Hello:)Reader,
Topic: The Contrastive depiction of African Women in The Joys of Motherhood and Petals of Blood.
She wrote many novels also it was set during the Nigerian civil war and had allegorical accounts of European colonization in Africa and also it was dealing with the condition of women in war colonialism and the traditional motherhood she described in her many literary work.
Ngugi Wa Thiong'o
Ngu˜gı˜ wa Thiong’o was born the fifth child of the third of his father’s four wives he had twenty-seven siblings. The family lived in Kamiriithu Village, twelve miles northeast of Nairobi, Kenya. His father, Thiong’o wa Nducu, was a peasant farmer from native Africa who had profited from the act. His father’s condition was similar to that of most of the Kikuyu with whom Ngu˜gı˜ grew up.to Nairobi. It was run by a consortium of the various Protestant denominations in Kenya and was the first secondary school specifically for Africans. He was the personal connection with the Mau Mau rebellion His mother was subsequently tortured. In 1955 his village was destroyed as part of the anti-Mau Mau campaign.
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, currently a Distinguished Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of California, Irvine, was born in Kenya, in 1938 into a large peasant family. He was educated at Kamandura, Manguu, and Kinyogori primary schools; Alliance High School, all in Kenya; Makerere University College (then a campus of London University), Kampala, Uganda; and the University of Leeds, Britain.
Nnu Ego and Wanja are two female characters in African literature who come from different backgrounds and face different struggles. While Nnu Ego is the protagonist in Buchi Emecheta's "The Joys of Motherhood," which is set in colonial-era Nigeria, Wanja is a major character in Ngugi wa Thiong'o's "Petals of Blood," which takes place in postcolonial Kenya.
Nnu Ego is a traditional woman who lives in a patriarchal society that values motherhood and places women's worth solely on their ability to bear children. Throughout the novel, Nnu Ego's life revolves around her children and their well-being. Her sense of self-worth is tied to her ability to have children, and she feels lost and purposeless without them. As the story progresses, she faces numerous challenges, including poverty, infertility, and the loss of her children, which eventually lead to her downfall.
On the other hand, Wanja is a more modern and assertive character who challenges the patriarchal norms of her society. Unlike Nnu Ego, who accepts her fate as a woman and mother, Wanja refuses to be confined to traditional gender roles. She fights against the capitalist exploitation of her people by the colonial powers and their native collaborators. She also speaks out against the rampant corruption and injustice in her society, advocating for social justice and equality for all.
In conclusion, the characters of Nnu Ego and Wanja represent two contrasting types of women in African literature. Nnu Ego embodies the traditional and submissive woman, while Wanja represents the modern and assertive woman. While Nnu Ego struggles to find meaning and purpose in her life, Wanja fights for a better future for herself and her community. Their stories illustrate the complexities of African womanhood and the struggles that women have faced and continue to face in the postcolonial era.
In comparing the characters of Nnu Ego and Wanja, it becomes apparent that their stories reflect different aspects of feminist thought in African literature. Nnu Ego's struggles highlight the oppressive nature of patriarchy and the societal pressures placed on women to conform to traditional gender roles. She is a victim of a patriarchal system that values women primarily for their ability to bear children and raise a family, leading to a sense of worthlessness when she is unable to do so.
In contrast, Wanja embodies the feminist ideal of a woman who challenges patriarchal norms and fights for social justice and equality. She resists the capitalist exploitation of her people and speaks out against corruption and injustice. Her character is a symbol of the strength and agency of African women who refuse to be confined to traditional gender roles and work towards creating a more equitable society.
Overall, the stories of Nnu Ego and Wanja highlight women's complex and nuanced experiences in Africa. They show the ongoing struggle for gender equality and the need for women to challenge patriarchal norms and assert their agency in the face of societal pressures. By examining these characters, we gain insight into the experiences of African women and the challenges they face, and we are reminded of the importance of feminist thought in addressing issues of gender inequality in Africa and beyond.
Nnu Ego is one who was having traditional beliefs as she was women have to become a mother because in their community mothers have more respect she did not love her husband though she wanted a child from him after a child she started to accept him in her first marriage she was not able for the child she was caring her co-wife son she was trying to feed the child with her dry breast then she courteously trying that her husband beaten her because of that and she returns to the father’s place her father choosing another man for her which she never shows him then she was lived with him because her want that she did not again return to the house but return with her family. In poor and miserable conditions she fought for her children and fed them having seven children she was working hard and made her children educated and they go abroad for their higher education and lived in a foreign country.
She was facing much trouble in her life, especially as a mother she was sold even her cloth for her children and their needs she was not arguing with her son to leave her in her old age she was believing in tradition never denied polygamy in poor condition and not free herself to even crying being strong front of others.
Wanja woman who had a big attitude toward life and suffering but was sometimes weak but never hide the weakness she was badly treated in her past she was openly shared with others and even crying front of them she was also one craving motherhood. Wanja chooses her path rather than going with others.
Nnu Ego and Wanja both belong to Africa and the same time this was presented in the novel is the post-colonial era though their character has many differences Nnu Ego is coming from the village to live in the city while Wanja comes from the city and lived in the village both are independent but are craving for the motherhood and represented AAfrican women and their condition both belong to the different community but their nation is same Nnu Ego believes in traditional thinking while Wanja who was never lived traditional life because she was a barmaid and because of the profession she was like modern women. Wanja has an education and Nnu Ego is not having any education though she was in trading or she has traditional education or not mentioned in the novel. Choosing partner Nnu's ego in both marriages her father chooses her husband and Wanja chooses her partner. The suffering of the female is sometimes reflected in the novel both are suffers in past as well as in the present.
Motherhood is different for both females like Nnu Ego and her craving for the child then her love toward child reflected very much when her first son dead she was going to ready to kill herself even and for a second and another child in poverty she nurture she was sold her cloth also her child while we the character of Wanja no doubt she was young but it was highy to threw newborn baby in latrine then later trying and craving for child. It is also seen as the support system and love also drives them for Nnu Ego her father whom she tells everything and he was having care for her he loves her or even one of the best adviser for Wanja there is no support from the family, at last, she meets her mother.
The author is deliberately doing this because drawn picture of moral and unselfish mother Buchi Emecheta creates the background of the village they blindly follow the tradition or even many women writers portray women as traditional and suffering from the patriarchal structure. She critiqued the moral and sacrificial mothers who spend their whole life for children and their careers. Ngugi wa Thiong’o portrays a woman who were strong and has her own decision, bold, modern, and one who was lived in any place monk front of male and raise her voice and point of view against male domination even she was strong to murder him who seduced her in the past like many male writer Ngugi was also made her heroine stronge and stubborn. The reason for the contrast is their background, education, and past trauma there is several reason for the contrast in African Women.
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