Ngugi

AnaMarie Mehmel

Professor Benander

World Literature III

26 April 2011

            Ngugi was not one of my favorite authors to read because I could not understand what he was trying to say until it was explained to me. To me, his “Decolonization of the Mind” seemed like his Communist Manifesto/Declaration of Independence. He is justifying his use of English to support his African experiences as he writes them. He is also saying that the English he uses, Kenyan English, is a real language. Ngugi just seems to me like he emulates Karl Marx in wanting the oppressed to rise up against their oppressors. The way Ngugi does this is through his writing. He is saying that he not going to embrace the European colonization, but take what their education and use it as a tool to fight back. Ngugi is all about language. Language is a powerful thing that people take for granted. Many people do not think about what they say or how they say it. I do not even think about how words are taken until it is too late, and then people get mad and all I want to do is take back what I said.

            Now his story “Wedding at the Cross” was not as bad as his “Decolonization of the Mind.” It is a powerful story because it shows that the thirst for revenge can change people so much that even loved ones do not know them anymore. Yet, Ngugi also uses this story to show that the colonization of the mind does the same thing. Wariuki was a man without care who had the love a Miriamu, but when her father humiliated him, instead of just accepting that Miriamu loved him and left her family for him, he set out show her father that he was just as good as him. Unfortunately, the way Wariuki did that was by becoming just like Miriamu’s father, whom she had left for a carefree, loving, happy man. So, because he wanted her father’s respect he lost the woman who loved him for who he was. In the end, revenge is a cold bedfellow and therefore so is being colonized body, mind, and soul. Yet, this no new thing, the English wanted to be like the French in their clothing, and most of the English language is composed of French. Americans want to speak European languages, visit European countries because that would make them superior to others. Americans want to be everything European. Evan I want to learn the European languages and travel Europe and then living out my days in Ireland. Europe, mostly England, has colonized everyone not just the Africans, though no one wants to admit to that.

            In his story “Minutes of Glory” shows that being colonized does not make a person happy. Wanjiru had a beautiful name, a name of a goddess, but it she that it wasn’t as beautiful as Beatrice, so she changed it. There is the beginning of her trouble. She was already so colonized that she chose a European name that isn’t that pretty, but it was European so it was better than Wanjiru. Then she wanted to have money and men want her. There is another problem. African women were the back bones of the men, so why would you want to degrade yourself by becoming something so European? Well that did not make her happy though. She didn’t even have men or money. She had no self-confidence which made her very unappealing. So she became the European idea for nothing but heartache. Unfortunately, she was so taken over by that ideal that when she actually had a chance to leave her sorry excuse of a life behind she didn’t. Instead she bought everything needed to make men notice her and want her. She had her few minutes of glory then she was arrested, but she was wanted. Yeah, right! She sold herself to the devil for something that was insubstantial. Her memories are all that she has to show for her life; her very pathetic life.