Petals of Blood

   Ngugi wa Thiong’o

Ngugi wa Thiong’o, original name James Thiong’o Ngugi, (born January 5, 1938, Limuru, Kenya), Kenyan writer who was considered East Africa's leading novelist. His popular Weep Not, Child (1964) was the first major novel in English by an East African. As he became sensitized to the effects of colonialism in Africa, Ngugi adopted his traditional name and wrote in the Bantu language of Kenya's Kikuyu people.

      Major Works 

• Short Stories 

1. The Fig Tree
2. The Wind The Secret Lives(1976)

• Plays 

1. The Black Hermit
2. Ngaahika Ndeenda (1977) Gikuyu.

• Novels

1. Weep Not Child (1964)
2. The River Between (1965)
3. A Grain of Wheat (1967)
4. The Wound in the Heart (1976)
5. Petals of Blood published (1977)
6. Caitaani Hultharaba Ini appeared in Gikuyu (translation Devil on the Cross)
7. Wizard of the Crow, is written in Gikuyu.

• Essays 

1. A Barrel of Pen (1984)
2. Decolonizing the Mind appeared in 1986

     Summary 

Petals of Blood (1977) deals with social and economic problems in East Africa after independence,particularly the continued exploitation of peasants and workers by foreign business interests and a greedy  indigenous bourgeoisie.

Set in Kenya just after independence. The story follows four characters; Munira Abdullah, Wanja and Karega. In order to escape city life, each retreats to the small, post colonial village of Ilmorog It is the dramatiation and condemnation of the ruthless capitalist exploitation of the masses by those in privileged positions.

The novel progresses, the characters deal with the repercussions of the Mau Mau rebellion as well as with a new, rapidly westernizing Kenya.The novel largely deals with the scepticism of change after Kenya's independence from colonial rule, questioning to what extent free Kenya merely emulates, and subsequently perpetuates, the oppression found during its time as a colony.

Other themes include the challenges of capitalism, politics, and the effects of westernization.Education, schools, and the Mau Mau rebellion are also used to unite the characters, who share a common history with one another.

Neo -Colonialism:with reference to Petals of Blood 

What is Neocolonialism?

It is a policy of a strong nation in seeking political and economic hegemony over an independent nation or extended geographical area without necessarily reducing the subordinate nation or area to the legal status of a colony The term neocolonialism was first used In 1965, by Kwame Nkrumah after World War II to refer to the continuing dependence of former colonies on foreign countries.

 Roland Fuh gave a simple definition of Neocolonialism that,"Neo-colonialism can be defined as the indirect control of the economic, political and socio-cultural life of African countries by their former colonial masters. Unlike colonialism which was direct control, neo-colonialism operates indirectly and secretly."

In Neo-Colonialism, the Last Stage of Imperialism Nkrumah has

offered an in-depth critique of neocolonialism. He argued that neocolonialism is the final and the most perilous stage of imperialism. Since the old-fashioned ways of colonization no more exists, the imperialist powers direct their domination indirectly on the economic system, politics and cultural base of a decolonized nation. 

 To use the term "neocolonialism" is to accept the perpetuation of the imperialist oppression and colonialist domination in a different and essentially new format even after the achievement of independence.

Neocolonialism in Petals of Blood

The novel starts with the news of murder of: Mzigo, Chui and Kimeria.

Wanja, Munira, Karega and Abdulla are suspected.  Ilmorog has grown from a traditional Kenyan village to a modern industrial town.

 According to Josephine Sitwala, The modernisation of the area brings changes which Ngugi regards as examples of neo-colonisation. He does not accept the urbanisation of Ilmorog because it has destroyed its original beauty and, as such, brought suffering to its inhabitants. The focus of neo-colonialism in Petals of Blood is land and is based on social abuse, oppression, exploitation and injustice.' 

The novel shows the failure of the ruling elite to meet the masses' needs concering land ownership adequately.

The elite still maintain their connections with the departed colonisers, thus, creating a rift between the middle class and the bourgeoisie.

A speech given by Nyakinyua contrasts the working class and the elite, this motivates her to agree to make a trip to Nairobi:

"I think we should go. It is our time to make things happen. There was a time when things happened the way we in Ilmorog wanted them to happen. We had power over the movement of our limbs. We made up our own words and sang them and we danced to them. But there came a time when this power was taken from us. We danced yes, but somebody else called out the words and the song. They ate our forest. Then they sent for our young men. They went on swallowing our youth. Ours is only to bear in order for the city to take that is why Ilmorog must go there and see this Ndamathia that only takes but never gives back."

Females' being oppressed by males and African's being exploited by the colonists have the same ideological basis.Women were described as "oppressed" because they were exploited and dominated. Subaltern nations, too, were oppressed on the same basis: they were exploited and dominated by colonial and/or imperial powers.

Wanja Kenya, Africa. What money wanted was body, just like the imperialists desired for the African land. As objects of sexual desires, both Wanja's mature body and the fertile African land were exploited. By narrating Wanja's past, Ngugi expressed his harsh criticism against the imperialists' control and domination of Africa.Politician Nderi wa Riera - he is only concerned with the votes of Ilmorog at elections and he ignores the social and economic needs of remote areas such as Ilmorog. Wanja and Abdulla lost Bar and Money.

Conclusion 

The terrible situation after African independence, they show sharply different views towards the imperialists new way of exploiting and controlling Africa. The narrators allow different Africans voice, their own stories, their plight and rebellion against the power.For Ngugi, the African females were driven to be prostitutes directly because of the imperialists' exploitation; however, these females, like other proletariats, would take actions to fight.The conflicting narrative of Ngugi reflect his oppositions concerning neo-colonialism, one as an insider opposing it, while the other as an outsider standing by it. Ngugi has catapulted caustic criticism against the middle class of Africa who derived power from the common people during the anti-colonial struggles and after independence derived it to "form a cozy relationship with the western bourgeoisie.