The Healers Literary Analysis

In The Healers written by Ayi Kwei Armah, a fictional nineteenth century African world is corrupted by manipulation and deception. The Healers is based on deceit from the white settlers, whilst the “healers” are the inspiration to morally correct the entire community. The “healers” are seen as a potential threat to the power that the settlers have, which also leads to their ruination. Armah exploits the differences between the settlers and the African cultures. Due to Armah’s background of writing about “corruption…in contemporary Africa,” ("Ayi Kwei Armah | Ghanaian Writer,” n.d). The Healers contains various examples of materialistic characters as well as communities. Unfortunately, the settlers have corrupt society to the point where forceful …show more content…
One of the main factors was the death of Appia, in which Densu is forced to evolve into the brave yet peaceful man he is at the close of the novel (Armah, 42). Which correlates back to African history where they are the primary suspects to any crime, just like Densu. A few of the themes throughout the novel prove to be large factors that also led to the near demolition of the African world, such as power and manipulation. Where the colonialists found that they had the entitlement to invade the Africans, just like the settlers in The Healers. All in all, the Africans were not going to give up, along with Densu in his story, leading to the survival of the nineteenth century Africans. Armah’s biggest message throughout the novel is the patience needed to correct any problem. The corruption of the minds from the settlers and the colonialists in the nineteenth century allowed them to think that forceful actions will lead to solutions. However, threats and abuse are unnecessary and is short term, whereas the “healers” in the story found that patience is long term even though it takes a while to finally see results. Which in return leads to the African world today, to be unified and equal just as Armah wants in The