Here, my presentation on Mumbi as a Central Character in 'A Grain of Wheat'

1. • Class: M.A. Sem-4
• Roll No.: 28
• Paper No. 14 : The African Literature
• Enrollment No.: PG 14101019
• Prepared By : Vaishali Hareshbhai Jasoliya
• Email – ID: jasoliyavaishali@gmail.com
• Submitted To: Department of English
Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji
Bhavnagar University
Mumbi as a Central Character

2. • Kenyan Novelist
• A Grain of
Wheat is
written by Ngugi
Wa Thiong’o

3. • Historical Novel
• First Published in
1967 by
Heinemann
• Kenya’s struggle
for independence

4. Mumbi as a Central Character
 She is wife of Gikonyo
 Sister of Kihika
 While Gikonyo was imprisoned she
slept with Karanja, who had been
appointed village chief by the colonial
power
 She has a baby with Karanja man while,
her husband is in a concentration camp.

6. • One of the Beautiful women in the
village.
• She admired by men particularly
Karanja and Gikonyo
• Gikonyo left, Mumbi take
responsibility of house and his
mother

7. • Strong
• Independent
• Resourceful
• Portrayed as less
heroic than man

8. • Ideal patriotic women – fighting for
freedom
• Courage and role of women in freedom
fighting
• Thiong’o wants to demonstrate that,
“If African women had not been such an
innerforce, Kenyan would have never
been what it is today”

9. • Women should not be looked down on
as they can play important roles in the
society
• Example Mumbi, Wami and Wambui
were talking about the duties they have
as contribution to the building of the
nation

10. Thus, we can say that Mumbi has all
the qualities but yet she not considered
as central character. Because in men
domain society its difficult that woman
is in the centre. But in true sense we can
say that Mumbi as central character.