author of the beautyful ones are not yet born

Oyo then wishes to live a life like that of Koomson’s wife, Estelle, and is enraged by the man’s continuous upholding of his pure principle of rejecting bribes while his family is destitute.

The Man reveals to his wife, Oyo, about his encounter with Koomson immediately after he gets home and how he rejected a bribe offer from the timber man. He now surpasses his friend, the Man in wealth, and owns several estates and luxurious cars. Koomson is now a minister in the Nkrumah’s corrupt government and a beneficiary of the corrupt system. While the Man falters home after an exhausting day, he bumps into his long-time friend, Joseph Koomson. Messenger also asserts that anyone fortunate to win a huge amount of money will be denied part of the money due to how corruption has eaten deep into every corner of Ghana. He learns from Messenger that many Ghanaians turn to play the lottery in the hope to win and get out of poverty. When the Man is bored at work, he moves to beat it by having a conversation with someone nearby – Messenger. Corruption was so rife that everyone saw it as an easy way to get whatever they desired. The timber man sees the Man as the evil person here and makes him feel like a criminal for refusing to accept his bribe. He rejects the bribe, overcoming the urge to yield, and orders the timber man to come back the next day and speak with his senior in the office. Later, he rejects a bribe offer from a timber merchant whose intention was to convey his load past him unperturbed. On one occasion, the Man goes into a restaurant to get food, and while inside, he searches his pocket and finds no penny. Not that he’s at peace with himself for being poor or has a liking for work that deprives him of joy and pits him against his wife, but he has to remain working to be able to cater to his family’s necessities. The Man is depicted in the novel as a man who works at the railroad station and upholds a pure principle of non-involvement in corrupt practice, which at that time, was widespread in Ghana.

It sheds light on the rotten nature of post-colonial independent Ghanaian, using the Man, who lives a sheer life throughout the story to the dismay of his wife, Oyo. The story begins with an unnamed character referred to as the ‘man’ who is also the novel’s protagonist. The events in the story happen between 1965-1966 on the eve of the coup toppling the first Ghanaian president, Kwame Nkrumah.

“The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born”, published in 1968, is the debut novel of Ayi Kwei Armah, a Ghanaian novelist and essayist. The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born – Summary “The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born” is a story by Ayi Kwei Armah – A Ghanaian Novelist.

Author of the beautyful ones are not yet born