Petals of Blood tells the story of four characters living in Kenya before and after independence. Here, one of the main characters, Abdulla, remembers joining the Mau Mau struggle for independence from the British, which totally changed his life.

"[Abdulla] was never to forget that moment, the moment of his rebirth as a complete man, when he humiliated the two European oppressors and irrevocably sided with the people. He had rejected what his father stood for, rejected the promises of wealth, and was born again as a fighter in the forest." (137)

Abdulla becomes a "man" only when he joins the Mau Mau freedom struggle against British colonizers in Kenya. This passage shows us how important the decolonization struggle is as a theme not only in Ngũgĩ's work but in postcolonial literature as a whole. Postcolonial literature, after all, emerged at the same time that decolonization struggles all over the world were taking place, and it was a big influence on and reflection of them.

Look at the powerful words in this passage: "rebirth," "humiliated," "born again." This is an important moment in Abdulla's life, and the language reflects it. It's the moment when Abdulla gains power as a man, and the language—in particular the vocabulary—is also powerful.