A Grain of Wheat
A Grain of Wheat is taken into
account one among
Kenyan author Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s greatest literacy
achievements. The title derives from 1 Corinthians 15:36: "How foolish!
What you sow doesn't come to life unless it dies"; the verse John 12:24
also applies: “Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the
bottom and dies, it remains only one seed. But if it dies, it produces many
seeds.” it's the penultimate book of Ngugi's to be written in English before he
began writing in Gikuyu.
Ngugi wrote his novel when he was
studying at Leeds University in 1964-66; he had received a British Council
Scholarship and was conducting postgraduate work. He became distracted from his
research MA by his reading and writing what would become the novel. He was
inspired by the writings of Marx and Engel also as Frantz Fanon’s The Wretched
of the Earth; Joseph Conrad’s Under Western Eyes was also a serious influence
on A Grain of Wheat, as Ngugi had studied Conrad as an undergraduate
A Grain of Wheat
Characters
Mugo
A handsome, introverted,
mysterious man who lives within the village and hung out within the detainment
camps. Mugo is viewed by everyone as a hero because he worked with Kihika and
never cracked struggling . He secretly was the one who betrayed Kihika, which
he eventually admits after hearing Mumbi open up to him regarding her own life
story; he announces he was guilty at the Uhuru celebration, which he originally
thought he might attend during a capacity as savior of the people. he's
nervous, filled with contradictory thoughts, and frustrated that folks think
he's courageous and humble.
Warui
A wise elder of the village who
was active in freedom movement in prior decades and is now preparing for the
Uhuru celebrations. He encourages Mugo to talk , and later serves on his trial
after he confesses.
The old woman
A strange and disturbed woman
within the village whose deaf and dumb son is killed. She looks at Mugo in ways
in which make him uncomfortable. At the top of the novel, he's drawn to her
hut; she thinks he's her son, then she immediately dies.
Githua
A villager who boasts of being
active within the Mau Mau and claims he was maimed within the Emergency. He
likes to inform stories and make his own narrative.
Gitogo
The deaf and dumb son of the old
woman. he's nevertheless strong and has many lovers. he's killed by policemen
who assume he's a Mau Mau terrorist.
Waitherero
Mugo's cruel and drunken aunt
with whom he lives; he wishes he could kill her, but she dies of unhealthiness
.
Wambui
A woman within the village who
looks older than she is. She carried secrets from villages during the Emergency
and have become famous for staving off a police search of her person. After
Uhuru, though, she seems demoralized.
Gikonyo
A member of the Mau Mau and
husband of Mumbi, he spends years during a detention home dreaming of returning
to her. he's bitter and disillusioned when he comes back and finds she features
a child by another man. He throws himself into work and becomes wealthy; he's a
model for people within the village. he's injured within the Uhuru celebration,
but this enables him to start out performing on his attitude toward Mumbi.
Mumbi
The beautiful sister of Kihika
who dreams of sacrifice and noble deeds, she falls crazy with Gikonyo when she
is young and yearns for him while he's away within the detention home . When
she hears from Karanja (who also loved her but whom she detests) that Gikonyo
is coming home, she yields to Karanja's advances and bears a toddler by him.
She confides her story to Mugo, and he successively tells her he betrayed
Kihika. She doesn't want him or anyone else to suffer for her brother, though.
At the top of the novel she is on the brink of a reconciliation with Kihika.
Kihika
The brother of Mumbi and a brave
insurgent within the Mau Mau. he's liable for killing DO Robson and taking up
Mahee prison, becoming a hero to the people. he's betrayed by Mugo and is
captured and hanged. His life and deeds are legendary, and a part of Uhuru is
meant to celebrate him.
Harry Thuku
An early leader of the Movement
who is jailed, sparking a processional to free him.
General R
A serviceman (he served in WWII)
whose goals are to urge Mugo to talk at Uhuru and to punish Kihika's betrayer.
he's stern and quiet and doesn't boast or become involved in politics. When he
was young he had a tyrannical father whom he wanted to kill, and was distressed
when his mother stood up for his father albeit he beat her. He arrests Mugo and
takes him to trial after Mugo confesses.
Koina
A serviceman who serves with
General R. As a young man he worked for Dr. Lynd but was bitter against her;
along side two other men, he attacked her and her dog. When he sees her years
later he refers to her a ghost.
