M.A.

2.  Ngugi Wa Thiong’o is an
award- winning, novelist,
playwright, and essayist
from Kenya.
 He was translated in to more
than thirty languages.
 He is distinguished
professor of English at the
university of California.
 He lives in Irvine, California.

3.  He was awarded likely
candidate for the
“Nobel Prize” in
Literature.
 ‘Lotus Prize’ for
Literature(1973)
 ‘Man Booker
International
Prize’(2009)
 ‘National Book Critics
Circle Award’(2012)

5.  Nagugi wa Thiongo’s fame, “Devil on the
Cross” is a powerful fictional critique of
capitalism.
 It tells the tragic story of Wariinga.
 A young woman moves from a rural Kenyan
town to the capital Nairobi.
 Only to be exploited by her boss and later by
a corrupt businessman.
 As she struggle to survive.
 “Devil on the cross” has a profound influence
on Africa and on post colonial African
literature.

6.  Thiongo was a student at a prestigious,
British- run boarding school near Nairobi.
 When the tumultuous Mau Mau uprising for
independence and Kenya sovereignty gripped
his country.
 While he enjoyed scouting trips and Chess
tournament.
 His brother was insurgency, captured by the
British and taken to a concentration camp.
 But he could not escape history, than himself
jailed, after a run in with the force of
colonialism.

7.  ABOUT NOVEL………
 “A Grain of Wheat” was
published in 1967.
 The event of the novel take
place in the days of 1963
before and on the day of
Uhuru.
 Kenya’s Liberation from
British colonial rule.
 Set in the wake of Mau
Mau Rebellion and on the
cusp of Kenya’s
independence from
Britain.
 “A Grain of Wheat”
follows a group of
villagers whose lives
have been transformed
by the 1952- 1960
emergency.
 Mugo was hero, and
chosen by villager.
 The novel also features
Flashbacks of the past.

8. Mugo
Gikonyo
KihikaKaranja
Mumbi

9.  Mugo, an introverted villager of Thabai.
 The Village thinks him a hero for his stoicism
and courage.
 He was in detention during Kenya’s State of
Emergency. But he labors under a secret.
 He betrayed their beloved Mau Mau fighter
Kihika.
 He is restless and can achieve no peace in
the village. Kihika had joined the Mau Mau
as a young Man.

10. District officer named Robson.
Mugo betrayed him in secret.
Those planning Uhuru want to honor him.
 Mugo had betrayed Kihika because he
was unsettled by the young man’s zeal.
Most people, including General R. and
Koina, two Mau Mau Soldiers.
Karanja was the one who betrayed Kihika.
They plan on executing him at Uhuru.
Gikonyo was a well- respected
businessman and formar carpenter.
His wife was beautiful and with love.

11.  Mumbi was sister of Kihika.
 He had her love even though many, including
Karanja, a friend of Kihika.
 Mumbi had borne a child by Karanja while he was
gone those years.
 Karanja was works at Githima.
 Roger Thompson was stationed there with his wife
Margery.
 Karanja did not join the freedom movement.
 Mumbi confides in him the story of how sad .
 She and Gikonyo fell in love , and how sad she
was when he was away in camp.
 Uhuru arrives, the day first rainy and then sunny.
 People are a joyful and all of them want to see
Mugo.

12. General R. gives a speech instead of
Mugo.
Later, General R. and Koina come to arrest
him and tell him.
He will have a private trial.
Karanja heads back to Gthima, heis
unhappy.
Gikonyo wakes in the hospital and finds
himself ready to make amends with
Mumbi.
He is happy , and plans to carve a stool
featuring an image of a pregnant Mumbi.

13.  Individuals and the community.
 Betrayed, Guilt and Redemption.
 Forgiveness.
 Power of Nature.
 Violence.
 Silence and Confessin.

14. Christ
Rain ( Motif)
Karanja’s Hood
Grain of Wheat

15. Works Cited
Jimmy Wales, L. S. (2001, January 15).
Retrieved from Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Grain_of_W
heat
 <https://www.gradesaver.com/a-grain-of-
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