Shane Moran - Alternation Journal

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From that day on, Nd~ng'ur~ began to tall property, to shrt prope~ty, to sneeze propcrty, to scratch propcrty, to laugh propel ty, to thrnk property. to dream property, to talk propel ty, to sweat property, to p~ss propcrty (Ngug~ I987 64) Ifthe first story by Gatuiriarelates directly to the burden of colonialis~n on the colonised and points to the possibility of liberation from the shackles of colonialism, the second one relates to a colonial mentality-a fonn of cultural imperialism that locks the colonised within the orbit of depei~dency and leads to a fixation with all that is foretgn. The third story captures the advanced stage 111 which the colonised now surrenders hls or her being, integrity and pride to the colon~ser in order to receive his protection aiid be schooled m the ways of the ogre. The third story is a narrative expression of the stage that Ngugi (1981b:119f) has characterised as the neo-colonial stage of imperialism. This is the stage that he satirizes in the Devil's feast by focusing our attention on the grotesque image of the colnprador class that has given up its soul and betrayed the nation for property. There is, therefore, aparallel between Wariinga's nightmare and the story of Nding'uri Just like the Dev~l's rescuers in Wariinga's nightmare, Nding'uri also gives up his soul-his freedorn-in exchange for property. Significantly, both the ogre and his worshippers like Gitutu and Kihaahu seem to have a siln~lar bodily defocmation; they both seem to share in the common traits of avarice andconceit. Thus every other layer ofthe narrative in the text serves to draw our attention to the grotesque image of the ogre, tile Devil and his followers. The narrative layers serve to reveal the nature and values of the capitalist ogre and the comprador class that it gives rise to. The like5 of Gitutu are born out of the ogre's womb and they contmue to perpetuate its legacy, the legacy of neo-colon~al dependency. A section of the African elite, Ngugi seems to be saying, never contributed in the struggle for independence, but were able to make it through sheer cunning and cheating, and by explo~ting their history of collaboratio~l to their advantage. This class, Ngugi suggests, cannot survive without the patronage of their foreign masters. Part of their fundamental weakness is that they are disposed to parasitism, selfishness, greed and naked exploitation of workers and peasants through cunning rather than creative entrepreneurship and hard-work. For Ngugi then, the grotesque at its best exaggerates and caricatures the negative, the inappropriate, the anti-human that tlie colnprador class has come to symbolize in his works. To this endNgugi is in agreement with Keorapetse Kgos~tsile's (1969: 147) comment that black writers should deploy the grotesque to portray 'the undesirable, the corrupting, the destructive'. But as Bakhtin (1968:308) argues: A grotesque world in which only the inappropriate is exaggerated is only quantitatively large, but qualitatively it is eslre~nely poor, colourless, and far fi-on1 gay. conclusion In spite ofNgugi's scathing exposure of the so-called borrowed power in a post-colony, in choosing the comprador class as the sole object of his butt, Ngugi fails to draw attention to how the masses are the~nselves implicated in their own exploitation. By confining the display of power to the elite, and suggesting a hegemonic powet- structure controlled by foreign and local comprador, he fails to rise above the binary categories used in standard interpretations of domination. Within this structure, the dominated can only collaborate with or resist the rulers. And yet, as Bayart (1 993:249) warns us, the production of a political space [in a post-colony] is on the one hand the work of an ensemble of actors. dominant and dominated, and that on the other hand it is in turn subjected to a double logic of totalitarianising and dctotalitarianising .... The 'small men' also work Iiard at political innovation and their contribution does not necessarily contradict that of the 'big men'. A linear nai-rative of the rulers versus the ruled; the oppressor versus the oppressed, which cliaracterises Ngugi's disco~~rse in a post-colony runs the risk of excluding heterogeneity frorn tlie domain of utterance and is thus functionally incapable of even conceiving the possibility of disc~rrsive opposition or resistance to it(S1emon 1987: 11). The point being made liere is that in order to have an effective understanding of power relations in apost-colony we need to realise that it cannot simply be a relationship of resistance or collaboration but it can best be cliaracteriscd as illicit cohabitation, a relationship fraught by the very fact of the [rulers1 and [the ruled] having to share the same living space (Mbenibe 1992:4). This kind of relationship can only result in what Mbembe (1992:4) has called the 'mutual zoinbificatioll of both the dominant and those they apparently dominate'. It is a relationship of conviviality in which both the ruled and the rulers rob each other of their vitality and, in tlie process, render each other impotent. But because a post-colony is also a regime of pretence, the 'subjects' have to learn to bargain in this market marked by ambivalence; they have to have the ability to managc notjust a single identity for then~selves [whicli binarism reduces tliern to], but several. which are flexible cnougli for tlleln to negotiate as and when required (Mbembe 1992:4). It seems to me that Ngugi's otherwise brilliant critique of the rulers in a post-colony deletes the anlbivalent relationship and crucial contradictions between the ruled and the rulers. In a way, it also robs the ruled of any historical agency outside the grand regime