Karanja
An old flame of Kihika's who
unsuccessfully tried to woo Mumbi once they were young. Karanja is prideful,
spiteful, and happy to cooperate with the whites if it means he can lord over
others. While others are fighting or interned, he becomes a homeguard and
eventually a Chief. He also pursues Mumbi and gets her to roll in the hay him
while Gikonyo is away; she bears his child but refuses to be during a
relationship with him. After he's told to step down from being Chief, he's
employed at Githima and tries to cultivate the great will of Thompson. he's
suspected of getting betrayed Kihika; even after Mugo confesses to being truth
betrayer, Karanja remains unhappy and disillusioned.
Mr. Rogers
The European who has the thought
to open a Forest Research Station in Githima; he's killed by a train and
doesn't live to ascertain this happen.
Dr. Henry Van Dyke
A corpulent, drunken
meteorologist at the Station who has an affair with Margery Thompson; he dies
after a train strikes his car.
Mwaura
A Kenyan who works at Githima and
sometimes annoys Karanja.
John Thompson
The DO at Githima, Thompson was
once destined for an illustrious career, but the fast and violence led by Mugo
at Rira ruined his fortunes. He now oversees Githima and lives together with
his wife Margery, although their relationship is fraught. he's preparing to
return to Britain because he doesn't want to stay when in Githima blacks are in
power.
Mrs. Dickinson
The librarian at Githima and
girlfriend of Roger Mason. She orders Karanja around, which Karanja resents.
Margery Thompson
The beautiful and buxom wife of
Thompson, she carries on an affair with Van Dyke until he dies. She is restless
with Thompson but later feels closer to him once they're leaving.
Dr. Lynd
A plant pathologist who works at
Githima, she is unmarried and likes living in Kenya albeit the time of white
rule is passing. She is naive and self-centered, thinking she is sweet to
Africans although she is really condescending towards them. Years ago, Koina,
her houseboy, and his compatriots assaulted her; they also killed her beloved
dog, which looms large in her psyche. Thompson finds her annoying.
Jomo Kenyatta
Although he doesn't appear within
the text, Kenyatta may be a force behind the actions of the text. he's a
pacesetter of the Kenyan people and thrown into jail by British . He doesn't
approve of the Mau Mau, and is inspiring to the people.
The MP
The representative of the village
who rarely visits. He cares more about his own power and position than his
constituents. he's untruthful about buying Burton's land when Gikonyo involves
see him a few loan.
Waruhui
Gikonyo's father, a hardworking
squatter and lothario who got obviate Wangari and Gikonyo, their son.
Wangari
Gikonyo's mother. She usually
takes Mumbi's side within the martial conflict and criticizes her son.
Mbugua
Mumbi, Kihika, and Kariuki's
father; he's an elder, a warrior, and a farmer. he's well-respected and favors
his son Kihika.
Wanjiku
Mumbi, Kihika, and Kariuki's
mother. She is critical of her daughter for leaving Gikonyo.
Kariuki
The brother of Kihika and Mumbi,
and therefore the son of Mbugua and Wanjiku. he's not a member of the Mau Mau,
and Karanja helps secure him an edge in lyceum .
The Reverend Jackson Kigondu
A well-respected Christian who
encourages Kihika to travel to high school . He was active within the
revivalist movement and thought of himself a Christian soldier. He was killed
by the Mau Mau.
Teacher Muniu
A teacher at Kihika's school who
doesn't like being corrected by the young. Plans to beat Kihika publicly.
Wambuku
A friend of Mumbi and Njeri's who
is initially involved Kihika but becomes depressed when he leaves for the
forest. Later, Mugo saves him from a beating she received while performing on
the ditch . She is killed, and was possibly pregnant.
A Grain of Wheat
Summary
A Grain of Wheat takes place in
Kenya on the brink of its Uhuru (independence from British colonial rule) in
December 1963. Although historical events anchor the story in real world ,
Ngũgĩ’s preface to the book tells us that the characters themselves are fictional
– except when reference is formed to national historic leaders (such as Kenya’s
first president after Uhuru, Jomo Kenyatta).
