Modern-day culture is
obsessed with “finding” ourselves. In Americanah,
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie uses the story of young a Nigerian, Ifemelu, to
explore the difficulties of trying to find oneself in a world filled with expectations
and racism. Before Ifemelu moves to America, she has this idealistic view of
what life in America will be like. She imagines it will be something like “The
Cosby Show”, but quickly discovers that American reality for a Nigerian
immigrant is much more complex than it is portrayed on television. Not only is
the culture different than Ifemelu imagined, but the impact that Western Culture
has on immigrants shocks her. During her first summer in America, Ifemelu notices
changes in her Aunt Uju. Ifemelu feels as if Uju has given up part of herself to
be accepted into this new world. The whole summer, Ifemelu feels as if America
is unfulfilling, and in Chapter 10, when thinking about American commercials, Adichie
writes, “She ached for the lives they showed, lives full of bliss, where all problems
had sparkling solutions in shampoos and cars and packaged foods, and in her mind,
they became the real America…” (p. 139) This quote exemplifies a common feeling
that many people have when dreaming of a life better than their own. I think
that Adichie is drawing on a broader human issue with the theme of craving a
new identity in Americanah. We all
want things we do not have, and we all dream of a world where these things are
attainable; when she discusses the emptiness that Ifemelu feels in America, she
is exploring the idea that happiness does not necessarily come with attaining
the unattainable.
Adichie dives deeper into
this theme when Ifemelu’s long-time boyfriend, Obinze, moves to England. Like
Ifemelu, Obinze had a picturesque image of what life in England would be like,
and upon arrival, he discovered that the “universe would not bend according to
his will” (p. 287). Despite his worldliness and intelligence, Obinze struggles
with getting a green-card and is forced to do mindless labor jobs, such as
toilet cleaning. This shows that in a place like England, where Obinze
discovers the true ramifications of racism, intelligence does not matter as
much as social standing. Obinze sees first-hand the fear that people have
towards immigrants. As Obinze is on a train in Chapter 27, Adichie writes, “The
wind blowing across the British Isles was odorous with fear of asylum seekers,
infecting everybody with the panic of impending doom…” I like this quote
because I feel like it may always be relevant. We, as a people, are afraid of
what we do not understand. Americanah
showed me that sometimes, you do not have to search the world to find
happiness. In the end, both Ifemelu and Obinze end up in similar places where
they started, though more aware of the fear and rejection that exists in the
world.
I agree that in modern-day culture, particularly in the United States, there is a lurking pressure to define one’s identity, and Adichie explores its many dimensions throughout the novel, particularly with Ifemelu’s experiences. While Ifemelu certainly adopts a variety of behaviors and habits that help her to develop an American identity, there are also certain aspects of typical American identity/expectations that she rejects, such as the pressure black American women face to relax their hair instead of keeping it natural and how she “made an effort” not to have an American accent (534). Other people throughout the novel add another dimension to her identity, for the employees at the hair salon she is an admirable and successful immigrant who has lived in the United States for a long time (20), and when she returns home she is branded an Americanah. Ifemelu, unlike her fellow Nigerian friends living abroad, seems to struggle with the idea of conforming to American society and developing a new identity, which perhaps also means losing a part of herself. Throughout the novel I had a difficult time trying to define her identity because of this. Is she a Nigerian living in the United States? Does she become a Nigerian-American? When she returns to Nigeria does she feel more like an American living in Nigeria? Or is she something in between all of this? She never feels truly satisfied with her life in the United States, and when she returns to Nigeria, she finds herself at a distance from the way of life she once knew, wondering if she is “being too American” about her reactions to things (500). By the end of the novel, the focus shifts to her relationship with Obinze, so I have yet to know what to make of her identity by the end. However, given that Americanah is just as much a romance novel as it is a story of identity, hair, and race, perhaps being with Obinze makes her feel like just Ifemelu and she no longer has to worry about all of those previous attempts to define who she is because with him she can just be, and for her, after all of the pressure and defiance and labels, that is a welcome change.
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