Postcolonial Disgust or Regenerative Vision?: The Values and Significance of “The Man” in Ayi Kwei Armah’s The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born

Abstract

Ayi Kwei Armah's The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born has been condemned for its severe criticism of newly independent Ghana, its disdain for its leaders and officials, and for the absence of hope displayed for a future in which the individual and the nation might triumph over societal corruption. This article analyzes Armah's controversial novel through the caustic response of its main character, The Man, to contemporary national ethics and to the possibilities he himself embodies for genuine change and regeneration. The conflict in The Man's alienated consciousness is rooted not only in the expediencies of the newly postcolonial Ghana he fastidiously observes, but also in his loyalty to the traditional Ghanaian values he inherits, remembers, and practices, thus indicating the possibility of hope and change for both character and nation.