It is fundamentally important to understand the different life experiences of people to enable real insight into society. A way to develop a critical understanding of the relationship between an individual and society is through works of art. The arts are an expression of the cultural values and beliefs of the many communities that form our world. Also, art as language helps to communicate and share ideas and thoughts that probably are not easily expressed in any other way. For instance, Aristotle, the Ancient Greece philosopher, believed that art is the realization of a true idea in an external form. As Aristotle stated, “ The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance ...” (Durant 59). In other words, the meaning of ideology is portrayed and conveyed to human society through art; moreover, a work of art is the triumph of a particular concept. For this reason, literature texts are an inspiring example of art because they can help examine social perceptions that make it possible to consider multiple perspectives and understand the complexity of human nature. For example, novels and narratives are invaluable tools that help us connect with the reality of the awareness of other people´s life experiences and ideologies, since the art of storytelling, is part of the human experience. Not only do literary texts help to “ develop the understanding of other cultures …[and]… the awareness of “differences” …” but also … “develops tolerance and understanding as at the same time they can deal with universal themes such as love, war, and loss... “ (Mitall et al 99). Bearing this in mind, the authors of the Post-colonial novel address themes such as identity and race, among others, but beyond the perspective of the colonizer. According to Ashcroft et al, “ in many Post-colonial societies, it was not English language which had its greatest effect, but writing itself”(81). That is, Post-colonial literature authors express their position and use writing to establish their opinions on the consequences of colonialism. With this context, this paper examines how race and identity are represented in the post-colonial fictional novel“Americanah” by Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Moreover, this paper aims to analyze how the author focuses the reader´s attention on the themes of race and identity using specific examples from the narrative to support the interpretations of these topics. Nonetheless, this essay represents an attempt to illustrate that through the contemporary novel of African Literature such as“Americanah” readers may gain a deeper understanding of race and identity issues through stories of fictitious characters, settings, and events.
According to Charles E. Nnolim , “the Contemporary African literature is literature in full motion, a literature that is still being born and enriched by the discovery of new writers and new talents”(149). Inspired by early Nigerian African authors such as Chinua Achebe with “Things Fall Apart”(1958) or poetry and plays by Femi Osofisan, young African writers are emerging and finding a place in the world of literature. Scholars place these young writers within a literature phenomenon called the “new African writing” which references works of fiction written by young African authors that are marketed outside Africa(Adesokan 2). The difference between this generation of young African writers to Achebe or Osofisan is that the stories they write are, as a recent New York Times article written by Felicia Lee noted,“is literature more about being a citizen of the world … now we are talking about how the West relates to Africa and it frees writers to create their own worlds. They have several identities and they speak several languages”.Here, one of the most representative contemporary authors belonging to the “new African writing” is Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. The journalist James Capnell calls her “the most prominent of a procession of critically acclaimed young Anglophone authors[that]is succeeding in attracting a new generation of readers to African literature” (qtd.in Nitonde).
“Americanah” is the third novel of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie published in 2013, which won theNational Book Critics Circle Award and was named one of The New York Times Top Ten Best Books of 2013(chimamanda.com). After Adichie´s two successful novels“Purple Hisbiscus”(2003) and“Half of a Yellow Sun”(2006), the author explains in "Creative at the New School in National Books Critics Circle interview" by Brooke Obie, that she wanted to write in “Americanah” about race and identity differently to the literary narratives that are used to when addressing these topics. Adichie says, “I did not want to write about race in the kind of literary way, as it is generally done, where if people are talking about race in a novel, you're not really supposed to be sure that they're talking about race, and everything is a stand-in for something else”.In other words, the author seeks to establish a more direct narration when writing about a subject that is considered socially significant. As a result, “Americanah” is a simple and straightforward omniscient text in the third person that tells the story of Ifemelu, the protagonist, and her discovery of race while struggling for an identity in American society. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie introduces in an interesting way the theme of race in “Americanah” when Ifemelu, the main character, writes her life experiences as an immigrant in the United States through a blog titled“Raceteenth or Various Observations About American Blacks (Those Formerly Known as Negroes) by a Non-American Black”. In fact, Adichie acknowledges in Creative at the New School in National Books Critics Circle interview with Brooke Obie that, “ …I also realized that if I [editorialized] in regular dialogue or in the narrative, it just wouldn't work. Also, I think that what I wanted to say [about race] and how I wanted to say it, was in the kind of voice that would not have worked in dialogue or any other way [than through Ifemelu's blog posts]."That is, the author conveys the themes of race and identity from the perspective of the protagonist.
