The dilemma of ambivalence in Ngugi’s pre-independence works: the river between, weep not, child and a grain of wheat

Abstract EN

The purpose of this article is to explore the state of indecision both aesthetically and as regards the philosophical frame of reference in Ngugi's early works the river between, weep not child and a grain of wheat.

a biographical reading of these works would be of great help.

also, literary readings carried out by critics such as Patrick Williams, David cook, Simon Gikandi and others would be used to shed light on this theme.

it turns out that the author's life and his early works are closely intertwined and that partly the bewilderment and the state of indecision felt throughout Ngugi's early works is due to the fact that he narrated his works through his eyes as a child.

yet, on considering the Gikuyu community's traditions and the specificity of the British colonial enterprise, we soon realise that the dilemma also is due to the complexity of the issue in question.