In this presentation i am discuss about ngugi-wa-thiogo, about novel and what is neo-colonialism? , neo-colonialism in petals of blood.

1. Department of English
Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University
Date: 1st April 2024
Sem 4। Batch 2022-24
African Literature
Neo colonialism in ‘Petals of Blood’
Present on

2. Neo-Colonialism in
‘Petals of Blood’
Prepared by
Riddhi Rathod
SMT. S.B. GARDI DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH.

3. Personal Information :-
Name Riddhi H. Rathod
Paper No. 206 - The American Literature
Topic Neo- Colonialism in ‘Petals of Blood’
Roll No. 17
Enrollment No. 4069206420220025
E-Mail I’D riddhirathod1213@gmail.com

4. Table of contents :-
01
02
03
Introduction of
author
Introduction of
novel
What is Neo
colonialism?
04
Neo colonialism in
Africa
05
Neo colonialism in
Petals of Blood
Conclusion
06

5. ❏ Introduction of Author :-
Ngugi Wa Thiong'o is born in Limuru, Kenya in 1938. He writes novels,
plays, short stories, essays, drama and he is also lecturer, journalist and
critic.
Language : Gikuyu and English.
He is founder and editor of Gikuyu language journal Mũtĩiri.
He is considered pioneer of the African literature in the eastern Africa.
The Black Hermit (1962), Weep Not Child (1964),
The River Between (1965) , A Grain of Wheat (1967)
He is recipient of many honors including the 2001 Nonino International Prize
for Literature and seven honorary doctorates.
One professor used this line for him “Ngugi Speaks for the
Continent,”
His famous work:-

6. ❏ About Novel :-
Published :- 1977 (first novel of Ngugi Wa Thiong'o)
Setting :- Ilmoro, Kenya (after independence)
Protagonist :- Munira, Wanja, Abdulla, Karega
Background :- Mau Mau Rebellion
Genre :- Novel
Themes :- Neo Colonialism
Love and Passion
Local and Global struggle
Value of Human life
Community and Brotherhood

7. ❏ What is Neo colonialism ?
the economic and political policies by which a
great power indirectly maintains or extends
its influence over other areas or people.
(Merriam - Webster)
Neo-colonialism is control of less developed countries by the developed ones without any
physical presence of the colonial forces in the country. Although the country has gained
independence but its politic, economic and educational system is directed from outside,
usually from the rejected colonialist or from other empowered states.
The word “neocolonialism,” was first used internationally on April 19, 1958, when Ghana’s
foreign minister, Alex Quaison-Sackey, said n a speech at the UN General Assembly: “By
neocolonialism we mean the practice of granting a sort of independence with the concealed
intention of making the liberated country a client state, and controlling it effectively by means
other than political ones.” (Uzoigwe)
The term neocolonialism was first used In 1965, by Kwame Nkrumah after World War II
to refer to the continuing dependence of former colonies on foreign countries.

8. In Neo-Colonialism, the Last Stage of Imperialism Nkrumah has offered an
in-depth critique of neocolonialism. He argued that neocolonialism is the final
and the most perilous stage of imperialism. Since the old-fashioned ways of
colonization no more exists, the imperialist powers direct their domination
indirectly on the economic system, politics and cultural base of a decolonized
nation. (Nkrumah, Kwame)
Africa is considered to be the most affected continent by European imperialist
aggression, it suffered from long years of eventual conquest and colonization.
This later fought and resisted all forms of domination and get its independence;
however it still suffers from what we call neo-colonialism.
Economically, although neocolonialism, like capitalism, is by its nature
exploitative, if it is properly managed it has the potential to lead to economic
growth and development. Unfortunately, indigenous corruption (which cannot
thrive without foreign support), ethnic issues, and nepotism often impede the
realization of these goals. (Uzoigwe)
Continue…

9. During the age of imperialism, European powers conquered African lands and ruled them as colonies. As African nations began
to throw off their colonial rule and become independent in the mid-20th century, they began to form their own governments and
seek to establish control over their economies. However, most of them became almost immediately privy to neocolonialism,
which is where foreign investors and local ruling elites partner to "invest" in the country, but instead return said country to an
almost colonial type of relationship. They are now subject to market forces, loans, transportation changes, and local corruption.
Ngugi chronicles Ilmorog's experience with neocolonialism, showing that all of the new modern developments merely hid the
fact that the people were losing any power of their own.
❏ Neo - Colonialism in Petals of Blood
The novel opens with the shocking news of Mzigo, Chui, and Kimeria's
murders. Wanja, Munira, Karega, and Abdulla find themselves under
suspicion in the wake of the tragedy.
Petals of Blood thus focuses on a new exploitation and struggle. After
colonialism, the emergence of a political regime that is authoritarian and
corrupt, the rise of the robber barons, and the proletarianisation of the
masses.
The focus of neo-colonialism in Petals of Blood is land and is based on social
abuse, oppression, exploitation and injustice.

