Ngugi wa Thiong'o’s Decolonialist Praxis: Language as a Counter Hegemonic Discourse in Petals of Blood

Abstract

This article re-examines the novel through the lens of its poetic and aesthetic dimensions, arguing that Ngugi's engagement with language and narrative form embodies his ideological commitment to cultural decolonisation. Ngugi wa Thiong'o’s Petals of Blood has often been interpreted primarily as a vehicle for the author's Marxist ideology, with critics emphasising its political content over its artistic merit. By employing orature and subverting colonial literary traditions, Ngugi reconfigures the novel as a medium of resistance. These strategies articulate a subaltern consciousness while also aligning with Ngugi's broader ideological project of recuperating indigenous forms of expression. This synthesis of ideology and aesthetics signals a shift in Ngugi's literary trajectory and underscores Petals of Blood as a pivotal work in the evolution of his aesthetic ideology. Ultimately, this article posits that the novel’s integration of language and ideology renders it a masterpiece of Ngugi’s early career and a harbinger of his eventual embrace of writing in Gikuyu.