CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE NOVEL : THE BEAUTYFUL ONES ARE NOT YET BORN
The beautyful ones are
not yet born is a reflection of a lifestyle situation that takes place
in Africa. The novel tells the story of a nameless man who was finding
it difficult to settle himself with the reality of Ghana after it gained
independence. The main character, “The Man” as referred to throughout
the whole novel, refuses some temptation as people tried to bribe him,
but his actions of trying to be clean angered his wife and his mother in
law. The Man kept a humble occupation, and regardless of the constant
scorns from his wife, he lived an honest life, even if that condemned
him to a life of poverty. The author used the man to represent some
common man in Ghana – who has no choice, but to live in the poorest
slums and live from hand to mouth. The author used the novel to
expresses his disappointment and sarcasm engendered in Ghana in the
times after Ghana gained independence, between Passion Week in 1965 and
February 1966. The author used different reinforcement of literature to
depict his feelings. He used exaggeration to express his bitterness, the
themes and characterization as well as some symbols and tone or words
to show his sadness towards the government of Ghana.
The
main theme of the novel is corruption. In the novel, people seemed to
have lost war against corruption.The theme has been elaborated on so many cases and with so many different implications. These levels and implications
were the result of an unusual and unique approach where we can easily
depict a consistent attempt to link the morality with the physical in
relation to space and time. At home, work or naturally, corruption
leaves no make a real differentiation between places, let alone times.
Throughout the novel the places changes with time but likewise,
corruption is always there to stimulating the writer’s bitterness and
attitude of protest and disapproval towards the government of Ghana.
With this he showed it by arousing the man’s eagerness to resist
corruption and bribes that he was offered. Like in the novel, (Armah,
1969) “the rotwhich imprisoned everything in its effortless embrace…”
Corruption
is all over the African countries as depicted in the novel and people
who are in higher positions are the ones engaged in it the most. Both the presidents and the ministers and their subordinates are all involved. Even
after countries gained independence corruption never stopped instead it
became even worse, like (Armah, 1969) wrote, “The sons of the nation
were now in charge after all. How completely the new thing took after
the old.”
The bookdebates about the politics of everyday life we see happening
around the world, especially the continent of Africa. Most countries who
have gained independence “bowls into the throes of corruption and the
national coffers, wealth, treasure became a free for all scramble by men
whose thought and learning rested and ended only within the grumblings
in their stomachs. There is something so terrible in watching a black
man trying at all points to be the dark ghost of a European...”(Armah, 1969).Some
modest of corruption are seen all over the continent as we see some
people being promised some developments by their candidates and they
never happen. Even the money for the projects is being released. Like
from the novel “in the end not many of the boxes were put out, though
there was a lot said about the large amount of money paid for them.”
Some people live by bribes and pretend as if they are doing the right
choices.
As
the novel prevails, there are elements of deception as people are
deceived into thinking that their promises will be fulfilled. Like what
happens in the real world, Candidates will come to the public begging
them for their support to win the elections and promising them a lot of
things that they never do. Hence the reluctance of some people votes
during elections. This is due to the fact that elected candidates never
deliver their promises. Just like (Armah, 1969) outlined in his novel
when he wrote, “What
will I be demonstrating for… all new men will be like the old.” Some
people view deception as a way of making a living like (Armah, 1969),
“what was there to reply to tricks and deception of the innocent.” They
call up the rally and tell people lie so that they can get away with
what they want.
In the beautiful
ones are not yet born the author used harsh words and vulgar language to
show his sadness. He used words like “shit” and “stupid” to show his
anger. Some people are even illiterate and yet they tend to be the
ruling people. What one might ask himself or herself is how can one rule
without even the knowledge of ruling. What exactly will they be doing
that they are knowledgeable at. Armah used the man as his educated
people and Koomson to represent the corrupt uneducated people. In the
novel we notice the man feeling bitter about the fact that Koomson is
rich and is a minister yet he (the man) was more intelligent than him.
(Armah, 1969) “Shit he was actually stupid...” even if there are some
who will reject corruption, there are those who will support it even
though they get nothing in return. In the novel we notice that the
teacher was supporting corruption even though we will expect him to be
against it. This is what happens in real life situation, people who are
supposed to be fighting corruption are the same people who encourage it.