of resistance narrative. These issues, however, are beyond the scope of this paper (see Cooper 1992, and Ogude 1997) References Department of English Univel-sity of the Witwatersrand Bakhtln Mi~li~zcI I068 Rnbelal~ a~ld If~r World Tsivolsky, ITelenc (t~ans) I oiidon 711e MI7 Press Bqart lean-F~ancols 1W3 The Stute Ivt 4finca The Poln/ncs of the Belly Mdrpel, Maly CIil ~.;+opher 91 El~zabethllarr~son (t~an~) London Longman\ Co~per, Brenda 1992 To Lay These Se~retr Open E~nlllutlng Alj ncan PY~VYIIIW~ Cape Town David Ph111p Publ~she~s Fanon, F1dnt7 1968 7 he Wretchedofthe Earth New Yolk GiovePress Foucault M 1984 Langtlage Cozlnter-rrzemorv, Prnctlce Bouchatd, D (cd) New Yolk Co~nell UP G~amsc~. Antonlo 1971 Selectrons Fronz Prison Noteboolr.~ tloarc, Qurnt~ti & C3N Slnrth (ed & trans) L ondon Lawrenceand W~shart ila~~geiud. Angel~que 1995 The Ctrltzrre ofPolrtrcr In Moder11 Kerqin London Canlb~~dge IJP Jullen Clleen 1992 Afircnn Novels and the Qllesflon ofOralrty Rloorn~ngto~l lnd~dnd Kgos~ts~le W Keorapetse 1969 Towards Our Tlreatt e A Dcfinrtive AL~ In Gayle. Add~son (cd) RlacXE\presslon New York Weybrlght Mbemhc. Ach~lle 1992 Prov~c~onal Notes on the Post-colon) Ajrlco 62,l 3-35 Nd~glr~g~, G 1991 Character Names dnd Types In Ngugl's Devnl on the C ~ ~ IJI.;I/MMU J J XIX I1 & I11 96- 109 Ngugr wa rh~ong'o 1977a Peinls ofBlood London He~nemann Ngug~ wa Tll~ong'o 198 1 a Defalned Idondon He~nemanri Ngug~ waT111ong'o 1981 b Wrrters rn Polltlcs London He~ncmann Ngug~ waT111ong'o 1987 Devtl on the Cross London I-lemernann Od~nga. Og~nga 1967 Not Yet Uhz~ru An Autobiography London Helnemann Od~nga, Og~nga 1992 Ogrnga Odlngu Hls Phrlosophy and Belleji Na~robl Init~at~ves Publrshe~s Ogude, James A 1997 Ngugl's Concept of Hrstory and the Post-Colon~al D~scoulses In Kenya CanadIan <strong>Journal</strong> ofAfrrcanStzlnIes 30,l 86-1 12 Slemon, Stephen 1987 Monuments of Emp~re AllegorylCou~~ter-D~scour?e/Post-Colonla1 Writ~ng Kunapnpr 9,3 1-34 Slemon, Stephen 1988 Post-Colon~al Allegory and the Transfo~mat~on of H~story Joz~rnal of Common~~ealtlz Llteratttre 32,l 157-18 1 The Weekly Revzew (Na~rob~) 30 March 1954 Ngugi's Matigari and the Politics of Literature Glenn Hooper The issue of art in the service of politics is a notoriously colnpies one. Although many are content with the corlcept of imaginative writing being hasnessed to a political enterprise, not all are happy with the end result. In a review of Ngugi wa Thiong'o's Petals of Blood, for example, Ho~ni Bhabha (1 977) suggests that although the narrator avoids a for111 of 'romalitic nationalism' that 'can lead to an idealized quest for identity, for a mystical pristine Otherness', the text's 'rambling narrative and wide cast of characters' are less than impressive. Rhabha continues: In spite of pgugi's] serious and intelligent commitment to the prohlcms of neo-colonialism. [his] failure to find an appropriate and original fol-111 limits tllc power of hisdecp-thinking novcl. Despite Bhabha's reservations, and his belief that Ngugl's adaptation of the classic realist form for a soc~alist agenda is simply too ambitious, one aspect of the text's composition elic~ts approval: the fact that Ngugi achicves sonic ol'llis lnost memorable efltcts in using the traditional mode of story-telling within the novcl to awaken his cllaractcrs to their ofvn myth and history (Rhabha 1977). While Bhabha's approval of the use ot olatu~c 111 Petnlr %nay cntlcally redeem the text, ~t has an even greater bear~lig on the later Mntrgari Publ~shed In 1086 Adatlg~irt 1s a milch qhotte~ novel that1 J'e~uI~5. w~th conseq~~ently a glcate~ tieglee ot olgdn~sat~on and focus to] the narrator and leadel- al~ke Wr~tten oi~g~nally In CJ~kuyu belore being translated into Engl~sh, Mutlgnrr values conclslon wliete Pcfui\ itlove fol a mo~~umental, almost eplc quality Mole ~l-ripoltantly, MLI~I~NYI IS keenly allled to the olal trad~t~on, finding in ~nd~genous culture a more fol~nally satlsty~ng neth hod w~th which to engage with the specifictt~es of poqt-~ndependent Kenya1 Whele Petalr, In I 'It is ilnportant Lliat any society tliat wants to fully ~~iicicrstarrci itscll' ~iiiist give serious attention to its oral literature :lnd artists. The artists play a major I-olc in shaping ;11iii pet-pctuatiiig !hc socicty's ii~iagc of itsell: l'hey also record and tratismit the cultu~-al Iicritagc. 'l'ircse salrle a[-lists 211-2 a11 iniport;~nt 1r1cdi;l Ihr thc SOCIC!~'~ sellleval~~ati~n' (I
