Skip to main content

What are three examples of metaphors in the book "The Healers" by Ayi Kwei Armah and what do they mean?

There are many important metaphors in the novel "The Healers" by Ayi Kwei Armah, most of which surround the themes of the ignorance of invading colonial forces and the healing power of African unity. In the book, Armah compares the power-hungry system of hierarchy, which is evident in both the invading forces and in their own royalty, to a disease: "Among our people, royalty is part of the disease. Whoever serves royalty serves the disease not the cure" (307). In this case, the "disease" is the colonial invading force and the "cure" would refer to the literal healers who work as a community to counteract the evils of those forces, as well as the healing power of African unity. 


Another example of a metaphor is when the author writes, "'I am saying this is seed time, far from harvest time,' Damfo said" (270). Here, the author is trying to suggest that it is the healers who are responsible for planting the seeds that will grow into a better future for everyone. The "seeds," of course, are really the ideas that will pave the way for positive change to occur. 


Some metaphors are more obvious, such as the one here, where Africans are being compared to something which is undesirable and easily tossed out without a second thought: "And if we are such fools as to stand against the whites, they will grind us until we become less than impotent, less than grains of bad snuff tossing in a storm" (40). In this statement, white people are compared to tools that will grind snuff, or powdered tobacco that is sniffed. In contrast, black people are compared to snuff that one would throw away because it is not worthy of being used. In fact, they are compared to something that one would toss away with even less care than if it were bad snuff. This is particularly important as a metaphor for them, because it is in reference to something cultural which holds meaning for them, as it does for white people. Everyone during this time would be able to understand the implications of such a comparison. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

etymology - Origin of the greeting "Sweet dreams".

Does anybody know the etymology of the phrase "sweet dreams"? I tried googling but did not find anything satisfying. Is this a relatively new phrase of the modern world or has this been in use for some time? I think it's the latter one. Answer The OED has the interjection as "a farewell to someone going to bed" from the 20th century: 1908 Sears Roebuck Catal. 198/1 Tenor Solos..Good Bye, Sweet Dreams, Good Bye. But it goes back until at least the 19th and possibly 18th centuries. John Wolcot, writing under the pseudonym of Peter Pindar, used it in his poem "Orson and Ellen; A Legendary Tale" published in 1801: Also from 1801 in The infernal Quixote (Page 287) by Charles Lucas: In the March 1776 of The Universal Magazine was published "The Serenade. A Pastoral Tale. From the German of Gesner" , where the shepherd Daphnis watches over his beloved as she sleeps and sings: The same tale appears in 1776's as Idyl XI, " Daphnis ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Is there a word/phrase for "unperformant"?

As a software engineer, I need to sometimes describe a piece of code as something that lacks performance or was not written with performance in mind. Example: This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. Based on my Google searches, this isn't a real word. What is the correct way to describe this? EDIT My usage of "performance" here is in regard to speed and efficiency. For example, the better the performance of code the faster the application runs. My question and example target the negative definition, which is in reference to preventing inefficient coding practices. Answer This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. In my opinion, reads more easily as: This coding style leads to unmaintainable and poorly performing code. The key to well-written documentation and reports lies in ease of understanding. Adding poorly understood words such as performant decreases that ease. In addressing the use of such a poorly ...
Post a Comment
Read more

What are the similarities between the relationships of the characters in The Outsiders and Romeo and Juliet?

At first glance, it might appear as if the characters in  The Outsiders  by S. E. Hinton and  Romeo and Juliet  by William Shakespeare do not have much in common; however, when one isolates the core of the conflicts, it becomes clear that the relationships in both stories are rooted in rivalry and secrecy.  In both  The Outsiders  and  Romeo and Juliet , an overarching theme is rivalry. While   socioeconomic status separates the greasers from the Socs in The Outsiders , last names separates the Montagues from the Capulets, who appear to be relatively equal in terms of socioeconomic status. Due to these rivalries, there are instances of deadly interactions in both stories. In  The Outsiders , Johnny kills Bob (whether his actions were justified or not is debatable). In  Romeo and Juliet , Romeo kills Tybalt and Paris, and Tybalt kills Mercutio. These deaths have profound effects on the main characters. In Ponyboy's case, the Johnny's death and other events in the novel inspire h...
Post a Comment
Read more