Class Structure, Social Relations and Dialectics of the Class Struggle: A Marxist Reading of Ngugi Wa Thiong’o’s Petals of Blood
Publication Date: 14/12/2018
Author(s): Emmanuel Akaana Tarhemba (Phd), Michael Otebo Osori, Emmanuel Agbu Envoh .
Volume/Issue: Volume 1 , Issue 1 (2018)
Abstract:
The novel has become the predominant creative work for analyzing and commenting upon life of a people at a given time. It is a kind of portable mirror which conveys or reflects the socio-political and economic aspects of life of a given society. It also enlarges our understanding of life generally. This paper examined the role of literature in a dysfunctional and conflictual social system. It critiqued Ngugi’s Petals of Blood in its Marxist ideological posture. Findings revealed that, in every social organization, conflict or class struggle is rooted in the prevailing mode of production and that economy is the ultimate determinant of all other aspects of life. The paper then concluded that, conflict or struggle will continue to manifest in capitalist societies so long there is income inequality due to unequal distribution of resources.
