Is Petals of Blood an exercise in futility? Ngugi wa Thiong’o
Ngugi wa Thiong’o

Ngugi wa Thiong’o

Lovemore Ranga The Reader
In an article published in the Journal of Post-Colonial Writing Volume 18, 1979, Govind Narain Sharma posits that Ngugi wa Thiongo’s Petals of Blood is “a statement of social and political philosophy and an embodiment of his prophetic vision.” What prophetic vision is contained in Petals of Blood to make the text such an enduring anti-colonial narration in the post-colonial Kenya?

Sharma contends that Ngugi’s prophetic vision is shown by his refusal to be disheartened by the depressing situation prevailing in Kenya.
Like a poet prophet in the mould of Blake and Whitman, he sees his past, present and future like a continuum, and is confident that the future is full of hope and promise and that the Kingdom of God will come.

One of the heroes of the novel, Karega, reveals the possibility of a new earth, another world only if a man could avoid sliding into slough of cynicism and succeed in sustaining faith and hope.

Another leading character, Munira, shares the same sentiments with Karega of a new order in recreating the past so that one can show the operation of God’s law.
He, too, shares Karega’s belief in the creation of a new world, though his conception of the means by which it would come is different.

Petals of Blood is thus scientific in its analysis and historical framework and prophetic in its moral and spiritual attitude.
It cannot be in doubt that Ngugi’s perception is influenced by two great traditions of thought: Marxism and Christianity.

He uses Christianity and Marxism to delineate the predicament and moral and spiritual evolution of society, and of the two myths to trace the historical pattern of his apocalypse. It seems, however, that African utopianism constitutes the matrix of his apocalyptic vision.

Although there is plenty of direct and political comment, Ngugi’s fictional technique is to convey the meaning and significance of the outer struggle in society through the inner turmoil that it creates in the minds, hearts and souls of certain individuals who are members of society.

Set in Kenya just after independence, Petals of Blood is the story of four characters — Munira, Abdulla, Wanja, and Karega — whose lives are intertwined due to the Mau Mau rebellion. Disillusioned by the city life, each of the characters retreat to a small, pastoral village of Ilmorog where they attempt to make sense of their disfigured lives.

As the novel unfolds, the characters deal with the repercussions of the Mau Mau rebellion as well as with a new, rapidly westernising Kenya and the country’s independence, questioning to what extent free Kenya emulates and subsequently perpetuates the oppression which prevailed in colonial times. Thus, education, schools and the Mau Mau rebellion become a catalyst for the unification of the characters who share a common history with one another.

Originally called the ‘Ballad of a Barmaid,’ the title was later changed to Petals of Blood, derived from a line of Derek Walcott’s poem ‘The Swamp’, which suggests that there is a deadly power within nature that must be respected despite attempts to suggest by humans that they live harmoniously with it.

The phrase ‘petals of blood’ appears several times throughout the novel, with varying associations and meanings.
It is used by a pupil in Munira’s class to describe the colour of a flower and later it is used to describe flames, as well relating to virginity during one of Munira’s sexual fantasies.
In general, the text deals with corruption, capitalism, land and education.

Corruption in the post-colonial era is rampant and Ngugi makes a dichotomy between the villagers (the honest working class) and the elite (the corrupt) clearly exemplified by a speech that is made by Nyakinyua before the villagers make the trip to Nairobi.

Nyakinyua says, “I think we should go. It is our turn 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.”

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