A further theme that Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie portrays in “Americanah” is the challenges that the leading character faces in seeking an identity in the North American culture. Adichie exposes this topic based on her point of view in the“The Danger of a Single Story”, a speech she delivers at TED Talks in July 2009. Here, the author explains how she finds her cultural voice and urges that “ if we hear a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding”(ted.com). Adichie relates that when she began reading at a young age, many of the books available in Nigeria were American and British literature. Many African books were not accessible; so, when she discovers African authors like Chinua Achebe and Camara Laye, she recognizes her cultural identity as an African Nigerian. Adichie recalls, “I went through a mental shift in my perception of literature. I realized that people like me, girls with skin the color of chocolate, whose kinky hair could not form ponytails, could also exist in literature. I started to write about things I recognized”(Adichie, 2009, 02:07).
In “Americanah”, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie tells us the story of an African woman having for the first time difficulties because of her skin color when she relocates to North America. The story mainly follows Ifemelu, a young Nigerian middle-class woman that at the age of nine-teen decides to leave Nigeria and finish her studies at a university in Philadelphia, United States. The first time Ifemelu becomes aware of her skin color was when she arrived at the airport in New York City to meet with her Aunt Uju, and realizes that her romanticized image of North America is not what she expected. While still living in Lagos, her hometown in Nigeria, Ifemelu always imagined living the American Dream like in the American sitcom television series she watched, “ The street below was poorly lit, bordered not by leafy trees but closely parked cars, nothing like the pretty streets on The Cosby Show”(Americanah 106). When Ifemelu confronts her unknown reality about race, she begins to write an anonymous blog about her experiences as a non-American black living in the United States. As Jodi Dean explains, “ … blogs offer exposure and anonymity at the same time. As bloggers we expose ourselves, our feelings and experiences, loves and hates, desires and aversions” (64). Therefore, Ifemelu shares her experiences of race and identity as an outsider through her blog entries. One example of Ifemelu´s understanding of the concept of race in the United States is when she learns what the term Hispanic means in the American category. For Ifemelu it was confusing since for her the term Hispanic was both an ethnicity and a race. According to Bill Ashcroft et al, “ … the term race has always provided an effective means of establishing the simplest model of human variation – colour difference”(182) and ethnicity “... is a term that has been used … to account for human variation in terms of culture, tradition, language, social patterns, and ancestry ...”(75). This explanation is exemplified in the novel by a blog post titled“Understanding America for the Non-American Black : What Hispanic Means” that Ifemelu recalls writing years later :
Hispanic means the frequent companions of American blacks in poverty rankings. Hispanic means a slight step above American blacks in the American race ladder. Hispanic means the chocolate-skinned woman from Peru, Hispanic means the indigenous people of México. Hispanic means the biracial-looking folks from the Dominican Republic. Hispanic means the paler folks from Puerto Rico. Hispanic means also the blond, blue-eyed from Argentina. All you need to be is Spanish-speaking but not from Spain and voilá, you are a race called Hispanic (Americanah 105).
Ifemelu´s points of view concerning race in the United States are told in the novel from blog to blog. For instance, Ifemelu goes to a clothing store with her best friend Ginika, and when they are going to the checkout to pay, the cashier asks if anybody had helped them :
“Was it the one with long hair?” The cashier asked.
“Well, both of them had long hair.”
“The one with dark hair?”
“Both of them had dark hair.” (126).
