Exploring the socio-political state of colonial and Neo-colonial Africa through the fiction of Ngugi wa Thiong'o

Abstract

Kenyan writer Ngugi has long been established as a giant in African literature. His works being deemed dangerous and suspicious by Kenyan authorities, he was arrested and incarcerated without trial at the end of 1977. His one year detention had an effect opposite to what had been intended; instead of silencing him into submission, it increased his popularity worldwide and fuelled him with a will to continue with his writing, even if on prison toilet paper. Ngugi's works in English are substantial, however, for the purpose of this dissertation, only three of his novels will be analysed fully. These are: A Grain of Wheat (1967), Devil on the Cross ( 1982) and the recent Wizard of the Crow (2006). Since these novels span over a period of thirty-nine years, it will be possible to explore the way Ngugi sees a changing (or unchanging) Africa after British colonialism. Analysis of these novels will be backed up by referring to some of Ngugi's non-fiction, such as Moving the Centre and Homecoming. Furthermore, Ngugi's portrayal of colonial and neo-colonial Africa will be set against the background of leading post-colonial theorists such as Frantz Fanon and Albert Memmi, enabling comparisons of Ngugi's fiction and non-fiction with their theories. A brief look at Ngugi's own life as a writer will also show how he himself has been a victim of the corruption in Africa and a product of colonisation. The final aim of this dissertation will be to explore past and present day Africa as portrayed by a major Kenyan writer, and to prove that this African situation is not a mere literary fancy, but an unremitting reality. It will also attempt to show that, although Ngugi continues to hope for a better Africa, the corruption portrayed in his earlier novels has not ceased.