Petals of Blood

Karega reflects on the events from the circle. He has a newfound respect for Abdulla’s actions in the Rebellion, seeing him as a “symbol of Kenya’s truest courage” as his actions, previously only imagined, became “immediate flesh and blood” in Karega’s eyes (271). As Wanja joins him, she comments on his brother’s participation in the Rebellion and Karega’s participation in the school strikes, saying both have the “blood of rebels” (272). In contrast, she reflects on how Munira was simply a bystander during his strike.

As they discuss Abdulla and what he revealed, Karega asks Wanja if Kimeria was the man who impregnated her. She admits he was but is offended by the fact that it is always “held against her” (273). Shocked and adamant that this is not what he meant, Karega thinks about how he, too, was a victim and would not judge another victim. Overcome by his desire for her, Karega begins to remove her clothes. She briefly protests, but they end up making love in the grass.

Upon waking at home, Wanja feels peace and lightness after sex with Karega that she never felt before in her other experiences. She drifts into sleep and dreams of her father. She is teaching him to read, then shifts to wearing a uniform after returning from fighting as a soldier for “the king.” He is upset and says fighting is a “terrible waste of life,” as he learned to build everything in the war but that “human lives they cannot create” (276). She then sees her mother and father arguing; her mother begs him to move to Ilmorog, but he claims that resisting the Europeans is futile as they are too powerful. Staying where they are and making money is the best way to control their lives. They argue over religion, each claiming the other betrays God—Wanja’s mother by visiting her sister, who aids the Mau Mau, and Wanja’s father by worshipping money. He beats her, and Wanja yells “fire” to interrupt their fight, calling to Karega for help. Upon waking, Wanja asks Nyakinyua for the truth about what happened to her father and grandfather.

At the same time, Karega dreams of his mother, Munira’s father’s farm, and women coming to their home to discuss the rebellion. At one point, he dreams of being on an island with Mukami, who turns into Wanja and then Nyakinyua. Ultimately, she transforms into his students. He tries to explain how white men controlled Africa with religion and education, but his class floats away on a raft as he transforms into different revolutionary leaders. Finally, he sees his brother adrift on a raft, who informs him that he knows of his struggle and “the journey of search and exploration undertaken by all [his] brothers and sisters” (282). He scolds Karega for letting his students go, insisting that the struggle begins with them.

Upon waking, Munira informs him that he was saying both Mukami’s and Wanja’s names in his sleep. He refers to Wanja as a “prostitute,” telling Karega that they should no longer work together because of his role in Mukami’s suicide. At first enraged, Karega calms himself, not only because Munira took him in and gave him a job but because he feels guilty over Mukami’s death and believes what Munira has said. Karega reiterates the idea that all men in Ilmorog struggle, so one victim should not insult another. The chapter ends as Karega says he will not quit the school.

In the new year, the people of Ilmorog celebrate the rain, the harvest, and the delegation that went to the city, in particular Munira, Karea, Wanja, Abdulla—and even his donkey—whose “unselfishness” saved them all. Meanwhile, changes such as visiting police officers and a new church (which no one enters) mark the start of the village’s transformation.

The narrative returns to the present day as Munira sits writing his account in prison. He recollects that this period was “completely dominated by the involvement of Wanja and Karega” (289). Their love begins to grow as Munira watches on, but what bothers him the most is that he could have “saved” Karega from Wanja if he tried. Instead, he feels his own attraction and even obsession with Wanja grow as he spies on them.

Munira decides to return once again to Limuru and recruits three more teachers, bringing them back to Ilmorog and taking them to Abdulla’s place to discuss the idea of teaching. There is a conflict between Munira’s desire to avoid anything political and passing his opinions to his students and Karega’s belief that it is their responsibility as educators to inform the students about African oppression so they can form their own identities and create their own liberation. After this, Karega is dismissed from his job.

When Munira has been in Ilmorog for five years, the industrial changes still have not come; the churchmen and policemen come infrequently, but Mzigo visits occasionally and improves the school, even sending another teacher. When he informs Nyakinyua of the new teacher sent and paid for by the government, she remarks on how they give with one hand and take with the other, which confuses Munira.

Wanja comes to visit Munira and finally confesses that she slept with him during the new moon in an attempt to become pregnant. She reveals this to try to show that things are different with Karega, the first man with whom she has no ulterior motive. She wants Munira to give Karega his job back, and Munira considers it but also realizes that it is too late for anything to be done now.

Abdulla offers Karega a share of his shop’s ownership, which helps restore Karega’s faith in the goodness of people. He asks Abdulla why he came to Ilmorog, and he explains that upon leaving the camps, he first went to seek a loan for land and then went back to his old factory for a job. He was turned away from both and told that nothing is free. He began to see the corruption even if New Kenya and the revolution’s ideals were already being lost.

Shortly thereafter, a plane that is surveying the land for the new road crashes in Ilmorog, killing Abdulla’s donkey. However, he and Wanja decide to sell Theng’eta to tourists coming to see the wrecked plane, gaining attention from the press.

At the end of the chapter, Karega leaves Ilmorog.