Symbolic Stagnation: Reading Paralysis in Ngugi  Wa Thiong’o’s A Grain of Wheat (1967) and Devil on the Cross (1980)

Tafroukht, Zouhra; Khelifa, Arezki

الممارسات اللّغويّة
Volume 16, Numéro 2, Pages 480-503
2025-12-26

Symbolic Stagnation: Reading Paralysis In Ngugi Wa Thiong’o’s A Grain Of Wheat (1967) And Devil On The Cross (1980)

Authors : Tafroukht Zouhra . Khelifa Arezki .

Abstract

This article seeks to examine the motif of paralysis in Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s A Grain of Wheat (1967) and Devil on the Cross (1980), situating both texts within the broader discourse of postcolonial Kenya. While the former is set against the turbulent years surrounding Kenya’s independence, the latter reflects the frustrations of a society trapped in neocolonial structures. Reading the two novels together reveals a trajectory in Ngugi’s deployment of paralysis evolving from a concern with the psychic burden of repression to a profound interrogation of neocolonial stagnation. From a Freudian perspective, A Grain of Wheat dramatizes the silences and unacknowledged guilt that stifle individuals, as past repressed memories and desires revisit them in the form of hesitation, isolation, and self-reproach. In exploring this issue from Fanonian standpoint, Devil on the Cross narrates the endurance of colonial structures under new ruling elite, exposing the corruption and systemic inequalities that undermine the promise of a true liberation.