101.
46
the decolonizing process, and just like men, they play a crucial role in the antiimperialist struggle. Like Wanja’s will to fight, Karega also backs continual resistance:
… the so-called victims, the poor, the downtrodden, the masses, had always
struggled with spears and arrows, with their hands and songs of courage and
hope, to end their oppression and exploitation: that they would continue
struggling until a human kingdom came. (POB, p. 360)
Although Karega objects that individual killings are senseless and will not change the
corrupt system, the manner in which the death of Kimeria is portrayed indicates that
justice has been made. The act of violence that Wanja has shown in this scene is an act
of personal freedom that certainly reinvigorates the Fanonian violence. In fact, Ngugi
believes that “violence in order to change an intolerable, unjust social order is not
savagery: it purifies man. Violence to protect and preserve an unjust, oppressive social
order is criminal and diminishes man.” 103 This violence is also needed to put an end to
such a complicated situation. Furthermore, Ngugi’s description of a woman’s will to
stop the Kenyan elite is very expressive and fair. Since the bourgeoisie of the periphery
countries are not concerned with their countries’ development, their goal to gain more
power has to end at some point.
Not only Ngugi manifests his endorsement of his fellow Gikuyu people but also
tells us that what they have done during Mau Mau uprising was brave, and not a
barbarian act. In his book Homecoming, he points out that “Mau Mau violence was antiinjustice; white violence was to thwart the cause of justice.” 104 Through his heroines
Wanja and Nyakinyua, Ngugi shows that “the African has always fought for a fair and
better political and economic position in his own country.” 105 Hence, he implements
these women to fight against injustice and social classes, and adapts the Marxist theory
of communism to stop the spread of globalization as a western liberal project, and bring
unity and gender equities in Africa.
103
Ngugi, Homecoming, op.cit, p. 28
Ibid, p. 29.
105
Ibid, p. 24.
104
47
Certainly, Wanja’s freedom is not to be attained through her relationship with
Abdulla, but through her accomplishment as a free woman. When her mother asks her
whose child she is bearing, she refuses to give a direct response, but instead she draws
an image of Abdulla, next to other images of the people's fight and resistance:
For one hour or so she remained completely absorbed in her sketching. And
suddenly she felt lifted out of her own self, she felt waves of emotion she had
never before experienced…When it was over, she felt a tremendous calm, a
kind of inner assurance of the possibilities of a new kind of power. (POB, pp.
401-402)
Besides, this sculpture made Wanja feel for the first time the power of her art, expressed
both in her artistry and her pregnancy. To be clearer, her confidence does not come from
her beauty, but from a new type of value and self-respect. The sculpture Wanja mentions
had puzzled the marchers from Ilmorog because it was a figure that possessed both male
and female features, “as if it was a man and a woman in one” (POB, p.193). In the end,
Nyakinyua resolve the argument about it when she says that “a man cannot have a child
without a woman. A woman cannot bear a child without a man. And was it not a man
and a woman who fought to redeem this country?” (POB, p. 193).
At this point, Wanja is not only a historically specific representative of the female
perspective of nation, but she also becomes essential in Ngugi’s idealistic new Kenya,
in the establishment and re-correction of new Kenya through her newly discovered art,
one that rivals Ngugi’s own. In fact, her image of Abdulla closely indicates Ngugi’s own
view of art and its relation to history. The concept is nicely stated by the Kenyan writer:
From my writing one can see that the past, present and future are bound and
interrelated. My interest in the past is because of the present and there is no
way to discuss the future or present separate from the past. 106
Wanja, just like Ngugi, has the ability to be an important element in creating a new
Kenya and represent it by using her art. The will and courage to bring change that this
young heroine possesses come from the accumulation of frustration and sorrow. Clearly,
106
Ngugi wa Thiong'o, Writers in Politics: A Re-Engagement with Issues of Literature & Society (Oxford:
James Currey, 1997), p. 58.
48
in this novel, Ngugi puts emphasis on the strength of female characters who had enough
of being persecuted. This spirit is well demonstrated by Arusha:
It is our weakness that has led to our being oppressed, exploited, disregarded.
Now we want a revolution – a revolution which brings to an end our weakness
so that we are never again exploited, oppressed and humiliated. 107
The symbolism of Wanja's sculpture suggests that she has discovered that men and
women should stop exploiting each other, and instead work together to destroy
Capitalism, because “Capitalism itself is a system of unabashed theft and robbery. Thus
theft, robbery, corruption can never be wrong under capitalism because they are inherent
in it.” 108 The hopeful image of a new life resulting from the union of Abdulla and Wanja
is complemented by the beginnings of a new united workers' movement in Ilmorog.
Karega learns of this development from Akinyi, a factory girl who has been sent by the
workers to visit him in jail. The girl’s optimism rescues Karega from the depression
caused by the news of his mother’s death, with Ngugi reviving hopes for the future of
Kenya through women.