When they went out of the store Ifemelu said, “ Why didn´t she just ask ´Was it the white girl or the black girl?´”(127). For Ifemelu, it is confusing why people in America are uncomfortable with race and learn that Americans pretend that race does not exist. Assuming this, she writes a blog titled“Understanding America for the Non-American Black: A Few Explanations of What Things Really Mean” :
1. Of all their tribalisms, Americans are uncomfortable with race. If you are having a conversation with an American, and you want to discuss something about racial that you find interesting, and the American says, “Oh, it´s simplistic to say it´s race, racism is so complex,” it means they just want you to shut up already.
2. Diversity means different things to different folks … If a white person is saying a neighborhood is diverse, they mean nine percent black people. … If a black person says diverse neighborhood, they are thinking forty percent black.
3. Sometimes they say “culture” when they mean race. … When they say “urban “ it means black and poor …“Racially charged” means we are uncomfortable saying “racist” ( 351).
In this blog entry, Ifemelu explains “that Americans are uncomfortable with race, which they sometimes refer to the term as `culture and `diversity´” (coursehero.com). Another example of Ifemelu´s process of race perception is when she realizes that there are different racial categories in the United States that you are not aware of if you are from another nation. For example, when Ifemelu´s cousin Dike was treated differently at day camp by his teacher by not giving him sunscreen. Dike recalls, “Haley? She gave sunscreen to everyone but she wouldn´t give me any. She said I didn´t need it” (Americanah 183). In other words, Dike was categorized by his teacher because of his skin color, not because he is Nigerian. With this in mind, Ifemelu writes one more blog entitled“Understanding America for the Non-American Black: American Tribalism” to explain the distinct racial categories in United States´society :
There´s a ladder of racial hierarchy in America. White is always on top, specifically White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, otherwise known as WASP, an American Black is always on the bottom, and what´s in the middle depends on time and place. (Or as that marvelous rhyme goes: if you´re white, you´re all right; if you´re brown, stick around; if you´re black get back!) Americans assume that everyone will get their tribalism ... (184).
Here, Ifemelu observes that some people in America are treated differently or like others because they are classified. Another perception of race that Ifemelu learns is that white American society makes no distinction between American blacks and non-American blacks. In a blog she entitles“To My Fellow Non-American Blacks: In America, you Are Black, Baby” she writes to other non-American blacks that in America they are categorized by the color of their skin :
Dear Non-American Black, when you make the choice to come to America, you become black. Stop arguing. Stop saying I´m Jamaican, or I´m Ghanian. America doesn´t care. So what if you weren´t “black” in your country. You´re in America now … (220).
In this blog entry, Ifemelu explains that regardless of a person´s country of origin or skin color, it is American culture that designates the place in which the individual is classified under racial categories.
Another significant point in the novel is when Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie introduces the relevance of the reappropriation of identity through mimicry. According to David Huddart, “ mimicry as Bhabha understands it is an exaggerated copying of language, culture, manner, and ideas...”(39). In other words, mimicry is a pattern of behavior, for instance, when someone copies a group in power in the hope of being accepted into such a group. Moreover, as Jacques Lacan explains, “mimicry is camouflage … it is not a question of harmonizing with the background but against a mottled background, of becoming mottled …” (qtd. In Bhabha 125). That is when a species copies the abilities of other species to help it thrive in society. Accordingly, Adichie describes how Ifemelu imitates white American society to find a place; yet, despite her difficulties, she recognizes her Nigerian identity. Ifemelu suffers an identity struggle in her character because she wants to merge into the white American society by adopting a code of conduct and starts to behave like an American. For instance, after three years of living in the United States, she began to speak with an American accent. The narrator describes, “It was convincing the accent. She had perfected, from careful watching of friend and newscaster, the blurring of the t, the creamy roll of the r, the sentences starting with “So”, and the sliding response with of “Oh really”, but