Abstract:
The paper is going to discuss the links between the development mania, land politics
and concomitant conflicts through a comparison of colonial and post-colonial periods in light of
the two novels Weep Not, Child (1964) and Petals of Blood (1977), both of which are written by
Ngugi Wa Thiong’o. Thiong’o is a post-colonial writer who showed through his novels that
colonialism started from imperialism and through that neocolonialism evolved which is so far
the last stage of imperialism where the colonial rule still dominates but keeping the gun on the
shoulder of the capitalistic society in countries like Kenya. Both the above mentioned novels
were written in post-colonial period but still the former novel portrays colonial rule in Kenya
while the latter features the picture of post-colonial Kenya. Different studies have been
conducted analyzing both the colonial and neocolonial periods of these two novels. But there is
no concrete paper that points out the evolution of domination from one period to another
focusing on the crucial issues of land, development programs and ruler-ruled conflicts. Through
qualitative analysis of the two novels under post-colonial criticism, the paper will show the
dynamics of development craze, land politics, and persistent conflicts.