Page 2 and 3: * Alternation is an international j
Page 4 and 5: nts who ale 'customers', 'stake-hol
Page 6 and 7: uilds and [it in turn] creates anot
Page 10 and 11: . - r - other words, used certain f
Page 12 and 13: nn Hooper tlie language, ~nesmerisi
Page 14 and 15: Song and dance as we have Teen are
Page 16 and 17: Glerzn Hooper sense, one that rende
Page 18 and 19: Glenn Hooper Armah, Ayi Kwei 1973.
Page 20 and 21: 71e lise ~rnoa~~liii- I,crizgii~lge
Page 22 and 23: References I he Use o/ 1Vet.narllla
Page 24 and 25: Davicl Kazanlian deportat~on scheme
Page 26 and 27: David EiLzzcznjlaw Racial C;overrzn
Page 29 and 30: L)av~tl KCIZII~J~U~ Racial Cioverrz
Page 31 and 32: David Kusi~njian Spain's colonies i
Page 33 and 34: David Kczcilzanjicln calculably and
Page 35 and 36: YC'VLU 11Lllilr~/lurl and in Ann La
Page 37 and 38: David Kazanjian terrify~ng effect o
Page 39 and 40: JI~ivi (1 kiiztitz~za~z Raclal Gove
Page 41 and 42: Dovid Kcrzavrjzan Racial Governnzen
Page 43 and 44: David Kastrnjrnn white Americans ar
Page 45 and 46: Slanlo~i, I.,ucia C: 1993. 'Those W
Page 47 and 48: David Jol~nson De Misl, Race unrl N
Page 49 and 50: De Mzst, Race and Nation opposjlion
Page 51 and 52: De Mist, Race and Nutlon Whether th
Page 53: L ur-rerzt Irencis in the I'rodz~ct
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.- -. . . ,.- 2 r I,UIILLLUYL qj ,>
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lived modernity, and as complex and
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C'zirrent Turrzds in the Production
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urrent lrends in the Prodzdction of
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LI(IIEPZI ~reilus zn the Prodzlcllo
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Alex la Guma's Politics and Aesthet
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Alex In Gzlrna i Polltics and Aesth
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as L,a Gu~iia hirnself later realis
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Alex la Gums k Politics and Aesthet
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Alex la (Yurna 3 Polilics and Aesth
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Alex In Gumn 2 Politics and Aest la
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Ale\: la (I'11~zcr k Politics cr~z~
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Alex lil Gzlnla .? Politics and Aes
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apart from events, who do not maint
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Ales la C;zlma i Politics ~~ndilesf
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( ~ ~I'IPI>I(, L S ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ / l ~
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C'orlnne .sunr/~i~th X,vo wo~orrzen
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Corinne Sandwith Two Women Critics
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Tilo Women Critics and South Africa
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nces and Selected Bibliography hori
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I'F~CI N~~~I.S~I~I~IL Constr~lction
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coti-iplain. They have beer1 writtz
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aised, the title of the essay, The
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value is socially constructed and d
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C'onstuzrct~ons of Protest Poetqj u
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Priya Narisrntll~l Cowstrnctions of
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and public accountability. Althougl
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epresentative ~nullicultural tlnive
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.Yh~zne MU~LZPJ Acnder~~ic I.l.tchn
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Africa. This partially accounts for
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wolnen' has cxetnplary status (llay
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Maqagi. Sisi 1990. Who Theorises? C
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The L)~viikiA Africtrrl Stc~t avid
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T/7e Dividect African S id Hernson
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The Uzvlded Afrlcnn St vltl ITefnso
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ion. Johannesburg: SATRK. This does
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Writitig .Yoz~th IW~M Sole ican ide
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scrubbed away. Thus, Asvat's c Flam
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Book Reviews States of Eniergency i
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Arrived after you had returned honi
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postinodernism: . . . what is post-
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Shane Moran - Alternation Journal

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