<P> Ngugi makes the dichotomy between the villagers (the honest working class) and the elite (corruption) most visible in the speech that Nyakinyua gives before the villagers, which motivates them to make the trip to Nairobi . She says, "I think we should go . It is our turn to make things happen . There was a time when things happened the way we in Ilmorog wanted them to happen . We had power over the movement of our limbs . We made up our own words and sang them and we danced to them . But there came a time when this power was taken from us...We must surround the city and demand back our share" (pp. 115--116). However, along their way, they are unjustly detained by Kimeria the businessman, who reveals that he is colluding with the MP, and who afterwards rapes Wanja . </P> <P> Capitalism is decried in Petals of Blood, with the new Kenyan elite portrayed as controlled by the' faceless system of capitalism' . The everyman loses out to capitalist endeavours, and is essentially exploited by the new Kenyan elite . Farmers are forced to mark out their lands and mortgage them with loans linked to the success of their harvest; as the quality of the harvests waver, many are forced to sell their land, unable to match their loan repayments . Thang'eta is another symbol of capitalism . Taken from a drink that Nyakinyua brews in a traditional ceremony, it is soon marketed, and becomes extremely popular . Wanja, who introduces the drink to Abdulla's bar, is then exploited by big business who forces her to stop her Thang'eta operation . Neither she nor Munira, who creates the slogan, receive the fruits of their labour . Originally a drink used to help people relax and escape their current problems, it becomes' a drink of strife' . </P> <P> Cities are portrayed as places where capitalism flourishes and are contrasted strongly with the village of Ilmorog . In its pursuit for the modern, Kenya adopts capitalism at the expense of tradition as the city begins' to encroach upon and finally swallow the traditional and the rural .' As time progresses, Ilmorog changes vastly, as do its inhabitants . With its modernization, influenced greatly by capitalism and the chance to increase trade, Munira reflects on these changes and how they link with capitalism, saying that' it was New Kenya . It was New Ilmorog . Nothing was free .' </P> <P> Agriculture is an important theme in Petals of Blood, most notably in the town of Ilmorog, an isolated, pastoral community . After modernization, the farmers lands are fenced off and ultimately seized when they cannot repay their loans . Although none of the main characters lose their land in this way (Wanja, however, sells her family's plot), it is significant in that Kenya recreates what happened during colonial rule: the loss of land and subsequent desire to reclaim it was "the central claim" for those who rebelled against the settlers . </P>

Summary of petals of blood chapter by chapter