Ngugi

Wa Thingo is a Kenyan born pioneering African writer An9-colonial, post-colonial ac9vist through literature His work is cri9cal and poli9cised
Renounced his English name James as rejec9on of Chris9anity = colonialism Writes only in his mother tongue: Kikuyu since Renamed Department of English to Department of Literature at University of Narobi, Kenya Jailed for his cri9cal wri9ng 1978 Forced into exile since 1982 Book Ma#gari (1987) banned in Kenya Survived assassina9on plot (Zimbabwe 1986) and aZempt (Kenya, 2004)

 Uses Bildungsroman (forma9on novel) story telling form focusing on a protagonist called Njoroge Depic9on of conict between his naive idealism and the harsh reality of life: Also deals with the trauma of wars that his family con9nued to be haunted by:
Belief in educa9on, Chris9anity & family Hope & ambi9on for the future, all dashed in the end His upbringing in a peasant family outside Nairobi His matura9on through a string of tragic turn of events

Father Ngotho a veteran of WW1 One brother died in WW2 & another survived it Mau Mau libera9on war taking place in the 9me seang of the story (whole family implicated)

 For Ngotho felt responsible for whatever happened on this land. He owed it to the dead, the living and the unborn of his line, to keep guard over this shamba. p. 31 Nganga was rich. He had land. Any man who had land was always considered rich. If a man had plenty of money, many motor cars, but no land, he could never be counted as rich. p. 19

 Indian traders employed black boys whom they treated as nothing. The Indians feared Europeans and if you went to buy in a shop and a white man found you, the Indian will stop selling to you and trembling all over, will being to serve him. P. 7 As he could not nd companionship with Jacobos children (except Mwihaki), for these belonged to the middle class that was rising and beginning to be conscious of itself as such, he turned to reading.

 Aher the rst big war we wanted back to the soil. But Ngo! The land was gone. My father and many others had been moved from our ancestral lands. He died lonely, a poor man wai9ng for te white man to go. p. 25 How could they have done otherwise when their land was taken and they and their wives were required to to pay heavy taxes to a government that was not theirs? When people rose to demand their rights, they were shot down. p. 57

 Then came the war. It was the rst big war. I was then young, a mere boy, though circumcised. All of us were taken by force. Made roads and cleared forests (Ngotho, p. 25) Boro thought of his father who had fought in a war only to be dispossessed. He too had gone to war, against Hitler. I killed Jacobo. He betrayed black people. Together, you killed many sons of the land. You raped our women. And nally you killed my father. Have you anything to say in your defense? (Boro, p. 128)

 He told them how the land was taken away, through the Bible and the sword. Yes, thats how your land was taken away. The Bible paved the way for the sword. p.57 Njoroge felt in9mate with Jomo. For Njoroge was sure that he has read about him in the old testament. Moses has led the children of Israel from Misri to the Promised Land. And because black people were really the children of Isreal, Moses was no other than Jomo himself. p. 50

Proposed
Hope, op9mism and faith
Tomorrow Prayer

Contested
Domina9on & control
Colonial occupa9on Land loss

Consensus, reaching across divides, accommoda9on

Friendship across race and social class Restraint from impulse

Exploita9ve rela9ons with nature

Taming of the land vs looking aher the land

Jus9ce
Return of whats been taken

Individuality

Sacrice and solidarity

Communalism, common good

 Humanist discourse (ethics of duty, resp. for the other)

He knew that for him educa9on would be the fulllment of a wider and more signicant vision a vision that embraced the demand made on him, not only by his father but also by his mother, his brothers and even the village. P. 39

Cri9cal humanist (jus9ce ght for)

K.A.U was the society of black people who wanted Wiyathi and return of the stolen lands. The society also wanted bigger salaries for black people and aboli9on of the colour-bar (discrimina9on on the basis of colour or social class) p.64