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NgugiWaThingoisaKenyanbornpioneeringAfricanwriter

An9-colonial,post-colonialac9vistthroughliterature

Hisworkiscri9calandpoli9cised RenouncedhisEnglishnameJamesasrejec9onofChris9anity=colonialism Writesonlyinhismothertongue:

Kikuyusince

RenamedDepartmentofEnglishtoDepartmentofLiteratureatUniversity

ofNarobi,Kenya Jailedforhiscri9calwri9ng178 Forcedintoexilesince182 BookMa#gari(187)bannedinKenya Survivedassassina9onplot(Zimbabwe

186)andaempt(Kenya,2004)

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UsesBildungsroman(forma9onnovel)storytellingformfocusingonaprotagonistcalledNjoroge

HisupbringinginapeasantfamilyoutsideNairobi Hismatura9onthroughastringoftragicturnofevents

Depic9onofconflictbetweenhisnaiveidealismandtheharshrealityoflife: Beliefineduca9on,Chris9anity&family Hope&ambi9onforthefuture,alldashedintheend

Alsodealswiththetraumaofwarsthathisfamilycon9nuedtobehauntedby:

FatherNgothoaveteranofWW1 OnebrotherdiedinWW2&anothersurvivedit MauMaulibera9onwartakingplaceinthe9mesengofthestory(wholefamilyimplicated)

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ForNgothofeltresponsibleforwhateverhappenedonthisland.Heowedittothe

dead,thelivingandtheunbornofhisline,to

keepguardoverthisshamba.p.31

Ngangawasrich.Hehadland.Anymanwhohadlandwasalwaysconsideredrich.Ifaman

hadplentyofmoney,manymotorcars,butno

land,hecouldneverbecountedasrich.p.1

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Indiantradersemployedblackboyswhomtheytreatedasnothing.TheIndiansfearedEuropeansandifyouwenttobuyinashopandawhitemanfoundyou,theIndianwillstopselling

toyouandtremblingallover,willbeingtoservehim.P.7

AshecouldnotfindcompanionshipwithJacoboschildren(exceptMwihaki),forthese

belongedtothemiddleclassthatwasrisingandbeginningtobeconsciousofitselfassuch,heturnedtoreading.

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Aerthefirstbigwarwewantedbacktothesoil.ButNgo!Thelandwasgone.Myfatherandmanyothershadbeenmovedfromourancestral

lands.Hediedlonely,apoormanwai9ngfortewhitemantogo.p.25

Howcouldtheyhavedoneotherwisewhentheirlandwastakenandtheyandtheirwiveswere

requiredtotopayheavytaxestoagovernmentthatwasnottheirs?Whenpeoplerosetodemandtheirrights,theywereshotdown.p.57

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Thencamethewar.Itwasthefirstbigwar.Iwasthenyoung,amereboy,thoughcircumcised.Allofusweretakenbyforce.Maderoadsandclearedforests(Ngotho,p.25)

Borothoughtofhisfatherwhohadfoughtinawaronlytobedispossessed.Hetoohadgonetowar,

againstHitler.

IkilledJacobo.Hebetrayedblackpeople.Together,youkilledmanysonsoftheland.Yourapedourwomen.Andfinallyyoukilledmyfather.Haveyouanythingtosayinyourdefense?(Boro,p.128)

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Hetoldthemhowthelandwastakenaway,throughtheBibleandthesword.Yes,thatshowyourland

wastakenaway.TheBiblepavedthewayforthe

sword.p.57 Njorogefeltin9matewithJomo.ForNjorogewassurethathehasreadabouthimintheold

testament.MoseshasledthechildrenofIsraelfrom

MisritothePromisedLand.Andbecauseblack

peoplewerereallythechildrenofIsreal,Moseswas

nootherthanJomohimself.p.50

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Proposed

Hope,op9mismandfaith Tomorrow Prayer

Consensus,reachingacrossdivides,accommoda9on

Friendshipacrossraceandsocialclass

Restraintfromimpulse Jus9ce

Returnofwhatsbeentaken Sacrificeandsolidarity

Communalism,commongood

Contested

Domina9on&control Colonialoccupa9on Landloss

Exploita9verela9onswithnature

Tamingofthelandvslookingaertheland

Individuality

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Humanistdiscourse(ethicsofduty,resp.fortheother) Heknewthatforhimeduca9onwouldbethefulfillmentofawiderandmoresignificantvisionavisionthatembracedthedemandmadeonhim,not

onlybyhisfatherbutalsobyhismother,hisbrothersandeventhevillage.P.3

Cri9calhumanist(jus9cefightfor) K.A.UwasthesocietyofblackpeoplewhowantedWiyathiandreturnofthestolenlands.Thesocietyalsowantedbiggersalariesforblackpeopleandaboli9onofthecolour-bar(discrimina9ononthebasisofcolourorsocialclass)p.64

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