THEMES IN A GRAIN OF WHEAT BY NGUGI WA THIONGO

Colonialism
Ngugi wa Thiong’o is a prominent post-colonial writer in Kenya. In the novel a Grain of wheat
he addresses the post-colonial history of Kenya, He addresses the historical event of the Mau
Mau revolt and the seven long years of emergency; independence and its impact on the
community of Thabai. Thabai itself is a representation of the whole Kenyan society. The
colonizer is represented by John Thompson who is a English regional governor and the colonized
are represented by Kihika, a young Gikuyu man who was raised hearing stories on the British
oppression. He has seen how the British have forced the Gikuyu out of their lands which they
considered sacred and settled in them
Ngugi Wa Thiong'o speaks with a clear political awareness of the context of Kenya's colonial
history. Europeans settled in the central highlands, later to be called the White highlands to
describe the racial dimension of settler activity. In a grain of wheat, the emergency has been over
for seven years. The Mau Mau, officially known as the Kenyan land and freedom army began to
attack their political opponents. They often attacked other Africans for being loyal to the British
or refusing to take the oath. For four years from 1952 to 1956, the Mau Mau fighters operated
from the forest of Mount Kenya. Members of these groups would emerge triumphant in the post
emergence. One Of the characters was Kihika who joined the Mau Mau as a young man and he
killed the cruel district officer Robson. Mugo is the protagonist and introverted villager of
Thabai, who betrayed Kihika. Kihika was captured and hanged. There were other two Mau Mau
fighters who believed that Karanja was the one who betrayed Kihika. Karanja was also from
Thabai but he did not join the freedom movement but he started to work for the Whiteman
fighters worked hard and gave their lives to their own people. The novel ends on the day of
independence bringing a conflict resolution between the colonizer and the colonized.

Role of Woman
Ngugi has promoted the role of women in his novel. Most female characters are presented as
confident and capable as compared to most of the male characters who are drawn as notably
weak and indecisive.
In the Gikuyu society women are given a lower social stratum than men, as demonstrated by the
life of Gikonyo’s mother and Mumbi. Women are also drawn to be submissive and when Mumbi
goes against this by leaving her household when Gikonyo beats her up, her father shames her for
leaving claiming that in the past women could not leave their households.
The female characters in the story are the strongest, exercising power in places where men fail in
the struggle for freedom. They demonstrate strength Mumbi and the mother-in-law put on
trousers and set on to rebuild new homes for themselves after the home guard burn theirs down.
We have powerful women such as Wambui, an old Gikuyu woman who smuggles messages and
weapons beneath her dress to aid the Mau Mau. Ngugi wa Thiongo’ also presented the role of
woman in other aspects. He presented a woman as someone who takes care of the family. Mumbi
took care of Gikonyo’s mother in Gikonyo’s absence

Betrayal, Guilt, and Redemption

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. Both Mugo and Gikonyo
carry the burden of Guilt for what they did. The people of Thabai view him as a hero yet he is the
one who betrayed Kihika this leaves him with a lot of guilt. Gikonyo on the other hand has guilt
because while in the detention camp he broke his oath to the Mau Mau by confessing to be part
of the resistance with the hope that he will be released. Mumbi has betrayed her husband by
having a child with another man , Karanja has betrayed his people by becoming a home guard
and Chief .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

Individuals and the Community

The novel's narrative focuses on the individual, with time given to Mugo who wants nothing to
do with the community and wants to stay in isolation, Kihika who is a leader who wants to
defend his community and leads the freedom fighters, we have 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.

Forgiveness
Many characters in a grain of wheat require forgiveness for their actions, they betray loved ones
and their community and the Movement, they commit acts of violence, they engage in
selfishness and bitterness, and they compete and fight with each other. Some characters ask for
forgiveness (either directly or subtly), while others do not. Forgiveness is important on both a
personal and communal level, and those levels are related to each other. Individuals must work
to forgive those who have wronged them in order to work together to build a stronger
community. In the vacuum left by British rule, it will be more important than ever for Kenyans
to trust each other, work together, and create a mutually sustaining and fulfilling community.
Mugo's public confession, an act of asking for forgiveness, is significant, and indicates a model
for the future

Freedom
There is one motive that inspired the blacks against the whites despite their oppression freedom.
Ngugi is known as a novelist of the Gandhian message because the story of Gandhi of India is
his source of inspiration. The Kenyans, as depicted in Ngugi’s a Grain of Wheat, struggled for
their freedom against oppression and foreign rule. In their struggle for freedom. Waiyaki was
captured and buried alive; Kihika was captured and hanged publicly; other blacks were disposed
without trial. So many blacks were restricted of their freedom
In the end of the novel the people regain their freedom and are free from the shackles of a white
man.

violence
Violence is an undeniable part of the Movement. Many characters carry out violent acts, speak
positively of violence, or ignore it when it happens in front of them. Others decry and excoriate
it, but usually this happens when the British or their African loyalists do it. Ngugi's view of
violence is thus complex. He understands that violence is necessary to the Mau Mau because
occasionally it is the only tool they have in their quest to throw off their colonial oppressor. That
oppressor uses violence with abandon, so why should the oppressed not rise up and use violence
for their own ends? Ngugi isn't unequivocally supportive of violence, though, and several of his
scenes (such as the scene between Koina and Dr. Lynd) make the reader uncomfortable and hint
at some of the problems of using violence in promoting human rights.

Silence and Confession

Silence in this novel rarely leads to redemption, whereas confession does. Mugo's silence about
his role in Kihika's death is poisonous, disturbing his own psyche and polluting the health of the
community. It is mistaken for courage and helps create the mythic reputation he has in the
village, but it is false. Silence can also lead to death, as it does for the deaf and mute Gitongo.
Real healing only happens when someone speaks up, confesses, and reveals secrets.
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