56 pages • 1 hour read
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'oA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Written in 1980 while its author, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, was in prison for advocating communism, Devil on the Cross focuses on the role of foreign money and investment in Kenya, which is complicated by the country’s role as a former colony of the British Empire.
Kenya became a British colony in 1895, and following this, European settlers began appropriating prime agricultural lands from Indigenous populations. This dispossession, coupled with political and economic marginalization, fueled growing resentment among native Kenyans, particularly the Gikuyu people (in fact, Devil on the Cross is the first modern novel written in the Gikuyu language). The Mau Mau Rebellion, which began in 1952, was a significant armed uprising against British colonial rule. Led primarily by Gikuyu fighters, the rebellion sought to reclaim land and achieve independence. The British response was severe, declaring a state of emergency and implementing harsh measures to suppress the uprising. Tens of thousands of Kenyans were detained in camps, while the conflict resulted in thousands of deaths on both sides.
Although the rebellion was largely suppressed by 1956, it had far-reaching consequences. It exposed the brutality of colonial rule and accelerated the push for independence. Jomo Kenyatta, who had been imprisoned during the emergency despite denying involvement with the Mau Mau Rebellion, emerged as a key figure in the independence movement.
By Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
A Grain of Wheat
A Grain of Wheat
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
A Meeting In The Dark
A Meeting In The Dark
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
Decolonising the Mind
Decolonising the Mind: the Politics of Language in African Literature
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
Dreams in a Time of War
Dreams in a Time of War
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
I Will Marry When I Want
I Will Marry When I Want
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
Matigari
Matigari
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
Petals of Blood
Petals of Blood
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
The River Between
The River Between
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
Weep Not, Child
Weep Not, Child
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
Wizard of the Crow
Wizard of the Crow
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection