Reader Response and a Grain of Wheat

F. Scott Fitzgerald once said, “The reason one writes isn 't the fact he wants to say something. He writes because he has something to say.” This quote applies directly to Ngugi Wa Thiong’o’s novel A Grain of Wheat. One could infer from this quote that some writers write not just for the enjoyment derived from it, but rather out of a feeling of obligation to let readers hear what they may have to say. Ngugi’s message that he feels obligated to convey is delivered, however, he uses a very unusual writing technique to arrive there. He wants the readers to understand the pain, suffering, and confusion that took place during the Emergency. Through jumbled chronological order, numerous character and point of view changes, and a powerful conclusion, Ngugi relays his message with immense authority. The writing style Ngugi uses in this novel is quite impressive. The most obvious difference in this writing opposed to the other two stories we have read is that without maintaining chronological order, he travels from the start of the Emergency in Kenya to the conclusion of the Emergency. One can understand the complexity of this time shifting by examining the first four chapters. Ngugi begins the novel with Mugo experiencing a nightmare six days before Uhuru. Immediately the readers begin questioning exactly what is taking place. Then, Mugo is awake and begins walking through the town. The entire first chapter is following Mugo through his day. Ngugi gives the readers the names of people who are not yet significant to the story. In the beginning of the second chapter, Ngugi proceeds to lead the readers into a history lesson of the beginning of the Emergency. He starts by examining the original leaders of the movement and explains what became of them. In chapter three, Ngugi shifts back to the present setting of the book with Mugo with it getting closer to Uhuru. When Part two begins with chapter four, the setting of the book has completely changed. Within this chapter, the readers start out with another short history lesson that is completely out of context from the previous reading. Ngugi then shifts to Karanja and his multiple inner battles. The readers are now left pondering what time period and which characters thoughts they are reading.
The fact that Ngugi begins this novel, and concludes it, after the Emergency without maintaining chronological sequence is what begins to make this story so unique. Although he is moving across a vast time period, the chronology is never consistent. He manages to explore a sixty-year time period while remaining focused on the six days leading up to Uhuru. Basically, the readers are forced to become deadlocked into the book and examine every minute detail that is thrown at them. If the readers do not do this, then it is most likely that they will miss a key detail in the book and be confused for the rest of the novel. During Ngugi’s chronological jumps throughout the book, he constantly switches the point of view along with which character the story focuses on. This forces the readers to go into each chapter reading without knowing who or what is going to come next. This also forces the readers to pay close attention to every sentence of the book while maintaining their sanity. This loss of sanity is due to the fact that the readers are never in the know about what is taking place. Ngugi begins the novel with Mugo. He starts the writing off with a narrator talking about Mugo’s nightmare. He then switches over to Mugo’s point of view. Immediately the readers are confused about what exactly is happening. Most readers expect one chronology, one narrator, and a story to be fully told. Instead, in the middle of Mugo’s story, Ngugi ends the chapter and begins chapter four completely out of context with the first three. Now Ngugi has thrust the readers into a narrative point of view focused on Karanja. Then, the following page has switched to Karanja’s point of view. Throughout chapter four, Ngugi manages to explore the points of view of Karanja, Dr. Thompson, and Dr. Lynd. By this point the readers realize that these are now completely different people and stories from the ones they originally began reading. This pattern keeps repeating itself, meanwhile only giving the readers bits and pieces of each story and character to try and piece together. This novel becomes a complicated jigsaw puzzle. One could infer that Ngugi wants the readers to feel this sense of confusion, so that they can more easily identify with each character’s disorientation and inner battles. Ngugi wants the readers to feel what these characters are feeling. The third thing that makes this story so incredible is the way Ngugi finally brings everything together at the end. The readers are left wondering, and guessing about everyone and everything throughout the entire novel. At the end of the story it all finally comes together and leaves the readers with not only a great deal of satisfaction, but the main point that Ngugi was trying to get across is very evident to the reader. The readers are finally granted the knowledge of what is happening in each characters head. Mugo finally confesses to betraying Kihika and the readers finally understand that Karanja is innocent in relation to Kihika. Also, the readers are given a look into each other character’s guiltiness that they carry. The end of the novel ties all of the stories together and allows the readers to understand what they have been suffering through with each character. However, not only does Ngugi conclude each story, he also leaves room for the future. This is not a picture perfect ending by any means. Ngugi wants the readers to understand that the Emergency was a very horrible episode. Many people suffered and every single person’s life was affected in a negative way. The story shows the readers that nobody is innocent. However, Ngugi lets the readers know that the Emergency is the cause of this lack of innocence in each character. The style with which Ngugi writes, A Grain of Wheat, is quite incredible even though it can be very uncomfortable to read. The way in which readers can be so fed up with reading a book, yet so intrigued by the lack of knowledge given up by the author is amazing. He forces the readers to keep reading, even through the hardships thrown at them, so that his point can be made. When Fitzgerald said, “The reason one writes isn 't the fact he wants to say something. He writes because he has something to say,” he made a valid statement. Not every writer has something that needs to be heard, but some authors do. Ngugi found a very unique way to deliver a message that needed to be heard, with great strength and passion.

Works Cited

Hall, Donald. Literary and Cultural Theory: From Basic Principles to Advanced Applications. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2001.
Miall, David. "Poetics 19." Readers ' Response to Narrative: Evaluating, Relating, Anticipating (1990): 323-339.
Palmer, Eaustace. An introduction to the African Novel. New York: Africana Publishing Corporation, 1972.
Thiong 'o, Ngugi. A Grain of Wheat. Jordan Hill, Oxford: Heinemann Educational Publishers, 1986.
Vipond, Hunt. "Point Driven Understanding: Pragmatic and Cognitive Dimensions of Literary Reading." Poetics 13 (1984): 261-277.

Cited: Hall, Donald. Literary and Cultural Theory: From Basic Principles to Advanced Applications. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2001. Miall, David. "Poetics 19." Readers ' Response to Narrative: Evaluating, Relating, Anticipating (1990): 323-339. Palmer, Eaustace. An introduction to the African Novel. New York: Africana Publishing Corporation, 1972. Thiong 'o, Ngugi. A Grain of Wheat. Jordan Hill, Oxford: Heinemann Educational Publishers, 1986. Vipond, Hunt. "Point Driven Understanding: Pragmatic and Cognitive Dimensions of Literary Reading." Poetics 13 (1984): 261-277.