Examine the relevance of the speeches to the themes of the novel DEVIL ON THE CROSS.

As is clear even from its title, Devil on the Cross is a novel heavily invested in the conflict between good and evil, both on earth and in a theological context. In terms of material wrongs that are done on earth, the conflict between good and evil roughly maps for Ngũgĩ to the the conflict between capitalism/bourgeois life and communal (Communist)/peasant ways of life. Moreover, as Mũturi tells us in his stunning Chapter 3 speech, good is not just the abstract force which drives people to love, but also the material result of that love in the world, which in turn sustains a community. Evil on the other hand, is parsed as that which parasitically seeks to destroy what has been built by the forces of good. This emphasis on material consequences and realities is inherently Marxist, and it also translates to Ngũgĩ's theological positions on good and evil. As is clear in the text, it is important to Ngũgĩ that we accept the material reality and truth of an incarnate God and Devil. Doing so helps us to recognize that we ourselves are responsible in this life for either creating sadness or joy, and it allows us to recognize good and evil more easily in others. Finally, it allows us to see something like crucifying the devil as possible, which implies that we may have distinct and real paths towards saving ourselves from earthly pain.