The Revolutionary Narrative In The Trial Of Dedan Kimathi

Ngugi wa Thiong’o is the first playwright in East African literary history.As one of the famous African left-wing representatives in the 20 th century,Ngugi holds a strong revolutionary spirit with his novels and plays based on the new colonial context in general and on the Mau Mau movement in Kenya in the 1950 s in particular,highlighting the struggle of the Kenyans to win national independence and achieve ethnic autonomy against the colonizers.The Trial of Dedan Kimathi,namely,the last historical drama written in English,is a representative work in Ngugi’s dramatic career.It played an indispensable role in the liberation of Kenya,even of East Africa,and provides guidance for contemporary African literature.In The Trial of Dedan Kimathi,Ngugi boldly challenges the dominant Western culture and directly portrays the history of resistance during Kenya’s colonial period so as to embody the strong cohesion of African national culture and the determination of the African people to achieve independence.This thesis focuses on the revolutionary narrative used by the author in The Trial of Dedan Kimathi,and analyzes how Ngugi skillfully uses this technique in the whole play.Based on the real history,Ngugi completely subverts Western stereotypes by presenting three different levels of struggle history in The Trial of Dedan Kimathi.The heroic deeds of Dedan Kimathi are the main content of the play,which is controversial in academia,such as Kenneth Watene’s satirical play Dedan Kimathi.In order to demonstrate the importance of the national culture represented by Kimathi,Ngugi uses historical inquiry,revolution mobilization,and the use of Mau Mau songs.Furthermore,Ngugi repeatedly uses such rhetorical devices as alliteration and repetition in the text to further enhance the anti-colonial and revolutionary narrative effect and express his hope for the national liberation.Through the rewriting of the Mau Mau revolution history in the 1950 s,Ngugi reveals the contemporary social situation in African countries in the 21 st century to form a revolutionary narrative against the colonial narrative,awakening a new generation of Africans to their struggle in the neo-colonial era.As a historical drama,The Trial of Dedan Kimathi not only audaciously shows Ngugi’s advocacy for revolutionary struggle but promotes the indispensable guiding role of national historical culture in nation development.