Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o

High school (ages 12+)
Art & Creativity

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/ng-g--wa-thiong-o

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. When was Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o born?January 5, 1938
2. Where was Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o born?Kamiriithu, Kiambu, Kenya
3. What is the primary literary language?Gikuyu (after a conscious shift from English)
4. Who is Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o?Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o is a Kenyan author who writes books and plays. He loves telling stories in his own language, Gikuyu, and wants everyone to use their own language too.
5. Why did he stop writing in English?He stopped writing in English because he felt that using the colonial language keeps people far from their own culture. Writing in Gikuyu helps people feel proud of their heritage.

Linguistic Decolonization: The process of challenging and dismantling the dominance of colonial languages in favor of indigenous ones.
Bourgeois Education System: An educational system perceived as being designed for and controlled by the wealthy or upper classes.
Alienation: A feeling of estrangement or separation from oneself, others, or society.
Prisoner of Conscience: An individual imprisoned for their beliefs or identity, without having used or advocated violence.