The Return

Meet Ngugi wa Thiong’o (born 1938)

Ngugi wa Thiong’o (ng o_o_gē wä tē ō n_gō ) is one of East Africa’s most important novelists.
His political outlook and literary ambitions were greatly influenced by his poverty-stricken
childhood and his experiences growing up under the brutal Britishcolonial government.
Colonialism and Resistance Ngugi is a member of the Kikuyu (or Gikuyu) people, Kenya’s largest
ethnic group. The Kikuyu began fighting for Kenyan independence as early as the 1920s. This
resistance sparked a violent backlash from the British authorities, which led to the deaths of
more than 11,000 people. Ngugi earned two bachelor’s degrees, first at Makerere University in
Uganda and then later at the University of Leeds in England. Around this time, Ngugi’s family
was swept up in the anticolonial movement known as the Mau Mau (moúmoú) rebellion.
During the conflict, his stepbrother was killed and his mother was tortured. Ngugi’s first novel,
Weep Not, Child, published in 1964, is set during the rebellion. Two later novels, The River
Between (1965) and A Grain of Wheat (1967), also explore issues of independence, colonialism,
and cultural conflict. Radicalism, Arrest, and Exile In the 1970s, Ngugi became increasingly pro-
African and anticolonial. He began composing novels and plays in his native Kikuyu language.
After the performance of a radical, politically charged play he coauthored, I Will Marry When
I Want, Ngugi was held for a year by the Kenyan government in a maximum-security prison.
During his imprisonment, Ngugi wrote Devil on the Cross, the first modern novel composed in
Kikuyu. After his release, he left Kenya and eventually moved to the United States. In 2004,
Ngugi returned to Kenya to promote Wizard of the Crow, his latest novel. His prolific and
observant writings have both documented and examined life in modern Kenya.

Literature and Reading Preview

Connect to the Story

In general, why do people resist change? Why is the future sometimes frightening? Discuss
these questions with a partner.

Build Background
“The Return” is set in Kenya in the 1950s during the Mau Mau rebellion. The Kikuyu people,
who led the uprising, were angry because British colonists had taken large tracts of their land.
The Mau Mau advocated the violent overthrow of the British authorities. In 1950, the
organization was banned, and in 1952, the British imprisoned tens of thousands of Kikuyu.
Although the Mau Mau rebellion failed, it helped convince the British government to grant
independence to Kenya in 1963.

RESPOND AND THINK CRITICALLY

Respond and Interpret

1. What emotions did you experience at the end
of the story?
2. (a)Why has Kamau been away from the village?
(b)How would you describe his feelings as he
approaches the village?
3. (a)What does Kamau learn from the women
at the river? (b)How would you describe his
emotions after learning this information?

Analyze and Evaluate

4. (a)A symbol is an object or an action that stands
for something else in addition to itself. What
might Kamau’s bundle symbolize? (b)Do you
think it is an effective symbol? Why or why not?
5. Consider the conversation between the detainees
regarding their families. How might the
prisoners feel about the people and villages
they left behind?

Connect
6. Whatdetails in this story suggest why Kamau and
other Kikuyu men revolted against colonial rule?
7. Connect to the Author Ngugi witnessed the
great injustice perpetrated on the Kikuyu. Why
might he have chosen to write about a returning
protester, rather than the villagers who
stayed behind?
Literary Element Personification
Authors often use personification to reinforce
the mood of a literary work and to suggest the
unspoken feelings of their characters.
1. In the first paragraph, what does Kamau hope
to see, and how does he personify it?
2. What does this personification reveal about
Kamau’s emotions as he approaches home?
Reading Strategy
Make and Verify Predictions
As you read, you make predictions about what
will happen next.
1. What details helped you predict the ending of
“The Return”?
2. Which turn in the plot most surprised you?
Vocabulary Practice
Write a Dialogue Imagine that Kamau and Muthoni run into each other at a later time. Write
a brief description of where they meet, using personification. Then, write a dialogue, imagining
the conversation they have.