Postkolonijalno čitanje Ngugi wa Thiong'o-va romana Weep Not, Child

The paper deals with postcolonial reading of Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s novel Weep Not, Child. The focus of the analysis is on the issues related to the Kenyan postcolonial context, such as the role of language in the formation of identity, the importance of land in the culture of native people, the role of education in the socio-economic development and the position of women in traditional Kikuyu society. The analysis leads to the conclusion that language is not only a means of communication but also serves as an important symbol of identity and tradition. Language is also important in the formation of identity, especially through the process of education and its impact on native people. Land occupies the central position in the culture of the Kikuyu people and the link between people and land is what encourages the natives to resist the colonial rule. Land ownership and land dispossession influence the construction of different socio-economic classes in Kenya. Education contributes to the socio-economic development of the country (the increase of literacy, higher salaries, etc.), but also serves as a tool for the imposition of colonial rules. Women in the novel are presented as bearers of small village economies in the system of a gender-based division of labour. Women in traditional Kikuyu family, as Neal Sobania states, are responsible for education of their children, which is a very important duty.Ovaj rad se bavi postkolonijalnim čitanjem Ngugi wa Thiong'o-va romana Weep Not, Child. U središtu analize su pitanja vezana uz kenijski postkolonijalni kontekst, poput uloge jezika u formiranju identiteta, važnosti zemlje u kulturi domicilnog stanovništva, uloge obrazovanja u društveno-gospodarskom razvoju te položaja žena u tradicionalnom Kikuyu društvu. Analiza je dovela do zaključka da jezik nije samo sredstvo komunikacije, već da također služi kao važan simbol identiteta i tradicije. Jezik je također važan u formiranju identiteta, pogotovo putem procesa obrazovanja i utjecaja obrazovanja na domicilno stanovništvo. Zemlja zauzima središnji položaj u kulturi naroda Kikuyu, dok veza između zemlje i ljudi potiče domicilnog stanovništvo na otpor protiv kolonijalne vlasti. Vlasništvo nad zemljom i oduzimanje zemlje utječu na stvaranje različitih društveno-gospodarskih klasa u Keniji. Obrazovanje doprinosi društveno-gospodarskom razvoju zemlje (porast pismenosti, više plaće), ali također služi i kao sredstvo za nametanje kolonijalnih pravila. Žene su u romanu predstavljene kao nositeljice malih seoskih gospodarstava u sustavu spolne podjele rada. Žene u tradicionalnoj Kikuyu obitelji su, kako tvrdi Neal Sobania, zadužene za obrazovanje svoje djece, što je veoma važna dužnost