Thinking Activity : Petals of Blood

Write a short note on the first chapter of the novel (Interrogation of characters) Petals of Blood. 

Petals of Blood :- 

Petals of Blood is a novel written by Ngugi wa Thiong'o. Ngugi wa Thiong'o is a Kenyan writer and academic who writes primarily in Gikuyu. His work includes novels, plays, short stories, and essays, ranging from literary and social criticism to children's literature. He is the founder and editor of the Gikuyu-language journal Mũtĩiri. His short story The Upright Revolution: Or Why Humans Walk Upright, is translated into 100 languages from around the world. 

It was first published in 1977. Set in Kenya just after independence, the story follows four characters – Munira, Abdulla, Wanja, and Karega – whose lives are intertwined due to the Mau Mau rebellion. In order to escape city life, each retreats to the small, pastoral village of Ilmorog. As the novel progresses, the characters deal with the repercussions of the Mau Mau rebellion as well as with a new, rapidly westernizing Kenya. 

The novel largely deals with the scepticism of change after Kenya's independence from colonial rule, questioning to what extent free Kenya merely emulates, and subsequently perpetuates, the oppression found during its time as a colony. Other themes include the challenges of capitalism, politics, and the effects of westernization. Education, schools, and the Mau Mau rebellion are also used to unite the characters, who share a common history with one another. 

Chapter One 

✍️The novel starts with the investigation of murder and two police man goes to the houses of all suspected persons. First they came to Munira. They asked Munira to come with them to the police station. Munira easily agreed with them and he took one holy book with him and talked about the end of the world and the second coming of Christ. The Policeman changed the topic and asked him about since when he is living here. And Munira answered him twelve years later. 

✍️The second scene is about Abdulla. The police went at Abdulla's place and tell him to go with him because they want ask him some questions about the murder that happened yesterday. 

✍️The third scene went to the hospital, where Wanja had been admitted. She is on the bed. Doctor tells the police man that she is not able to speak anything and she is still in delirium about what had happened. 

✍️The fourth scene is at the house of Karega. He was just awake and a policeman took him in. They want to ask him about the murder that happened in Ilmorog. That news spread everywhere and the workers marched toward the police station and demanded the release of Karega. Because before this night they all planned a strike, and they thought because of this decision police arrested him. But the policeman told them that it's investigation about murder. 

✍️Fifth attention we have seen is that Daily Mouthpiece newspaper printed the headline that, 

"MZIGO, CHUI, KIMERIA MURDERED" 

So in this way the news was spread out everywhere. And chapter one includes these five scenes. And in this way we came to know about the characters and their interrogation.