Just like in Saro Kiwa Awa’s
short story of Africa kills her son, the priest, lawyers and the prison
guards all were involved in corruption. This
shows that even the people who charge others for corruption are at its
high most hands. They are just hiding behind the government uniform.
Saro Kiwa Awacontinued to outline that those who think that they know
what they are doing about their government are the ones living in the
dark.
In the beautiful
ones are not yet born, the author used symbols to depict his concerns.
He used the bus to mean Ghana, the bus drive to stand for the president
of the country, the bus conductor to stand in place of the ministers and
the man to stand for those who are against corruption but yet do
nothing to stop it, or even if they do say something it would not change
anything due to lack of power and support to make a change. This is
supported in the novel (Armah,1969) “…if the old stories aroused any
anger, there was nowhere for it to go.” The bus drive spitted some dirty
on the bus wheel. This was an indication of the dirty work the
presidents are doing to their countries. The bus conductor was still
passengers’ and the driver said nothing to the act because he too was in
support of the action. This is to outline the acts of members of
parliament and other people who have been given power to protect the
public but tend to misuse it and oppress people. The
man in other hand in the incident of the bus remained quite regardless
of the insults that were halt unto him. This is to show that even though
some people see corruption, they turn to ignore it and live as if
everything is normal. They make no attempt to end it. The
author also used some harsh words and vulgar languages to depict the
dirty of corruption around the country and people do not care about it
at all, or they pretend not to care about it.
The author chose to use certain characters in the novel to depict the double standard of certain people in the real world. In
the novel the Teacher, whom 'the man' referredto anytime he had
problems, the only person who directed the man to fight back the
annoyances of his wife and mother-in-law, was in support of corruption.
The perceptualdeterioration that described the period is outlined by a
woman named Maanan.It was this lady who thought of the coming of
apowerful man, who exposedsigns of knowledge and not just knowledge but
having understanding of the track, of having influence not granted upon
him by the white man, and when this man (named Nkrumah) failed her, she
became insane. These are all incidents that show elements of double
standard in the society. It is clear that some people believe the “the
do as I say, not as I do” motto and use it to oppress others. They turn
to be cleaver but this is what at the end leads to their downfall. Even
if there are those people who want to miss lead other people, Armah
tried by all means to show his stand and the stand of those who are true
to themselves. This is to say that some people still do not believe
that it is the cause of the colonialism that made African countries
corrupt. It is us, the Africans who enjoys being like the Europeans.
This is outline by Ngugi wa Thiogó(164), “blackness is not all that
makes a man ... a Whiteman would always be a white man but a black man
trying to be a Whiteman is wicked…”
The
beautiful ones are not yet born, the title itself is ironic. The title
means that the beautiful people are present but they are hiding behind
their backs as they are afraid to be eliminated. In most African
countries, when someone tries to report a corruptive action, he or she
is killed. This is evident in Ken
Saro Wiwa’s short story of Africa kills her son. The main character
(referred to as Bana) was expelled from work for trying to report
corruption but rather killed at the end. Even in the novel, there is an
incident that the man (called Koffi Billy) was killed by a rope and
instead of the Whiteman standing there to help him; he rather let him
die and said he deserves it because he was moving too fast. The fast
movement was not merely the physical movement but rather the advanced
way of knowing the truth. The
production of sign-writing is occupiedtypically by semi-literates and
such insignificanterrors in signifying proliferate. However, even though
it spoke literally to the driver or owner of the sign, in its misspelt
state it was a mystical message to the novelist. Thus, in its foulness
it became natural, attractive, knowledgeable, representative and beyond
all eloquent in all its traits. For in that retro the only source of
consolation is to know that 'The Beautyful Ones' of Africa, meant the
men who would stand corruption and fight it to the dispatch at the
expense of their lives, leaders who have dreams to take the country
beyond into development and not to see the true end of politics as
wealth, those who are spiritually in-tuned with the way and knows the
route have not yet been born. This makes room that they would be born.
The author have hope that one day Africa will be a better continent and
be free for all sort of misconducts and misfortunes, as it is in the
novel, (Armah, 169), “an end to this…a beginning to something else.”
LEKAN QUADRI
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