Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Americanah

Running head: CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE’S "AMERICANAH"
CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE’S "AMERICANAH"
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CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE’S "AMERICANAH"
There are various way genders, class and race can intersect in daily experience. These are
certainly the reasons that complicate the ideas of equality and empowerment for women (Wright
2016). The novel Americanah is one of the novels that have explored and elaborated the same.
The paper aims to discuss the way this novel leads the reader towards re-thinking the relationship
between class, race, nationality and gender. In the end, the paper will end with the conclusion
drawn from the existence of such a relationship.
Americanah is about two Nigerians, their lives and relationships. They explore the culture
of the United States from the perspective of Africans. The story is narrated by the Ifemelu’s
thoughts, and through posts from her blog, however, it switches to Obinze’s point of view in
different points of the story when he was faced with difficulties. He faced difficulties as an
illegal worker in London and his sudden rise and becoming a wealthy person when returning to
Nigeria (Adichie 2014).
The time Ifemelu arrives in America, she is encountered with a different culture. The
alien culture involved various issues involving not only financial constraints but also racism. It
was an entirely new experience for her and a total sense of alienation. She began facing the racial
discrimination in the new city. Due to her skin color and not being wealthy she was suddenly
belonged to the under-privileged group which was something she was not known by her in her
home country, Nigeria. She says, “I came from a country where race was not an issue. I did not
think of myself as black and I only became black when I came to America” (Americanah 290).
This specific statement manifests the ways race has always been a significant factor of American
society. In the novel has highlighted several incidents that portrays the racist nature of America
that are experienced by the female African immigrants. In one of her blog, she writes:

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CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE’S "AMERICANAH"
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 Ghanaian. America doesn’t care.
So what if you weren’t ‘black’ in your country? You’re in America now. We all have our
moments of initiation into the Society of Former Negroes. (Americanah 220)
Throughout the novel it can be seen the ways Ifemelu struggles with the culture
differences in American society. However, in the end she has integrated herself into American
culture by learning certain aspects that she found necessary while retaining her strong African
culture. It is not only in the America and Ifemelu who encounters racism but also her friend
Obinze who encounters racism, supremacy of whites in Britain. The novel has also manifested
racism through the hair politics which shows the enforced economic divide (Van Dijk 2015).
Ifmelu describes the term ‘Racism’ in her blog:
But race is not biology; race is sociology. Race is not genotype; race isphenotype. Race
matters because of racism. And racism is absurd because it’s about how you look. Not
about the blood you have. It’s about the shade of your skin and the shape of your nose
and the kink of your hair. (Americanah).
It is not only race that gives the feeling of alienation but also gender and economic status.
The identity of an individual is determined by its gender, skin color and wealth possession
(Andersen and Collins 2015). As Ifemelu writes:
In America’s public discourse, “Blacks” as a whole are often lumped with “Poor
Whites.” Not Poor Blacks and Poor Whites. But Blacks and Poor Whites. A curious thing
indeed. (Americanah)