the accent creaked with consciousness …”(Americanah 173). Here, not only does Ifemelu falls into America´s code of behavior but also questions her identity. She recalls: “ she had taken on for, for too long, a pitch of a voice and a way of being that was not hers. And so she finished eating her eggs and resolved to stop faking the American accent”(175). As a result, Ifemelu ceases to mimic an American accent and reveals her true essence and acceptance as an African Nigerian. Another situation of identity for Ifemelu is at the University. In her History Seminar lectures, she meets Wambui of Kenya, the president of the African Students Association, and is invited to the next meeting. In the meeting students from Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, South Africans, Tanzanians, Zimbabweans are mingling and talking with their different accents and began to mimic “what Americans told them: You speak such good English. How bad is Aids in your country? It´s so sad that people live on less than a dollar in Africa”(139). Moreover, they explain to her in the welcome talk that “ African Americans go to the Black Student Union and Africans go to the African Student Association” and “that[she]might make friend more easily with other internationals … many internationals understand the trauma of trying to get an American visa …”(140- 41). Here, Ifemelu feels that she did not have to pretend to be someone else and feels free by not having to explain herself to anyone. Another good example of Ifemelu´s resistance to American stereotypes is when she applies for her first formal job and is advised by her recruiter to straighten her hair for the interview. Since her arrival in America Ifemelu still wore her braided hair and could not understand why she had to relax her hair for a job interview. Her recruiter just told her, “ My only advice? Lose your braids and straighten your hair. Nobody says this kind of stuff but it matters. We want you to get the job”(202). Ifemelu´s shame was similar to when she was faking the American accent, and after her hair started falling from using relaxers she cuts it off and accepts her naturally thick hair. Her “ God-given halo of hair, the Afro …” (Americanah 204).
To this point in the plot, Ifemelu becomes a successful blogger and begins to make a living from writing. Her blog takes off and is recognized as an authority in her space and starts receiving invitations from Universities and companies to give talks on diversity. She is known inside the world of blogging as “The Blogger” (303 – 04). In her first diversity talk in a company in Ohio, her audience is all white, and she delivers a presentation titled“ How to talk about race with colleagues of other races.”At first, Ifemelu feels worried about delivering her speech because she had heard that “ openly sundown towns still existed in[Ohio] …(304). Her fears come true, later that evening, she received an anonymous e-mail accusing her of racism, “YOUR TALKS WAS BALONEY. YOU ARE A RACIST. YOU SHOULD BE GRATEFUL WE LET YOU INTO THIS COUNTRY” (305). Here, Ifemelu questions herself and understands that her audience only comes to her presentations because she is a well-known blogger who writes about race, not because of her ideas and perception of race. As a result, she reconceptualizes the way she delivers her speeches and starts talking about what people want to hear. However, in her blog, she starts to write even more critical about race because she understands, “that the people that read her blog were not the same people who attended her diversity workshops”(id). For example, in her talks, she said: “America has made great progress for which we should be very proud”. In her blog, she wrote: Racism should never have happened and so you don´t get a cookie for reducing it”(id.). Here, one can observe that Ifemelu even though she fulfilled her American Dream of being a successful professional blogger in America, must still struggle with her identity ambivalence by acting like others to be in line with common behavior in American society.
Although Ifemelu´s life in America is going well, she feels nostalgic for her desire to return to Nigeria. Her Aunt Uju and her close friends do not understand that after getting her American citizenship, being a successful blogger, and acquiring a scholarship to Princeton, she yearns to return to her homeland, Lagos. The narrator describes Ifemelu´s yearning for home as,
It had been there for a while, an early morning disease of fatigue, a bleakness, and borderlessness. It brought with it amorphous longings, shapeless desires, brief imaginary glints of other lives she could be living, that over the months melted into a piercing homesickness … Nigeria became where she was supposed to be, the only place she could sink her roots in without the constant urge to tug them out ...(Americanah 6).
