Petals of Blood

Petals of Blood is an overtly political novel, and the author's intention is to present readers with a portrait of the economic, social, and other ills of post-independence Kenya. As he makes clear in his writings, Ngugi does not think that his role as a writer is to change society, because only people can change society. However, as he says in a 1979 interview in African Report, he thinks writers can point out where things are wrong and also that "fiction should embody the aspirations and hopes of the majority—of the peasants and workers." Clearly the main concern in Petals of Blood is to draw attention to the plight to the dispossessed peoples of Ilmorog, and by extension, of Kenya. The novel shows that after decades of colonial rule, many of the poorer segments of Kenyan society have been alienated from the land, the source of life for centuries. Even after independence, this separation continues. Karega's mother, Miriamu, is forced to work as a laborer on Munira's father's land. The villagers are helpless in the face of a drought that threatens their life. The landscape of Ilmorog changes forever when the Trans-Africa Highway is built, dividing the village into two. With the transformation of Ilmorog to an industrial center, peasants are forced to pawn their land to obtain bank loans, which they cannot pay, and their ancestral homelands are seized by financiers. The land of the people becomes just another commodity in the hands of economic rulers as Ilmorog is transformed from a bucolic rural village to a polluted industrial development.

The contrast drawn between village and city in the novel serves to underscore the damaging effects of capitalism as well as to make clear the difference in values between traditional and modern Kenyan society. The village of Ilmorog had once been a thriving place set against a ridge that the novel's narrator says must have been "one of the greatest natural beauties in the world." Founded by a courageous herdsman, Ndemi, who began cultivation of the lands, it was once a place of peace, beauty, and dignity. After independence, Ilmorog has become a dusty and backward place, but the people still uphold their integrity. The community is close-knit and hold onto their values and beliefs, participating in communal rites and helping each other. Their values are seen in contrast to those of the urban elite, whose sole interest is money and power. The city is seen as a place of corruption and decay, with tall buildings and gardens as well as shantytowns and bars. Over the course of the novel Ilmorog is transformed from a rural village to an industrial center, and with it comes a disintegration of its values. Wanja, who has been forced to give up her successful business and turn to prostitution in order to avoid being exploited in other ways, says of the values of the city and the "New Kenya": You eat somebody or you are eaten. You sit on somebody or somebody sits on you."