A Connection of Images: the structure of symbols in The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born

Ayi Kwei Armah's first novel, The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born, has presented problems for most readers. There has been a general admission that it is a work which deserves high praise but most have been decidedly uncomfortable with Armah's obsession with filth and decay. Yet it is precisely this obsession which shows Armah's technical abilities and which helps to define the full meaning of the novel.