Over a period of 4 days leading
up to independence, the people of the village of Thabai ready themselves for
the celebration of freedom. However, the troubling events of a not-too-distant
past still affect the book’s characters. Many of the Kikuyu people (the largest
ethnos in Kenya) were somehow suffering from the Mau uprising (beginning in
1952). As a response to the present uprising, British government responded by
declaring a state of emergency (referred to because the Emergency), during
which era any of the people in Thabai or surrounding villages might be forcibly
detained, imprisoned and tortured as suspected conspirators.
Although the narrative generally
moves forward to the Uhuru celebration, these issues from the past still haunt
the story’s characters. A Grain of Wheat features a unique narrative style,
which shifts its point of view from one character to a different , often within
the space of one page. Occasionally, the narrative slips into a primary person
plural “we” because the voice of the village is heard when recalling important
events. Each character features a present-day crisis, but each features a history
also , therefore the novel frequently shifts from the present-day happenings to
the past and back again, allowing characters to reveal their experiences and
innermost thoughts.
The story revolves around a
couple of central characters, whose experiences during the Emergency have
altered their present-day lives. Some were detained; some tortured in
detention. Others turned against their countrymen, working for British
administration or betraying members of the Rebellion to save lots of
themselves. For the villagers of
Thabai, one loss especially – that of Kihika,
a person known for his heroic actions against British during the Emergency –
has united them. Although he has been dead for several years, it's Kihika’s
story that gives a backdrop for the narrative also as a framing device for the
story. The new sections of the book are introduced by passages underlined in
Kihika’s Bible.
Much of the present-day narrative
revolves around various people of Thabai trying to convince Mugo, a quiet man
considered a hero for his actions during the Emergency, to talk at the Uhuru
celebration. Mugo seems strangely reluctant – actually , he's hiding a dark
secret which will emerge only much later within the narrative. Gikonyo and
Mumbi, an estranged husband and wife, both hunt down Mugo to influence him to
participate and within the process find yourself revealing their own secrets of
life during the Emergency to Mugo.
While the native Kenyans are
preparing for his or her independence, British administrators are preparing to
go away Kenya once the govt has been transferred to black power. John Thompson,
once a perpetrator of cruel acts against detainees and now a disgraced
official, is depressed at the thought of British abandoning their progress –
his life’s work – in Kenya. Karanja, a Kikuyu who worked for British as a
member of the homeguard during the Emergency, is additionally distressed at the
thought of the transfer to black power, as he will lose his favored status
among the white administrators and therefore the respect and fear of his own
people. However, Karanja hopes to stay in Thabai to be on the brink of Mumbi,
who he has long loved and whose child he fathered while Gikonyo was in
detention. it's Karanja who is suspected by most of the villagers of Thabai because
the one that betrayed the heroic Kihika, Karanja’s boyhood friend.
As more and more secrets and
desperate acts from the Emergency are revealed through the narration, it
becomes clear that Mugo, regarded by many as a hero to rival Kihika, was
actually liable for Kihika’s death. Mugo finally confesses the maximum amount
to Mumbi, although she keeps his secret. At the Uhuru celebration, the traitor
is asked to return forward, and lots of check out Karanja. However, it's Mugo
who confesses and is later led away by the soldiers of the new regime. Karanja,
having lost his place within the new society and any hope of Mumbi’s love,
leaves Thabai. within the book’s final scene, Gikonyo realizes his love for
Mumbi still stands and plans to reconcile together with her .
A Grain of Wheat
Themes
Colonialism and its Legacies
Kenya was colonized by British in
1895 and wasn't independent until 1963. within the subsequent years the country
struggled to barter a post-colonial reality during which the divisions caused
by political and economic oppression, the Emergency, violence, racism,
exploitation of rivalry and competition amongst Kenyans, and psychological
trauma endured and deepened. albeit Ngugi doesn't take his readers into the
times after colonialism, he hints at the difficulties the characters will face.
Thompson's claim that Africa will always need Europe might not be true within
the sense he wishes it to be, but it's prescient therein Europe's involvement
within the region can never fully be erased. Finally, on a more personal level,
all of the characters' lives are suffering from colonialism, whether or not
they are in detention camps or the Movement or losing their homes and land or
trying to repair their fractured families or handling paternalistic colonial
administrators. Colonialism is an inescapable reality, even after it's
ostensibly over.
