Character of Mumbi in A Grain of Wheat by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o

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Character of Mumbi in A Grain of Wheat by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o

Name :  Pritiba B. Gohil

Roll No. :  21

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: 2014 - 2016

Department of English

Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University

Submitted  To :

Heenaba Zala ,

Department of English

Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University

Introduction :-

A Grain of Wheat is a novel by Kenyan novelist Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o first published as part of the influential Heinemann African Writers Series. ‘A Grain of Wheat’ is a short but noticeable novel, having only a one main incident. It was come under South African Literature. It was written in 1967. It was written by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o. It contains some historical events in it. It was very firstly represented as events in this novel. It was also known as Kenyan novel, too.

About The Writer :-

Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o is a Kenyan writer, formerly working in English and now working in Gikuyu. His work includes 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 Mũtĩiri.

He himself said:

“I am a writer some have even called me a religious writer. I write about my people. I am interested in their hidden lives and hates and how the very tension in their hearts affects their daily contact with other men. How in other words, the emotions stream of the man within interacts with the real type.”

In this novel he again raises the same question about colonization and colonized people and so this work is also known as his masterpiece. He tries to bring reality and realism in front of worlds with help of all his works and this work is also adding the same in his patriotic movement for people and nation.

About The Novel :-

A Grain of Wheat

A Grain of Wheat is one of the great novel written by Kenyan writer namely Ngugi Wa Thiong’o. This novel published in 1967. This is a story about events and relationships leading up to a country’s struggle for independence, and the story, focusing on the quite Mugo, whose life is ruled by a dark secret.

In this novel A Grain of Wheat writer has presented for the first time an African perspective on the Kenyan armed revolt against British Colonial rule during the 1950s. This novel marked Ngugi’s break with cultural nationalism and also his embarking of Fanonist Marxism. The title of the novel refers to the Biblical theme of Self-sacrifice, a part of the new birth!

“Unless A Grain of Wheat die”

It is an allegorical story of one man’s mistaken heroism and a search for the betrayer of a Mau Mau leader. Many of the critics have also praised the work and role of Ngugi as an influential Post-Colonial African written, particularly in his portrayal of corrupt post-liberation African Government.

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.

For example,  Mumbi tells her mother that she will not 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.

Work Sited :-

·        http://www.scribd.com/doc/85482524/Character-and-Voice-in-Ngugi-Wa-Thiongo-a-Grain-of-Wheat#scribd

·        www.academia.edu/4720459/Analysis_of_A_grain_of_wheat

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