To sum up, Ngugi demands from all Kenyan men and women to be together to fight
against neocolonialism and globalization. Through his depiction of women, Ngugi
reminds Kenyans of the old courageous Kenyan spirit and the importance of traditional
culture. He describes them as heroic symbols, who, just like men, can have a major
influence in the cultural decolonization process.
107
108
Julius Nyerere, Freedom and Socialism (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1968), p. 235.
Ngugi, Detained, op.cit, p. 135.
49
Conclusion
This study shows the consequences of globalization, which could be the hidden
meaning of ‘re-colonization’ in the African fiction of Ngugi in general and particularly
in his novel Petals of Blood. This novel is a clear illustration of the post-independence
regime in Kenya. As we have analyzed earlier, the West made Africans contribute to
project of globalization without being part of its conception. By intending to demean
the African culture, it has succeeded to control every aspect of the continent including
the economy, politics and society. This could be a sort of “slavery” since Africans have
no monopoly over their economy. If Africans were truly ‘free’ from any external
influence or contact, then issues like corruption, government dismissal of people’s
needs, and people’s imitation of western culture would not exist. In other words, there
is certainly a reason why Africans underestimate themselves and have not developed
like the West when they have more than enough resources to do so. So if the word postcolonialism means the period ‘after’ colonialism, then one cannot absorb the fact that
some of the African languages are dying. Nonetheless, although this situation could be
very challenging, Africans still can find a way to locate their cultural identity. Ngugi
argues that following the West does not necessarily lead Africans to development. The
author suggests that Africans can only get the positives of the European principles
without rejecting their own culture and history.
Our work has been an elaboration of the problematic issues concerning the harmful
influence of globalization on the African cultural identity. The principal issue here is
not about the risks associated with cultural homogenization, but whether there is a
possibility for the core and periphery to distribute their own culture with justice. So are
Europeans ready to share their knowledge and culture without any inequitable purposes?
Again, the West has initially invaded Africa for a purpose and it is certainly not to share
their culture with black people, nor to educate them. As Achebe claims, colonialists
came to the Third World primarily to destabilize every aspect of their life to exploit their
rich resources. Thus, Africans, who are culturally and politically incarcerated, might
witness the destruction of their native cultures due to the European and American
hegemony. Furthermore, the emergence of globalization menaces national cultures, but
50
that does not mean that Africans should completely reject this project. In other words, it
is significant to be part of this project, but with the preservation of national identity as
Edward Said and Gayatri Spivak recommend.
What is deduced from the dissertation is that the true saviors of the cultural
imperialism are people themselves. Thereby, for Africans to preserve their identity and
attain total national democracy, they should be revolutionary and rely only on
themselves. The ‘spirit of land’ that Ngugi calls for in Petals of Blood is a key element
to save Africans from this cultural dilemma. To put it differently, peasants are the ones
who can save the African continent from neocolonial imprisonment. Patience, patriotism
and strong will for change is what the continent needs instead of submissiveness and
selfishness. Petals of Blood proves that such heroes go through hard moments in order
to save their injured community, and what differentiates them from others is their solid
resilience.
From the examples studied, the dissertation contains a view into Ngugi’s mode
of thinking and his disappointment over his country’s cultural and political backsliding.
Kenya’s decline in terms of human values and relationships in this particular novel is
manifested through his depiction of the illustrious past of Illmorog. The peasant
community and agrarian civilization, unspoiled by western values, reflects satisfaction
and prosperity before the imperialist penetration and its harmful influences, in addition
to the encroachment of the western values, which transformed Illmorog and Kenya in
general into an abnormal and chaotic place. Therefore, Ngugi honors the worth of
African culture and its huge importance in uniting people and establishing a peaceful
community. In fact, he encourages proletarians not to drop their weapons to redeem their
pure culture. This kind of spirit is obviously observed through the likes of Abdulla and
Karega, as well as female characters like young Wanja and old Nyakinyua.
The personality of Ngugi’s heroines remind Kenyans of their traditional culture and
old brave spirit. Portrayed as symbols of Kenya’s hope and future, women appear to be
instrumental in the struggle for Uhuru, just like men. It is notable that this dissertation
aimed to indicate Ngugi’s attempts to search for a less westernized and a more ethical
Kenyan educational system. To be in the same scale as the West, Africans ought to give
51
more importance to their historical background and revisit their past. Through the
establishment of a typical African educational system, youth can learn about their past,
and eventually locate their identity. From a Marxist perspective, unlike the Mzigos,
Kimerias and Chuis, those who possess power should avoid individualistic,
materialistic-capitalist ideologies, and rather have that sense of communalism which
gathers all ethnic groups together to build an integrated society. With African leaders
relying on the West to manage their political and economic systems, African countries
face obstacles that prevent them from attaining complete liberation.
52
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