Individuals and therefore the Community
The novel's narrative focuses on
the individual, with time given to Mugo, Mumbi, Gikonyo, Karanja, Kihika, and
even minor characters like General R and Koina. Individual stories are
significant, especially Mumbi's, as they facilitate greater growth for the self
and for the community. As for that community, it's also Ngugi's focus, and one
that has attracted an outsized amount of critical writing discussing whether or
not he successfully managed to convey the struggles of the masses at an
equivalent time as he relayed the individuals' tales. Indeed, a number of the
individual characters seem as if they're thinly drawn so as to market the
understanding that they're merely a part of the Kenyan people as an entire ,
and when individuals do make choices for themselves those choices reverberate
back through the community.
Betrayal, Guilt, and Redemption
Almost every character feels
guilty about something during this novel, and people sources of guilt tend to
derive from a betrayal of another character or of the Kenyan people. Mumbi has
betrayed her husband, Karanja has betrayed his people by becoming a homeguard
and Chief, and Mugo has betrayed Kihika. These characters manifest their guilt
differently, with both Mumbi and Mugo eventually taking the trail toward redemption
while Karanja can only choose that of exile. Mumbi and Mugo's redemption comes
from open confession of their sin and a willingness to simply accept the
results . Mumbi's also comes from being faithful herself and regaining control
of her life; she is going to be ready to live out those choices, whereas Mugo's
fate is death. Nevertheless, Mugo's death offers redemption to the community as
an entire .
Forgiveness
Many of the characters during
this novel do reprehensible things: they betray loved ones and therefore the ir
community and the Movement, they commit acts of violence, they engage in
selfishness and bitterness, and that they compete and fight with one another .
Some characters invite forgiveness (either directly or subtly), while others
don't . Forgiveness is vital on both a private and communal level, and people
levels are associated with one another . Individuals must work to forgive those
that have wronged them so as to figure together to create a stronger community.
within the vacuum left by British rule, it'll be more important than ever for
Kenyans to trust one another , work together, and make a mutually sustaining
and fulfilling community. Mugo's public confession, an act of posing for
forgiveness, is critical , and indicates a model for the longer term .
Power of Nature
Kenya has extremes of
temperature, weather, and landscape; nature features a thematic also as literal
importance within the novel. Fertile land of one's own (the shambas) signifies
autonomy, independence, and fulfillment. The detention home located within the
hot, barren sandy desert signifies monotony, despair, emptiness, and
estrangement.
The sun are often warm and
life-giving or burning-hot and oppressive. Rain are often cleansing or a dark
omen of troubles to return . The forest may be a place to cover safely also as
an area to commit acts of violence. Digging within the earth are often
sustaining or it are often traumatic (the trench). Ngugi's weaving of nature
into his story isn't surprising given its prominence in Kenya's history and
society, and also is a useful literary tool to suggest, signify, and convey.
Violence
Violence is an undeniable a part
of the Movement. Many characters perform violent acts, speak positively of
violence, or ignore it when it happens ahead of them. Others decry and
excoriate it, but usually this happens when British or their African loyalists
roll in the hay . Ngugi's view of violence is thus complex. He understands that
violence is important to the Mau Mau because occasionally it's the sole tool
they need in their quest to throw off their colonial oppressor. That oppressor
uses violence with abandon, so why should the oppressed not get up and use
violence for his or her own ends? Ngugi isn't unequivocally supportive of
violence, though, and a number of other of his scenes (such because the scene
between Koina and Dr. Lynd) make the reader uncomfortable and hint at a number
of the issues of using violence in promoting human rights.
Silence and Confession
Silence during this novel rarely
results in redemption, whereas confession does. Mugo's silence about his role
in Kihika's death is poisonous, disturbing his own psyche and polluting the
health of the community. it's mistaken for courage and helps create the mythic
reputation he has within the village, but it's false. Silence also can cause
death, because it does for the deaf and mute Gitogo. Real healing only happens
when someone speaks up, confesses, and divulges secrets. Mumbi's story and
therefore the resulting confession from Mugo tear off the facade of unity and
permit a more authentic (albeit painful) reality to emerge; this reality allows
for an honest assessment of the community's divisions and wishes , and
facilitates a move toward a far better future.
A Grain of Wheat Summary in Hindi
