Nature as a symbiotic edge of humanity: eco-critical reading of Armah’s The Healers

Abstract

In his historical novel, The Healers, Ayi Kwei Armah correlates elements of the fictional settings of Esuano and the Eastern Forest, with different phases of social communication. The binary settings and their elements mirror the symbiotic character of the relationship that ought to exist between humans and nature. Armah employs symbolic, temporal and cultural codes reflective of African tradition and indigenous values through natural representation in the text as communicative properties. Eco-critical theory guides this study to explore the relationship that exists between humans and the natural world. Principles from eco-criticism are explored with a focus on Armah’s creation of groups in the Eastern Forest and rivers as emblems of the divine with particular powers, in contrast to what Esuano represents to these groups. In this novel, Esuano is associated with manipulation, while the Eastern Forest is the site for inspiration and healing.

Keywords:

• African literature
• Eastern Forest
• eco-critical theory
• Esuano
• symbiotic edge
• The Healers

Acknowledgements

The author is very grateful to the two anonymous reviewers whose insightful comments, and further reading sources on eco-criticism have drastically enhanced the quality of the paper. I am also thankful to Mr Ebenezer Agbaglo and Emmanuel Mensah Bonsu for proofreading different versions of the paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.