Literature And Libration in Africa: An Appraisal of Ngugi Wa Thiogo’s A Grain of Wheat

Abstract

The present study captures the role of the literary artists in the struggle for emancipation of Africa. Brief allusions are made to southern and western African literary works, but East Africa is used as a major microcosm of the representation. Ngugi wa Thiongo’s A Grain of Wheat (1967) is analyzed using the sociological approach to the study of literature with a view to identifying how the author has through the instrumentality of his novel been able to project the realities of blacks emancipation in Kenya. To this end therefore, the historical, economic and social realities of the Kenyan society is analyzed as source materials which Nguigi has used to x-ray his society. The research concludes that, Ngugi has been able to effectively capture the realities of his society through his novel.