A GRAIN OF
WHEAT
-Ngugi Wa Thiongo
A Grain of Wheat is
considered one of Kenyan author Ngugi WA Thiongo’s greatest literacy
achievements. The novel's narrative focuses on the individual, with time given
to Mugo, Mumbi, Gikonyo, Karanja, Kihika, and even
minor characters like General R and Koina. Individual stories
are significant, especially Mumbi's, as they facilitate greater growth for the
self and for the community. As for that community, it is also Ngugi's focus,
and one that has attracted a large amount of critical writing discussing
whether or not he successfully managed to convey the struggles of the masses at
the same time as he relayed the individuals' tales. Indeed, some of the
individual characters seem as if they are thinly drawn in order to promote the
understanding that they are merely part of the Kenyan people as a whole, and
when individuals do make choices for themselves those choices reverberate back
through the community.
When the British colonizers
come to Kenya, they strengthen their hold on the territory by building a great
railroad. Waiyaki and other warrior leaders took up arms against this
imposition, but they were defeated. Most Kenyans gradually learn to make
accommodations with the new regime, though the seeds of revolution spread
underground in “the Movement,” known to the British as Mau.
Among the younger generation
are Gikonyo, a well-known carpenter in the village of Thabai, and Mumbi, his
wife and one of the most beautiful women in the area. They listen as one of
their peers, Kihika, speak before a large crowd and encourages guerrilla
warfare against the British. Mugo also listens, but, unlike Gikonyo and Mumbi,
he hates what Kihika says. Mugo thinks native Kenyans have no chance of
successfully opposing the British, and he decides to do his job quietly and
succeed in the new order of things. Karanja, who unsuccessfully sought the hand
of Mumbi, feels even more strongly that the best policy is to accept the
British as invincible.
Before long, Kihika
disappears into the forest with many other young men who arm themselves. A year
later, their most successful raid is the capture of the Mahee police post; this
infuriates the British. They declare a state of emergency and imprison many of
the young men of Thabai, including Gikonyo. Even Mugo is arrested for
intervening when a woman is being beaten. Despite the efforts by the British to
quell the Kenyan resistance, the violence continues, and District Officer
Thomas Robson is assassinated.
Mugo is taken to Rira camp,
where John Thompson is the warden. Though Mugo respects the British, in these
circumstances he feels unjustly accused and refuses to cooperate. He begins to
get a reputation among the other detainees as an inspiration to courage. Mugo
does nothing to justify their hopes, but he does feel vague and grandiose
religious impulses and begins to see himself as a possible messiah for his
people. Finally, there is an uprising in which Mugo plays no part, and
twenty-one prisoners are killed. This episode places a blot on Thompson’s
career, the British believing...
Almost every character feels
guilty about something in this novel, and those sources of guilt tend to derive
from a betrayal of another character or of the Kenyan people. Mumbi has
betrayed her husband, Karanja has betrayed his people by becoming a home guard
and Chief, and Mugo has betrayed Kihika. These characters manifest their guilt
differently, with both Mumbi and Mugo eventually taking the path toward
redemption while Karanja can only choose that of exile. Mumbi and Mugo's
redemption comes from open confession of their sin and a willingness to accept
the consequences. Mumbi's also comes from being true to herself and regaining
control of her life; she will be able to live out those choices, whereas Mugo's
fate is death. Nevertheless, Mugo's death offers redemption to the community as
a whole.
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