EVALUATION CRITERIA FOR BOOKS By DAVID KYALO MUTISO

A semester assignment 2011

(I) A DISCUSSION OF THE EVALUATION CRITERIA FOR ADULT FICTION 1.0 EVALUATION CRITERA OF PETALS OF BLOOD BY NGUGI WA THIONGO This novel the petals of blood is eavluated on the basis of the following criteria; theme, plot, style, point of view, setting and characterisation. 2.0 INTRODUCTION Petals of blood falls in the class of high quality literature of fiction genre. Mr Ngugi wa Thiongo is a creative author, his novels have original views divicting Kenyas history from colonial times and after indipendence. They have a good public appeal and are always celebrated here at home. His works usually atract wide readership whenever they are published. Some have been quite controversial with the past regimes. They have been a satire of past misdeeds of previous governments. Mr Ngugi has been in prison in the past because of his creative works. The aesthetic appeal of his works have gone beyond the Kenyan borders. He is now one of the most celebrated African authors today. 2.1 THEME The theme of this novel, Petals of blood is on the injustice done by former Kenya government to its people. Although written in 1977, It is about the peasants struggle to regain their country that was taken over by the colonial government and later government of the day who retained the status quo. It indicates that there were no gains made by the common man even after chasing away the colonists. The common man still finds himself living in poverty and misery even long after getting internal self government. The book is a critique of capitalism and tries to offer a socialist solution to the problem then. The book is therefore a comparison of after indepence kenyan leaders and the British colonial rulers. It gives its final verdict that there was indeed no change realised by the kenyan peasants even after indipendence in 1963.
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2.2 PLOT The plot of petals of blood is a detective story of resolving murder of three industrialists of the imaginary town Ilmorog in Central County of Kenuya. In the ensuing milee of investigation, four suspects are arested for questioning by the police. These four represent the injustices the government has been melting on the citizens. Their trial and vidication is a good example of the struggle the people from colonial times and in persuance of the same freedom still rise up against the oppressive neocolonism government. 2.3 STYLE Ngugi uses the personalities life style to show us what is happenning to thwe citizens under oppressive authrity of the governemnt. The individuals represent both personal voice as well as a collective one for the villagers of Ilmorog. Munira the main character arrives in the scene at the village and his voice can be likened to theat of the narrator of the story. This novel has taken its contributory place to the world of literature and through out the story, we are able to understand what the author stands for in terms of his ideologies and conviction of the right political system. 2.4 POINT OF VIEW The petals of blood takes the point of view of both the first, second and the third person narrators. Munira who is the main protagonist takes the place of the second person narrator. He represents the views and opinions of the villagers of Ilmorog. By employing multiple points of view, the book uses four protaginists.Its points of view is limited to the four pratagonists through their narration. The third person narrator is the all knowing narrative person who represents the views of the villagers of Ilmorog. 2.5 SETTING The novel petals of blood was first published in 1977, it is a literary criticism of the then political situation in kenya. The time period of the novel is on
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modern Kenya in ten years after independence in 1963. Its setting is in an imaginary village called Ilmorog in the cetral county of Kenya. It is a fiction on political situation in Kenya. Involving a murder scene, it dipicts the life and struggle of the main characters who number more than four (minira, Wanja, Abdulla,and a police inspector). 2.6 CHARACTERISATION Munira who is the main pratagonist, he was a primary school teacher at Ilmorog. He is self confident and among the educated personalities struggling to free themselves from the oppression brought about by the colonial government and now the post independence administration. Together with the other characters, they team up to fight the new oppressive administration by eliminating the people they assumed were promoting neocolonialism to the independent state. At times he takes the form of the narrator as the main opinion leader in the story. Abdulla was the second accussed of muder of murder of three African directors of a foreign-owned brewery. He too was quite active on freeing themselves from exploitation of labour by the factory owners at Ilmorog. He was injured in the ordeal of the burning the factory. He was the second murder suspect. Adbulla like the other people was struggling to survive as a shopkeeper and a bar owner. He had gained popularirty with the locals. Wanja was one of the aggressive women involved in fighting neocolonialism. She almost lost her life through the fire that was set up to burn the foreignowned brewery. She was outgoing and knew what she wanted in life. Her life was a struggle to survive. She once worked in Abdullas shop and later operated a brothel to make a living. Karega too was a suspected murderer and a collaborator in fighting to free themselvers from an oppressive system. He was involved in organising the workers default in the local brewery. He appears to have carried a lot of clout
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from the workers as they went to demand for his release from police custody. The author uses the lives of the four main characters in dipicting the struggle the villagers of Ilmorog go through. He uses them as an example of what was happening to the rest of the people in the country. (II) A DISCUSSION OF THE EVALUATION CRITERIA FOR ADULT NONFICTION
1.0 CELEBRATE THE OLDER YOU BY JO SCHLEHOFER

