Petals  of Blood by Ngugi wa Thiongo

Petals of Blood is a novel written by Ngugi Wa Thiongo and first published in 1977.  Set in Kenya just after Independence, the story follows four characters – Abdulla, Munira, Wanja and Karega – whose lives are intertwined due to the Mau Mau rebellion.  In order to escape the city life, each retreats to the small, pastoral village of Ilmorog. As the novel progresses, the characters deal with the various repercussions that they had to face due to the Mau- Mau rebellion as well as a new and rapidly westernizing Kenya.

The novel also deals with the doubtfulness of change after Kenya’s liberation from the British Empire, questioning o the fact that to what extent is the country free and the various opportunities for the country to evolve and it also talks about the oppressions that the country had to go through when they were a colony. Other themes include the challenges of capitalism, the politics and also the effects of westernization. Education, schools, Mau – Mau rebellion is also used to unite the characters.

Petals of Blood, the African epic reconstructs a nation’s history with all struggles and sufferings from the pre –colonial timings to the post- colonial settings in which the country is liberated and is hoping to establish for their own. The story clearly draws the pictures of exploitation and their struggles for liberation and its resistance against the imposing British rule and also the Mau – Mau rebellion.

The novel deals in with the neo –colonialism and all its features like exploitation, social abuse, degradation and also injustice. Ilmorog, the setting of the novel is an ideal set up of a proto- capitalist society and it has the problems like prostitution, social inequalities, misery, uncertainty and also inadequate housing. In the world of “Petals of Blood” nothing is free and the slogan which is repeated in the novel “eat or be eaten” stands true with the situations which are portrayed in the novel.

The protagonists of the novel in a way can be considered as “losers” under the new order: Munira, dismissed from a very elite boarding school during the colonial ruling for his involvement in a strike against the authorities. Karega was dismissed from the same school for the same reason along with Munira.  Wanja one of the brightest student in the school had to leave the school as she got pregnant with the industrialist who seduced her and who threw her into the darkness without giving any help and Abdulla who had lost a leg in the Mau – Mau rebellion helps others to reap the fruits of Independence so that the life that they have is not at the mercy of someone else. The novel represents Ngugi’s anti – imperialist consciousness which can be considered as a part of the dialectical materialism. And the new order which had evolved in the country only brings out hunger, pauperization and also extreme violence which in a way is disguised as capitalist development by the colonizers.

One of the fundamental questions asked in the novel is “What unites people?” In the novel the characters suffer a lot due to the colonial rule and most of the times their life is at stake. Ultimately, the main characters all discover that meaningful commonalities are ones of power: who has it and who doesn’t. Capitalism is decried in Petals of Blood with the new Kenyan elite portrayed as controlled by the ‘faceless system of capitalism’. The common man loses himself out to the various capitalist situations existing in the country and they are highly exploited by the new Kenyan elite.

Ngugi has a vision of a system in the postcolonial world where there will be no class distinction, no corruption and also no dominating situations. He signifies his commitment to his home and also to the fellow beings. The black masks with white souls must be scrutinized and must be dealt accordingly. Ngugi dreams of a country where there is order not disorder, where there is unity, love, brotherhood and not disparity, discord, corruption and exploitation also. The coming together of the peasants and the workers in a united and collective manner against their exploitation and injustices and thus they can liberate themselves from the existing bondages of misery and penury.

Tony Thomas Mather

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