Theory question 204
Other Set Texts: African ProseLiterature 3, Section A. Ayi Kwei Armah: The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born
Discuss the significance of the encounter between the man and the timber merchant in the novel.
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Amankwa, the timber merchant, comes to the railway booking office and asks the man to allocate wagons for his timber.
He offers a bribe, which the man refuses.
Amankwa thinks the man wants more money and cannot believe someone would refuse a bribe.
He leaves and gets his booking anyway through another (corrupt) clerk.
Significance: it shows how deep corruption is in society; honesty is seen as foolishness.
It establishes the man's integrity and his loneliness as an honest man.
It foreshadows the pressure from his family and society to 'chop' like others.
Describe the event, then its significance.