Character of Mumbi in A Grain of Wheat by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
Name : Pipavat Gopi
Course No. 14 : The African Literature
Topic :- Character of Mumbi in A Grain of Wheat by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
M.A. English Semester – 4
Batch: 2015 - 2017
Department of English
Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University
Ngugi Wa Thiong’o
Ngugi Wa Thiong’o is a Kenyan writer.
He was formerly working in English and now he is working un Gikuyu. Ngugi Wa
Thiong’o has been acclaimed as East Africa’s foremost novelist. His work
include novels, Plays, short-stories, and essays, ranging from literary and
social criticism to children’s literature. He is the founder and editor of the
Gikuyu language journal Mutiiri.
Ngugi Wa Thiong’o has rejected Christianity
which he regarded as a sign of colonialism, and changed his name from James
Ngugi to Ngugi Wa Thiong’o to honour his African heritage. The transition from
Colonialism to Post colonialism has been a central issue in a great deal of
Ngugi’s writings.
Helen Hayward has commented that his early novels like,
The River Between, A Grain of Wheat, and Petel of Blood, act as
“Important documents in the
history of Post-Colonial writing,
distinguished by the urgency of their political engagement and the subtly of
their historical grasp”
Abstract :
The background
of the story is in Kenya when the county is on the edge of independence. Mugo
is a poor orphaned man who has suffered a lot and is indifferent to what is
going on around him and he expects the rest of the world to leave him alone.
This happens until Kihika recruits him by force to join the rest of the freedom
fighters. Resenting this, he etrays Kihika to the colonial government.
Consequently, Kihika is hanged. No one suspects Mugo.
In fact, people worship him and see him
as a hero. Unfortunately, it is Karanja, a man who collaborates with the
colonialists and a home guard who becomes the main suspect and a number of
people want to carry out their revenge on him especially Kihika’s fellow
freedom fighters Lt. Koinandu and General R. Karanja and Gikonyo were enemies
due to their competition for Mumbi. Mumbi chooses Gikonyo, a carpenter, over
Karanja. When Gikonyo is sent to prison by the colonial government like most
men in the country, Karanja sets out to seduce Mumbi who gives in and is
impregnated. On the other hand, the Europeans in the country have their own
devils to deal with. John Thompson a one time District Officer and his wife
Margery are considering living the country soon before the colonialists hand
over power to the Africans. Unknown to Thompson, Margery was having an affair
with Dr. Van Dyke, a meteorologist. Everyone knew except Thompson. The affair
ended when Dr. Van Dyke was crushed by a train. Dr.Lynd, a librarian, worked
with Thompson and hated the Africans as she had once been attacked and raped by
them. She and her boyfriend Roger Mason were planning to leave to Uganda as
soon as Kenya got its independence to avoid the blood killings they predicted
would be meted out on all Europeans by the Africans. When Gikonyo is released
from prison he eagerly goes home looking forward to seeing Mumbi only to find
her with Karanja’s child. Angry more so, because he couldn’t get back at
Karanja as he was the new chief with immense powers he ignores Mumbi and
mistreats her and she decides to leave for her parent’s home. Meanwhile, as the
Independence Day celebrations draw near, Mugo is appointed by the villagers to
give a speech in honor of Kihika’s memory. Mwaura is sent to Githima to tempt
Karanja to attend the celebrations as the freedom fighters intend to wring out
the confession out of him before the crowd. Things take a turn when General R
asks for Kihika’s betrayer to confess and instead of Karanja, Mugo confesses.
Everyone at the rally is shocked at the revelation. Karanja and Gikoknyo’s
enmity is brought to an end through a race that none of the wins as they both
tripped and fell with Gikonyo breaking his left arm. He is resigned to Mumbi
and Karanja leaves the village.
A full summary of the novel :
Ngungi wa Thiong’o has used flashbacks
in his work to tease his readers. I am among readers who enjoyed the book and
here under I would like to share with you what I enjoyed. The whole story in
the novel centres on Mugo as the central character.
This novel A
Grain of Wheat is divided into three eras that are;
1. Pre – Colonial Era
2. Colonial Era
3. Post – Colonial Era
The story of this novel is center around the character Mugo. The plot
revolves around his home village’s preparation for Kenya’s Independence day
celebration, “Uhuru day”. On that day, former resistance fighters General R.
and Koinandu plan on publicly executing the traitor who betrayed Kihika. The
entire novel tells about the history of Kenya and the Mau Mau revolt.
A Grain of Wheat was a turning point in the formal and ideological of his
works. This text is multi-narrative liens and multi-viewpoints unfolding at
different times and spaces replace the linear temporal unfolding of the plot
form a single viewpoint. The collective replaces the individual as the center
of history.
In the novel A Grain of Wheat there are many characters in the novels, but
Mugo, Gikonyo, Mumbi, Karanja and Kihika plays very vital role in the novel.
The character of Mugo is a central character of the novel. These characters
also plays vital role in freedom fighting of Kenya and the Mau Mau revolt.
Ngugi Wa Thiong’o begins the novel with the character of Mugo, who is asked
to speak at the Uhuru, which is another Swahili word for the Kenyan
Independence. Mugo agrees and denies knowledge about another character’s death.
Gikonyo, another character, who married to Mumbi. Gikonyo’s rival is Karanja,
whom Mumbi sleeps with when Gikonyo is away at a detention center, when came
back after six years, Mumbi is pregnant and the presence of the baby causes
their relationship to be strained.
Throughout the rest of ‘A Grain of Wheat’ Mugo struggles with the guilt of
betraying Karanja and later confesses; he is punished by the Freedom fighters.
Writer ends the novel with Gikonyo and Mumbi working their marriage.
