Historicising Ngugi Wa Thiong’o’s Weep Not Child from Kenya’s Colonial Perspective


Keyword : Historicising, Ngugi Wa Thiong’o, Weep not Child, Colonialism, Mau- Mau


Author(s) : AMAKIEVI OKIEN IJEOMA GABRIEL

Abstract :   

Ngugi Wa Thiong’o’s “Weep not Child” explored the lived experiences of Kenyans during the colonial period in the nineteenth and part of twentieth centuries, particularly in the political, economic, social, religious and cultural spheres of life. The dynamics of these lenses had a great impact on Kenyans and their country as they interacted with Europeans and Indians in particular. Many secondary sources were useful for reconstructing life in Kenya during the colonial period. The text itself was a rich source. As a British Protectorate in 1895 and a colony in 1920, the trappings of a settler community were evident in discrimination against Kenyans in education, economic and social life, politics, social life and culture. Subjugation, oppression and some instruments of colonial rule among others were challenged especially by the Mau Mau and through embarking on strikes and so on. Violence is well-laced in the
discourse and did not meet the expectations of some major characters such as Ngotho, Boro, Njoroge, Jacobo and Mr. Howlands. Decolonization and nationalism through liberation struggles are justified by Thiong’o. The negative effect, however,
makes the process questionable.

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