Matigari by Ngugi Wa Thiongo
Ngugi wa Thiongo is a renowned Kenyan writer. He has gained recognition all over the world due to his literary intelligence in his work. He has many books under his name that have as well gained recognition all over the globe. On of his most recognized novel is known as Njirungi. It was initially written in his native language, Gikuyu. It was later translated to English by another writer from the same country, Wangui wa Goro. The novel is based on the struggle to independence in Kenya, a country in Africa.
Njirungi was a captive who had decided to abandon war and buries his gun an AK47. He therefore binds himself with a belt of peace and is no longer interested in war. He gets a new state that is more peaceful than the initial. He never dreamt being in such a peaceful state where business ran normally. Initially, it was hard to have such businesses running on smoothly in the initial country where there was an unstable government. He uses the name Matigari ma Njirungi which is a Gikuyu name meaning a patriot who had survived the bullets. Matigari later joins a prostitute, a worker and an orphan. He confronts the sons of the people he had fought before. This lands him in jail. In the cell, he encounters other people who they chat about the struggle they had gone through and the way they had escaped and caught by police (Thiongo, 2005)
Matigari becomes very famous across the country as people hear about his actions. He later decides to set off to find justice and truth. He starts a field d research to find truth and justice. He goes from hotels to law courts as well as shopping centers. He interviews priests, school students as well as old women. Matigari was so serious about searching for truth and justice that at one time he asked the Minister for Truth and Justice as well as his parrots. This again leads Matigari in trouble. He is locked in a mental hospital where a psychiatrist attends to him to determine whether he was mentally ill. Ngugi has brought out a literary element in this scene as Matigari is arrested for asking the minister such a question. There is humor as Matigari resists the arrest though the police over power him. The arrests angers Matigari so much that he takes off his peace belt. He believes that justice for the oppressed can only can from a sharpened spear. He escapes the arrest from the mental hospital. The police tries to find him using dogs but to no success. He escapes with trace and leaves his words and weapons to the next generation to continue with the struggle. His escape leaves a myth behind whereby people do not really know who Matigari actually was. They had no idea whether he was a girl or a boy, thin or fat, old or young.
Ngugi has used many literary elements in this novel. He has used satire to depict the corrupt government in Matigaris country. The government has been ridiculed through Matigari whereby its evil deeds are exposed. It took the people to realize that they needed to be independent through Matigari. Matigari was such a courageous fellow that he had to confront the minister by asking him questions. In this excerpt, he has been depicted as a hero whereby he is able to overcome many obstacles. He runs from jail and never to be seen again. However, though the theme of the story is about struggle, Ngugi has been able to bring out the same using humor. Matigari has been used to bring all these elements all by himself. He moves from scenes where he is under pressure to others that he has changed for the better. However, it is so hard to abandon the struggle by dropping his weapon. He ones more go back to the struggle after realizing that the poor people are being mistreated by the elite in the country. He believes that the only way the poor can liberate themselves from the oppression is by taking weapons and demonstrating forcefully.
Though the story has been set during the time when the country had not gained independence, Ngugi has used Matigari to stand for the few activists who were ready to fight for their rights and the rights of others. Since Matigari had escaped from the mental hospital and had become wanted by the police force, he did not go away with his weapons to the hiding but rather left them behind to other people who would continue with the struggle for independence.
In conclusion, the novel Matigari has been used by the author to reveal the struggle for independence that was taking over Kenya. Up to the end of the novel, there is no clear indication that the struggle would come to an end since Matigari had left back his weapons to the young generation to continue with the struggle for independence. Ngugi has used some of the literary elements that many authors lack in their work. One of the most significant being the language that he initially wrote the novel in.
Njirungi was a captive who had decided to abandon war and buries his gun an AK47. He therefore binds himself with a belt of peace and is no longer interested in war. He gets a new state that is more peaceful than the initial. He never dreamt being in such a peaceful state where business ran normally. Initially, it was hard to have such businesses running on smoothly in the initial country where there was an unstable government. He uses the name Matigari ma Njirungi which is a Gikuyu name meaning a patriot who had survived the bullets. Matigari later joins a prostitute, a worker and an orphan. He confronts the sons of the people he had fought before. This lands him in jail. In the cell, he encounters other people who they chat about the struggle they had gone through and the way they had escaped and caught by police (Thiongo, 2005)
Matigari becomes very famous across the country as people hear about his actions. He later decides to set off to find justice and truth. He starts a field d research to find truth and justice. He goes from hotels to law courts as well as shopping centers. He interviews priests, school students as well as old women. Matigari was so serious about searching for truth and justice that at one time he asked the Minister for Truth and Justice as well as his parrots. This again leads Matigari in trouble. He is locked in a mental hospital where a psychiatrist attends to him to determine whether he was mentally ill. Ngugi has brought out a literary element in this scene as Matigari is arrested for asking the minister such a question. There is humor as Matigari resists the arrest though the police over power him. The arrests angers Matigari so much that he takes off his peace belt. He believes that justice for the oppressed can only can from a sharpened spear. He escapes the arrest from the mental hospital. The police tries to find him using dogs but to no success. He escapes with trace and leaves his words and weapons to the next generation to continue with the struggle. His escape leaves a myth behind whereby people do not really know who Matigari actually was. They had no idea whether he was a girl or a boy, thin or fat, old or young.
Ngugi has used many literary elements in this novel. He has used satire to depict the corrupt government in Matigaris country. The government has been ridiculed through Matigari whereby its evil deeds are exposed. It took the people to realize that they needed to be independent through Matigari. Matigari was such a courageous fellow that he had to confront the minister by asking him questions. In this excerpt, he has been depicted as a hero whereby he is able to overcome many obstacles. He runs from jail and never to be seen again. However, though the theme of the story is about struggle, Ngugi has been able to bring out the same using humor. Matigari has been used to bring all these elements all by himself. He moves from scenes where he is under pressure to others that he has changed for the better. However, it is so hard to abandon the struggle by dropping his weapon. He ones more go back to the struggle after realizing that the poor people are being mistreated by the elite in the country. He believes that the only way the poor can liberate themselves from the oppression is by taking weapons and demonstrating forcefully.
Though the story has been set during the time when the country had not gained independence, Ngugi has used Matigari to stand for the few activists who were ready to fight for their rights and the rights of others. Since Matigari had escaped from the mental hospital and had become wanted by the police force, he did not go away with his weapons to the hiding but rather left them behind to other people who would continue with the struggle for independence.
In conclusion, the novel Matigari has been used by the author to reveal the struggle for independence that was taking over Kenya. Up to the end of the novel, there is no clear indication that the struggle would come to an end since Matigari had left back his weapons to the young generation to continue with the struggle for independence. Ngugi has used some of the literary elements that many authors lack in their work. One of the most significant being the language that he initially wrote the novel in.
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