DIMENSIONS OF NATIONALISM IN THE NOVELS OF NGUGI WA THIONG’O

This paper has examined various attributes of nationalism in the two novels, The River Between (1965) and Petals of Blood (1977). African nationalism is a subjective sense of kinship or harmony held by African people. It is an emotion rooted in common racial heritage, cultural standards, indigenous institutions, and historical experiences. The novels of Ngugi have covered the entire pre-colonial, colonial, and post-colonial span of Kenya. These novels have portrayed Kenya’s cultural, social, political, and economic realities brooding with nationalism. The awareness of nationalism has been a prevalent notion in African fiction writings due to the advent of colonisers who tried to impose their missionary culture and ideology on natives. The novel The River Between is set against the backdrop of colonialism and depicts its aftermath in Kenya. This novel also explores the political theme of national movement and independence. Petals of Blood contains historical and revolutionary aspects of Kenyan society. This novel is a mordant critique of corrupt and impaired national rule in Kenya after independence. These two novels of Ngugi importune themes of nationalism, Afro-centric ideology, and the indigeneity of Africa. This research paper has applied interdisciplinary and analytical modes of study with the help of various post-colonial and post-modernist theories to validate the proposed argument.