Here, even though the protagonist has placed her identity somewhere in between within American society, she does not deny her true self and authenticity by returning to Nigeria.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie explains in "ARTS ATL" interview with Soniah Kamal that “Americanah” is a word in Nigeria referring to people who pretend to be Americanized or have been Americanized”.When Ifemelu returns to Nigeria, she identifies with her country, but does not expect the challenges of her return. Ifemelu feels treated differently, she feels treated as an “Americanah”.For example, once she arrives at Lagos, she begins to wonder if her hometown is as she sees it, or changed while she was abroad. Ifemelu questions herself: “When had shopkeepers become so rude? Had buildings in Lagos had this patina of decay?” … “Americanah!” Ranyiundo teased her often. You are looking at things with American eyes”(Americanah 385). A second example would be when she is with her friend Ranyiundo and complaints about the weather in Lagos: “What kind of humidity is this? She said. She was on Ranyiundo´s bed, and Ranyiundo was on a mattress on the floor.“I can´t breathe.” “ I can´t breathe,” Ranyiundo mimicked her voice laughter-filled. “Haba!Americanah!”(390). Meanwhile, Ifemelu is re-adapting to Lagos, she finds a job as an editor in a new women´s magazine called Zoe and finds out that she is hired because she lived in America. When Ifemelu meets her new boss she says: “ My new features editor has come from America!”(391). A third example is when Ifimelu is invited to the “Nigerpolitan Club”, a place where all the Nigerians returning home after living abroad meet to share their experiences in the readjustment process. There, Ifemelu runs into some people she knows and hears their conversations that make her feel bothered, “Their voices blurred with foreign accents. You can´t find a decent smoothie in this city!”(407) or “...there´s this new place that opened on akin Adesola … They have the kinds of things we can eat”(409). From a narrative point of view, these three examples convey through mimicry what Homi Bhabha observes in his essay "The Other Question" as “the ideological construction of otherness”(18). In other words, the subject constructs his or her identity through the characteristics of the other and acknowledges its desire to belong.
So far, Ifemelu begins to feel at home and at work in Zoe magazine. She not only feels safe but also has a sense of disinterest. Ifemelu wants to write more about topics she feels strongly about because she was bored interviewing women from high society or writing about social events. Therefore, she does not understand why her boss does not want to publish more interesting articles, and after a staff meeting, her colleague Doris tells her the reason: “You know they pay Aunty Onenu, right? Doris asked. “They pay her? “ Ifemelu stared. No. I didn´t know”(Americanah 419). As a result, Ifemelu decides to quit her job and start blogging again and thought “perhaps this was a sign, to quit now and start her [new] blog”(id.).Ifemelu entitles her new blog “The Small Redemption of Lagos". In it, she starts posting her experiences while re-approaching her identity in Lagos, and in her article about the Nigerpolitan Club she reveals that in fact, she is an “Americanah”:
Lagos has never been, will never be, and has never aspired to be like New York, or anywhere else for that matter. Lagos has always been undisputably itself, but you would not know this at the meeting of the Nigerpolitan Club, a group of young returnees who gather every week to moan about the many ways that Lagos is not like New York as though Lagos had ever been close to being like New York. Full disclosure: I am one of them … (421).
“Americanah” is a fictional novel that tells us the story of a young Nigerian girl that wants to follow her American Dream. The narrative follows the protagonist, and throughout her story, one learns about the different situations she faces when she encounters the concept of race while pursuing an identity in white American society. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie tackles the themes of race and identity in contemporary African Literature through which the author explores from the perspective of how the “West relates to Africa”(Lee). Moreover, it can be inferred that Adichie explores Ifemelu´s pursuit for identity through Homi Bhaba's post-colonial concept of mimicry. The author places the protagonist in situations of adopting codes of behavior to enact in the white American society gaze.
Another important approach in the narrative of “Americanah” is what Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie calls “ The Danger of a Single Story”. Here, Adichie points out that it is very important to tell a story through different perspectives. The author believes that if one has the possibility to perceive a story with another interpretation, then it is easier to understand the differences in humanity. Adichie explains in her essay titled “African Authenticity and the Biafran Experience” that, “ We need to conceive of a world in which the idea of difference is just that difference, rather than something necessarily better or worst”(46).
Ultimately, “Americanah” is a novel in which through the story of the protagonist, one can learn and comprehend the social problems of society, and understand that all nations have a unique culture. Therefore, it is interesting how the narrative in “Americanah” is useful for understanding the beauty of the cultural differences, and that we need to appreciate these differences more.
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