Ngugi Wa Thiong’o early novels
like A Grain of Wheat and another also like “Weep not Child” and “The River
Between” explore the detrimental effects of Colonialism and Imperialism.
Character of Mumbi in A Grain of Wheat
Before we start to elaborate this topic
I have one question in my mind and with the help of that question we can elaborate
this topic very well. And that question is,
Women should
not be looked down on as they can play important roles in the society. Example
Mumbi, Wami and Wambui were talking about the duties they have as contribution
to the building of the nation.
Mumbi is a beautiful, strong
woman who grew up in Thabai. She is Kihika’s sister, and Gikonyo’s wife. She
looked after her family during the State of Emergency, which shows she is
caring and responsible. She is also compassionate and does not want to take
revenge for her brother’s death.
Mumbi is one of the central and
main female character of this novel. In the novel Mumbi can be described as a
beautiful and very influential figure for example,
“Her eyes were soft and submissive and defiant”
Mumbi with her beauty and natural charisma she is used to link all the
important themes, ideas, characters and even some of the symbols of the novel.
Ngugi makes use of a number of different themes to convey his ideologies, it is
in these themes that the reader come across the specific characteristics of
Mumbi and can really come to terms with the novel from a female point of view.
Mumbi, is the wife of Gikonyo and the sister of Kihika. Mumbi has baby with
another man namely Karanja, while her husband was in a concentration camp.
While Gikonyo was imprisoned she slept with Karanja, who had been appointed
village chief by the Colonial power.
Mumbi is one of the significant part of the novel. She is the sister of
Kihika. Kihika is the considered the leader of the people and leads the
movement with Kihika being like this Ngugi brings Mumbi into the novel with a
jumpstart on the other characters.
In the novel "A Grain of Wheat" the character of Mumbi can be
described as a beautiful and very influential figure for example "her eyes
were soft and submissive and defiant". With her beauty and natural
charisma she is used to link all the important themes, ideas, characters and
even some of the symbols of the novel.
Ngugi makes use of a number of different themes to convey his ideologies,
it is in these themes that the reader come across the specific characteristics
of Mumbi and can really come to terms with the novel from a female point of
view.
Mumbi is the only central character in the novel that is female. This fact
is a message from Ngugi to the reader telling them that Mumbi is to be a
significant part of the novel. She is also Kihika's sister. Kihika is the most
idolized character in the novel. He is considered the leader of the people and
leads the movement. With Kihika being like this Ngugi brings Mumbi into the
novel with a jumpstart on the other characters. She is of the same bloodlines
of Kihika so the reader can expect to see important things coming from her.
Objectification of Women's Body is also shown here trough
character of Mumbi. That her body is seduce by Karanja to prove his masculine
power over her. Mumbi is an object of great interest and affection. She is
courted by both Karanja and Gikonyo. Ngugi uses the affection of Karanja and
Gikonyo to foreshadow the underlying animosity between the Whiteman and the
Kenyan People.
Karanja represents the Whiteman while Gikonyo represents the Kenyan people.
Gikonyo represents the Kenyan people because it was him that went to the
detention camps for 6 years to protect the oath of the Mau Mau. In contrast to
this Karanja confessed the oath immediately and then became the creature of the
Whiteman. He turned on his own people and destroyed hope in some of their eyes.
Mumbi chose Gikonyo as her husband; this however did not deter Karanja. He
still loved Mumbi and wanted to possess her.
In Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o’s opinion, the
power of women in the community is very important. Mumbi and other women in
the novel are often shown to be strong.
Example : Mumbi tells her mother that she will
not For return to Gikonyo :
“I may be a woman, but even a cowardly
bitch fights back when cornered against a wall.”
The community’s women ask her to
go to Mugo. She tells him that the “women of Thabai and Rung’ei area sent me to
you. They want you at the meeting tomorrow.”
We see that women succeed where
the men have failed, as Mugo responds to Mumbi – although, ironically, he does
not give the speech she expected to hear at the celebrations. At the end of the
novel we see how Mumbi persuades Gikonyo to face up to his life, just as his
mother told him to,
“Read your own heart, and know yourself.”
There is a “valley of silence”
between Gikonyo and Mumbi. It is only at the end of the novel that this is
bridged and Gikonyo hears Mumbi’s side of the story. The trouble between Mumbi
and Gikonyo, which began with Gikonyo refusing to talk about the child, reaches
a crisis. Mumbi leaves him and their marriage seems broken.
In many of the novels Ngugi has presented the problems of the women in
African society. In A Grain of Wheat, there is an effect of patriarchy in the
marriage of Mumbi with Gikonyo. Although she has some problems in her marriage,
she cannot tell her family, and also though she wants to go her parents’ home,
she cannot do this because of the patriarchal ideology, because in such a
society, her parents take sides with her husband. Her mother’s statements upon
Mumbi’s decision to go home demonstrate the power of patriarchal ideology.
Wanjiku, Mumbi’s mother, says Mumbi,
“The women of today surprise me. They cannot take a slap,
soft as a feather, or the slightest breath, from a man. In our time, a woman
could take a blow and blow from her husband without a thought of running back
to her parents.”
In the novel A Grain of Wheat
centres around the female character Mumbi who is the connecting thread with the
other characters. It shows that how the female character was treated in the
colonial society.
In the entire novel this
character played very vital role which is connecting with each other. Mumbi’s
character explains the situation of the African society and the history of
Kenya through the myth of Gikuyu and Mumbi. Mumbi is the connecting thread with
other characters in the novel A Grain of wheat.
Conclusion :-
So, with the help of this all the
statements we can conclude this point in a favour of character of Mumbi. As we
disused earlier that her character is very strong character in this novel. And
she is the only female character who is a thread between all the characters.
Here Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o tried to
give very powerful voice to her female character like, Mumbi. Without her
presence this novel seems very dull or lack of interest.
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