A Grain of Wheat

by

Ngugi wa Thiong’o

General R. Character Analysis

General R. is a Freedom Fighter and former comrade of Kihika who emerges from the forest with Lt. Koina to discover who betrayed their great leader. General R. plays a minor role in the story, representing the Mau Mau fighters and working with Warui and Wambui to convince Mugo to lead. However, although the rest of the village does not seem bent on Mugo’s destruction after he confesses his betrayal, General R. and Lt. Koina are committed to justice, privately taking Mugo into the forest to execute him.

General R. Quotes in A Grain of Wheat

The A Grain of Wheat quotes below are all either spoken by General R. or refer to General R.. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Colonialism Theme Icon
).
Chapter 9 Quotes

“It makes his life more interesting to himself. He invents a meaning for his life, you see. Don’t we all do that? And to die fighting for freedom sounds more heroic than to die by accident.”

Related Characters: General R. (speaker), Mugo, Githua
Page Number: 147
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 14 Quotes

Koina talked of seeing the ghosts of the colonial past still haunting Independent Kenya. And it was true that those now marching in the streets of Nairobi were not the soldiers of the Kenya Land and Freedom Army but of the King’s African Rifles, the very colonial forces who had been doing on the battlefield what Jackson was doing in churches.

Related Characters: General R., Lt. Koina, Rev. Jackson Kigondu
Page Number: 216
Explanation and Analysis:
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General R. Quotes in A Grain of Wheat

The A Grain of Wheat quotes below are all either spoken by General R. or refer to General R.. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Colonialism Theme Icon
).
Chapter 9 Quotes

“It makes his life more interesting to himself. He invents a meaning for his life, you see. Don’t we all do that? And to die fighting for freedom sounds more heroic than to die by accident.”

Related Characters: General R. (speaker), Mugo, Githua
Page Number: 147
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 14 Quotes

Koina talked of seeing the ghosts of the colonial past still haunting Independent Kenya. And it was true that those now marching in the streets of Nairobi were not the soldiers of the Kenya Land and Freedom Army but of the King’s African Rifles, the very colonial forces who had been doing on the battlefield what Jackson was doing in churches.

Related Characters: General R., Lt. Koina, Rev. Jackson Kigondu
Page Number: 216
Explanation and Analysis: