Devil on the Cross Wariinga Character analysis
Devil on the Cross: Wariinga Character Analysis and Development Devil on the Cross by Ngugi Wa Thiong’o is a compelling and curious novel that examines both the physical and mental journey of a young woman, Wariinga. Along the way she encounters many people and challenges that shape her identity.
Eventually Wariinga develops into what Ngugi considers ideal Kenyan femininity to be. However, when the reader first encounters her in the novel, she is confused by the message of what it means to be beautiful by European standards. The gicaandi player describes Wariinga's mental distress over her image and says:
“Wariinga was convinced that her appearance was the root cause of all her problems. Whenever she looked at herself in the mirror she thought herself very ugly. What she hated most was her blackness, so she would disfigure her body with skin-lightening creams like Ambi and Snowfire… Wariinga also hated her teeth. They were a little stained; they were not as white as she would have liked them to be. She often tried to hide them, and she seldom laughed openly” (Ngugi 11).
The gicaandi player lets us know that Wariinga's hatred of her appearance is only an issue of self-confidence because others don’t see Wariinga as she sees herself. In this passage she is described in a completely different way:
When Wariinga was happy and forgot to worry about the fading whiteness of her teeth and about the blackness of her skin and laughed with all her heart, her laughter completely disarmed people…Her body was a feast for the eyes…Wariinga stopped men in their tracks” (Ngugi 11).
Wariinga's past experience at the hands of men has created a self-critic out of a once vibrant girl, full of promise and goals for her future.
When the reader is first introduced to Wariinga, not only has she just been fired for refusing to sleep with her boss, Kihara, and evicted from her apartment by a group of thugs for refusing to pay higher rent; she is also dumped by her sweetheart at the
Eventually Wariinga develops into what Ngugi considers ideal Kenyan femininity to be. However, when the reader first encounters her in the novel, she is confused by the message of what it means to be beautiful by European standards. The gicaandi player describes Wariinga's mental distress over her image and says:
“Wariinga was convinced that her appearance was the root cause of all her problems. Whenever she looked at herself in the mirror she thought herself very ugly. What she hated most was her blackness, so she would disfigure her body with skin-lightening creams like Ambi and Snowfire… Wariinga also hated her teeth. They were a little stained; they were not as white as she would have liked them to be. She often tried to hide them, and she seldom laughed openly” (Ngugi 11).
The gicaandi player lets us know that Wariinga's hatred of her appearance is only an issue of self-confidence because others don’t see Wariinga as she sees herself. In this passage she is described in a completely different way:
When Wariinga was happy and forgot to worry about the fading whiteness of her teeth and about the blackness of her skin and laughed with all her heart, her laughter completely disarmed people…Her body was a feast for the eyes…Wariinga stopped men in their tracks” (Ngugi 11).
Wariinga's past experience at the hands of men has created a self-critic out of a once vibrant girl, full of promise and goals for her future.
When the reader is first introduced to Wariinga, not only has she just been fired for refusing to sleep with her boss, Kihara, and evicted from her apartment by a group of thugs for refusing to pay higher rent; she is also dumped by her sweetheart at the