evaluation cretaria for books

8/3/2019 Evaluation Cretaria for Books

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EVALUATION CRITERIA FOR BOOKS

By

DAVID KYALO MUTISO

A semester assignment

2011

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(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 satireof 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 ashopkeeper 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 foreign-

owned 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

1.0CELEBRATE 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 andspiritual 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 fieldof 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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http://www.tarleton.edu/departments/library/library_module/unit8/8bookshttp://www.tarleton.edu/departments/library/library_module/unit8/8books


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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)

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petals_of_Blood#Charactershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petals_of_Blood#Characters


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Fiction title: Petals of blood

Author: Ngugi wa Thiongo

Publication date: 1977, 2005 reprint

Pagination: 345p.

Media type: Print Paperback

Genre: Novel

Type of Fiction: Adult fiction

Type of literature: High quality literature (belles-lettres)

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Nonfiction title: celebrate the older you: becoming a wiser, warmer,

mature woman

Author: Jo Schlehofer

Type of literature: Popular nonfiction

Publication date: 1998

Pagination: 176

Media type: Print Paperback

Genre: nonfiction

Type of Fiction: Adult nonfiction

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