10. The characterization of the novel's principals is differentiated; indeed, they undergo major
transformations. According to Josephine Sitwala, The modernisation of the area brings changes which
Ngugi regards as examples of neo-colonisation. He does not accept the urbanisation of Ilmorog because it
has destroyed its original beauty and, as such, brought suffering to its inhabitants. 'The focus of
neo-colonialism in Petals of Blood is land and is based on social abuse, oppression, exploitation and
injustice.' (Sitwala)
Females being oppressed by males and Africans being exploited by the colonists have the same
ideological basis. Women were described as "oppressed" because they were exploited and dominated.
Subaltern nations, too, were oppressed on the same basis: they were exploited and dominated by colonial
and imperial powers.
A speech given by Nyakinyua contrasts the working class and the elite; this motivates her to agree to
make a trip to Nairobi:
I think we should go. It is our time 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. But there came a time when this power was taken
from us. We danced yes, but somebody else called out the words and the song. They ate our forest. Then
they sent for our young men. They went on swallowing our youth. Ours is only to bear in order for the city
to take … that is why Ilmorog must go there and see this Ndamathia that only takes but never gives back.
(wa Thiong'o)

11. After the struggle against the imposition of colonial rule, after the struggle for independence, Ngfigi
envisions a struggle against the capitalist system. As Karega reflects:
The true lesson of history was this: that the so-called victims, the poor, the downtrodden, the
masses, had always struggled with spears and arrows, with their hands and songs of courage and
hope, to end their oppression and exploitation: that they would continue struggling until a human
kingdom came: a world in which goodness and beauty and strength and courage would be seen not
in how cunning one can be, not in how much power to oppress one possessed, but only in one's
contribution in creating a more humane world in which the inherited inventive genius of man in
culture and science from all ages and climes would be not the monopoly of a few, but for the use of
all, so that all flowers in all their different colours would ripen and bear fruits and seeds. (Gugler)
Ngugi (1977) shows this love for the land in his novel Petals of Blood, when the primary setting of
the novel is a small village of Illmorg whose population’s entire livelihood is dependent on the usage of
land for agriculture but at the same time, they are very considerate of land and weary of strangers.
When the government builds a highway there, it is not liked the community and then the neo colonizers
come and start to buy the native land. They build businesses and factories there. (Asadullah)
Politician Nderi wa Riera only cares about getting votes from Ilmorog during elections. He forgets
about the problems people face in other faraway places like Ilmorog.

12. The modernisation of the area brings changes which Ngugi regards as examples of neo-colonisation. Ngugi does not
accept the urbanisation of Ilmorog because it has destroyed its original beauty and, as such, brought suffering to its
inhabitants. This can be witnessed when Ngugi gives glimpses of the pre-urban Ilmorog by stating that Ilmorog
community experienced prosperity, commitment and a sense of belonging before the intrusion of foreign values:
Ilmorog has not always been a small cluster village with mud huts lived in by
only old men and women and children with occasional visits from wandering
herdsmen. It had had its glory with thriving villages with a huge population of
sturdy peasants who had tamed nature’s forests and breaking the soil between
their fingers, had brought forth every type of crop to nourish the sons and
daughters of men. How they toiled together … how they all fervently prayed
for rain and deliverance …. In those days, there were no vultures in the sky
waiting for the carcasses of dead workers or insect-flies feeding on the fat and
blood of unsuspecting toilers. (wa Thiong'o)
Ngugi shows that bureaucracy is responsible for the neo-colonial exploitation of the masses in connection with the
appropriation of land by the capitalists. They grab the land from the peasants and later build structures that bring them
much money.
According to Cabral (1980), the capitalist system allows the rich to become richer while the poor become poorer. As a
result, the elite become the ‘petty bourgeoisie’ whose culture is to exploit their own people. This is seen with Nderi wa
Riera, the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the community of Ilmorog. Nderi wa Riera owns houses which he
manages to build from the money he collects from the people of Ilmorog. The houses are rented out at a high cost and, in
the end; he becomes one of the richest people in the area. (wa Thiong'o)

13. ❏ Conclusion :-
Ngugi talks about how African independence led to different opinions on how imperialism still
affects Africa. He gives voice to various Africans, sharing their stories and struggles against
exploitation. Ngugi highlights how African women were forced into prostitution due to
imperialism but also shows how they, along with others, fought against it. He is conflicting
views on neo-colonialism show how he opposes it from both inside and outside perspectives.
Ngugi criticizes the African middle class for gaining power from the people during
anti-colonial struggles but then cozying up to the Western bourgeoisie after independence.

14. ● Asadullah, Muhammad. “A New Historicist Study of Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o’s Anti-(neo)colonial Novel, Petals
of Blood.” 2022, https://ojs.ahss.org.pk/journal/article/view/35/75. Accessed 2 April 2024.
● Faleiro, Eduardo. “Colonialism, Neo-Colonialism And Beyond.” World Affairs: The Journal of
International Issues, vol. 16, no. 4, 2012, pp. 12–17. JSTOR,
https://www.jstor.org/stable/48566252. Accessed 2 Apr. 2024. Faleiro Eduardo
● Gugler, Josef. “How Ngũgĩ Wa Thiong'o Shifted from Class Analysis to a Neo-Colonialist Perspective.”
2, Jun., 1994 June 1994,
https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/161773.pdf?refreqid=fastly-default%3A09266cdacca37f615df3e60799c
e9618&ab_segments=&origin=&initiator=&acceptTC=1. Accessed 2 April 2024.
● Nag, Sourav Kumar. “Fighting Neocolonialism: A Case Study of the Selected Novels of Ngugi Wa
Thiong’o.” 9 November 2017, http://dx.doi.org/10.21533/epip. Accessed 2 April 2024.
● Nkrumah, Kwame. “Neocolonialism, the Last Stage of Imperialism.” Marxists Internet Archive, 1965,
https://www.marxists.org/ebooks/nkrumah/nkrumah-neocolonialism.pdf. Accessed 2 April 2024.
● Merriam - Webster. “Human trafficking Definition & Meaning.” Merriam-Webster, 18 March 2024,
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/human%20 trafficking. Accessed 31 March 2024.
● Uzoigwe, Godfrey N. “Neocolonialism Is Dead Long Live Neocolonialism.” 2019,
https://www.jstor.org/stable/48519445?seq=4. Accessed 2 April 2024.
● wa Thiong'o, Ngugi, and Ngũgĩ wa Thiongʼo. Petals of Blood. Penguin Publishing Group, 2005.
Accessed 2 April 2024.
References :-