The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born

Examine the legacy of the colonial era as portrayed in the novel. As stated by the man, what are the links between colonialism and materialism, greed, and corruption?

The man often feels detached from his family, and from the people around him. Additionally, he feels intense pressure from his family to live up to certain “expectations” of life. How has this affected his perception of corruption?

The man frequently thinks of the golf course estates, or the “white men’s hills” (67), as a site of luxury, beauty, violence, and assimilation. How do the hills figure as a symbol of Ghana’s colonial past?

Koomson embodies what the man could become if he conformed to social pressures to accept bribes. Examine the man’s interactions with Koomson and how they change over the course of the book.

Why does the novel have such an intense scatological focus? Examine the relationship between corruption, immorality, and the unsavory aspects of ordinary life which the man is forced to interact with on a day-to-day basis.

The title of the book comes from a fleeting sense of hope that the man feels upon seeing a bus inscription at the end of the novel. What is the significance of the title? Examine the role of hope—and thwarted hope—in the rest of the book.

The novel takes place in post-independence Ghana and ends with the overthrow of Kwame Nkrumah’s government. How does politics intersect with the man’s daily life? Examine the implications of political corruption and immorality in the novel.

Examine Teacher. What is his relationship to the protagonist? Why does he continue to encourage the man, even if he has lost all hope for himself?