3.1 INTRODUCTION This book gives details on how aging women should conduct themselves. It points out the challenges brought about by age, the loneliness, living away from close family members and how to overcome the social seperation and all the issues that come with aging. 3.2 PURPOSE AND AUDIENCE The purpose of this book is to help aging women on how to cope up with real life issues that at times come with old age. These include loniliness, self pity and dejection, seperarion from family members, marital challenges and spiritual issues. The author encourages the reader to celebrate old age and gives the techniques of how to manage oneself in the midist of many mariad and complex matters associated with aging women. The subject coverage of the book is female aging issues and how to manage challenges that come with age. 3.3 GENERAL STRUCTURE AND ARRANGEMENT The book is organised in four main parts each dealing with a particular issues associates with aging. The print is well spaced and the font size easy to read. 3.4 AUTHORITY
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The author is an expert in the field of gender issues. She holds an Master of Arts (MA) degree in counseling from the University of San Francisco and a life Credential in adult Education specialising in parenting from U.C.L.A., She has conducted workshops on parenting for large corporations and Catholic churches in california, Oregon and Washington. she is also an author of Joy in parenting and other three video series on the same subject.

3.5 PUBLISHER Jo Schlehofer, author of becoming a wiser, warmer, mature woman has published her works with Pauline publications and Ave Maria Press. These two publishers specialise in social science and Christian literature books.

3.6 ACCURACY AND RELIABILITY Being a specialist and a scholar in this field, Jo Schlehofer has produced a book with accurate facts of life that are reliable. She had helped many people through her writing on the field. Being tilted towards christian doctrine, the book has reliable facts founded on sound religious descipline . 3.7 ORGANIZATION AND CONTENT The book is organised in four parts and each part has sub-topics touching on issues sorrounding the main chapter. These include art I mirror, mirror on the wall, part II you and me, Part III Freedom to be me and part IV soul nurturing. Each of these four parts are well arranged with exercises whenever necessary. 3.8 PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS The book is a easy to read short handbook; small enough to be held by hand. The reader can therefore carry it around with ease. The paperback edition id bound in coulor and is well illustrated. It is a flashy paperback
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that can lure the reader to want to go through its contents creating a bit of reading appeal and curiosity. 3.9 CURRENCY The book was published in 1998 and is therefore current on contemporary issues touching on the subject of aging for women. She has given a series of lectures for those who are able to attend and vedeos releases. As a scholar, Jo Schlehofer knows very well that she has to keep up to date with the information she presents to her audience. It is the same lectures she gives that she has transformed them into the book under evaluation.

4.0 SOURCES Books evaluation criteria Available: www.tarleton.edu/departments/library/library_module/unit8/8books ( Accessed September 03, 2011) Katz W.A 1.I997. ntroduction to reference work: volume I: basic information sources. 7th Ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company Katz W.A .1997. Introduction to reference work: volume III: reference services and reference processes. 7th Ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company Ngugi wa Thiong'o. 1977 . Petals of blood. Nairobi: East Africa Educational Publishers Schlehofer, J 1998. Celebrating the older yuo: becoming a wiser, warmer, mature woman. Notre Dame, Indiana: Ave Maria Press University of South Africa. Department of Information Science. 2 007. Information Science: only study guide for A IS206M: Describing library users and meeting their needs. Pretoria
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Wikipedia.org/wiki. Sv petals_ of_Blood#Characters Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petals_of_Blood#Characters (Accessed September 3, 2011)

Fiction title:

Petals of blood Ngugi wa Thiongo

1977, 2005 reprint 345p. Print Paperback Novel Adult fiction High quality literature (belles-lettres)

Author:

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Nonfiction title: mature woman Author:

celebrate the older you: becoming a wiser, warmer,

Jo Schlehofer Popular nonfiction 1998 176 Print Paperback nonfiction Adult nonfiction

Type of literature: Publication date: Pagination: Media type: Genre: Type of Fiction:

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