“Americanah” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Adichie’s “Americanah” is an award-winning fiction novel that talks about Ifemelu, a Nigerian lady who travels to the United States for educational purposes. This book traces events in Ifemelu's life in Nigeria and the United States, incorporating her love story with Obinze, her high school classmate. In the US, Ifemelu struggles with most issues relatable to Black Americans in the country, like racism and discrimination, making her realize Black people's struggles. On the other hand, Obinze travels to London after the 9/11 attacks caused him a denial of a Visa to the US (Chimamanda). But both end up in prompting situations to return to Nigeria, their native country. This paper analyzes Adichie’s text by focusing on various symbols and images in the novel that add reality to the book and represent the reality of social issues in the community today. Although the story has many symbols and motifs illustrating social issues today, this paper discusses hair, mental health, and Barack Obama, and the social problems these symbols represent in “Americanah”.

Hair

In “Americanah,” hair is used not only as a symbol of past and present race relations, but also as a tool to highlight real issues of systematic racism. In this novel, hair is a very real and relatable issue that readers can identify with. Adichie effectively uses natural hair to dive deeper into African-American women's racial problems. First, she intends to braid her hair as she prepares to go back to Nigeria. However, she discovers that there is no salon in Princeton where she can do her hair, which forces her to take a train to Trenton. Upon arriving in Trenton for braiding, Ifem finds her regular salon closed “because the owner had gone back to Cote d’Ivoire to be married” (Chimamanda). This statement portrays the sense that Black women in society are subjected to obligations of marriage and dependent on men. Instead of chasing financial stability, they go back to their land for marriage.

Ifemelu further states that she was certain, just like all other plaiting salons known to her, “they were in the part of the city that had graffiti, dank buildings, and no white people, they displayed bright signboards with names like Aisha and Fatima African Hair Braiding, they had radiators that were too hot in the winter and air conditioners that did not cool in the summer, and they were full of Francophone…” (Chimamanda). Ifemelu’s description of these salons shows Blacks' racial segregation in American lands. It further portrays socioeconomic differences between these two communities. Unlike in Princeton, a wealthy neighborhood dominated by Whites and only a few lighter-toned Black people (Chimamanda), Black people in the novel lived in poorer and low-income communities. The same situation is true today, whereby Black Americans in the United States live in poor neighborhoods with low economic standards (Dubowitz et al. 495). Most lack white-collar jobs to sustain them, just like in “Americanah.”

Ifemelu further expresses the broken English that these women at the salon spoke. She says, "it was broken, curious, as though they had not quite eased into the language before taking on slangy Americanism" (Chimamanda). Through Ifemelu's need to braid her hair, we see the low language and education levels that Black Americans face. Research examining the "Englishes" that Black Americans and immigrants speak shows that "the language of Black Americans is largely ‘nonstandard,' and though immigrants think their English is standard and acceptable from their previous countries, coming to America brings them issues with the academic standards in the nation which requires their use of acceptable Standard English that most cannot speak (Patriann). Thus highlighting some of the issues that Black people face in America. According to the author, the extensive use of hair in this work allows the reader to visualize better and more easily understand the complexities of race relations. For that reason, I find that including "hair" in this novel aids in Adichie's overall portrayal of differences in socioeconomic status between America and Nigeria.

Furthermore, on her arrival in America, Ifemelu realized that people needed to relax their hair with chemicals because having natural hair like the Nigerian style would lead to thoughts of unprofessionalism (Chimamanda). Aisha, a black woman in the salon, already appears to conform to the American culture of relaxed hair. She now wonders why an individual would opt to suffer from combing through hair, yet relaxing it solves all the struggles. The protagonist finally conforms to this pressure and takes on a new adventure to relax her hair. After the process, the hairdresser tells her, "Just a little Burn. But look how pretty it is. Wow, girl, you’ve got the white-girl swing” (Chimamanda). However, instead of feeling good about the process and the results obtained after the relaxation process, she felt miserable, as if part of her went with her natural hair complexion. Even Curt, her boyfriend at the time, realizes that Ifemelu dislikes the new hair and advises her to cut it short, like Wambui, to minimize the effects of the chemicals. Although Ifemelu likes braids, her interview limits her freedom and portrays the dominant racism in the country. Ifemelu says, "if it's going to be curly, then it has to be the white kind of curly, loose curls or, at worst, spiral curls but never kinky” (Chimamanda). The statement symbolizes the degree of racism inherent in American culture and the cultural pressure it exerts on Black women. Wambui says to her, “Relaxing your hair is like being in prison. You’re caged in. Your hair rules you. You didn’t go running with Curt today because you don’t want to sweat out this straightness” (Chimamanda). The statement uses hair to show the captivity and confinement that Black women face in America.

Barack Obama

Obama's appointment as the first African American President in the United States came with hope and relief to millions of individuals. According to a statement by the white house, "The framers of the Constitution always hoped that the leadership would not be limited to wealthy Americans with family connections. Due to the prejudices of their era, most enslaved people would not foresee an African American presidency” (The White House). Similarly, Adichie showed the same hope in the novel through Ifemelu and Blaine's relationship. Even though this relationship stumbled, the mutual love for the African American president remained common. Adichie says, "On election night, before Blaine kissed her, his face wet with tears, he held her tightly as though Obama’s victory was also their personal victory” (Chimamanda).

Although different cultures previously separated the two lovers, rejoicing in the President's victory shows that they shared a common hope for the future. The two stayed together until Ifemelu’s plan to return to Nigeria after Obama was no longer the leader (Chimamanda). This situation shows how much strength leadership has, even in the community today. A good leader can hold a nation together in peace and harmony. Additionally, a good leader loved by the people can lead to better relationships between community members and facilitate better problem-solving abilities for the better of the community. Contrarily, poor or undesired leaders who do not share the common interests of the people lead to separation, wars, endless conflicts, and disunity in society. As a leader, Obama understood and incorporated the needs of Black people in America, which had been ignored and neglected for so long by previous leaders, because he shared in their situation and understood their problems from firsthand experience.

Mental Health

The topic surrounding mental stability and health also pops up often in Adichie's novel, especially regarding depression. The author uses this issue to symbolize Nigeria and America's cultural differences and beliefs, primarily through Ifem. Apparently, the United States takes matters concerning mental health quite seriously to date, whereby mental disorders like anorexia, depression, and bipolar disorder are considered illnesses that need medication and treatment. The DSM-5 criteria note the association of such mental disorders with disability, distress, pain, death, and loss of freedom (DSM-5 criteria, American Psychiatric Publishing), which is why American doctors and associations emphasize diagnosis and treatment of these illnesses to curb such effects. However, Ifemelu shows that the same case does not apply in her home country, Nigeria. Ginika says that she thinks Ifemelu is ailing from depression; Ifem “shakes her head, turns to the window”, and says, "Depression was what happened to Americans, with their self-absolving need to turn everything into an illness” (Chimamanda).

The protagonist further adds that she is only tired and slower than usual, but certainly not suffering from depression (Chimamanda). Her reaction to Ginika's statement illustrates the difference between the two cultures and their beliefs. Instead of considering the possibility and taking adequate preventive measures, Ifem dismisses the issue as though depression is not an illness for Blacks. A similar situation is evident in one of Ifemelu's blogs later in her adventures. A Congolese woman rejects the doctor's diagnosis of panic attacks because she believes that the disease is for Americans. This refusal emphasizes Western and African communities' cultural diversity and beliefs. Additionally, Ifem and the woman's response show that mental health issues are not seriously considered and addressed in African nations; some may ignore them, while others may not even understand what they go through. Thus, more measures should be put in place to address such issues and break the mental health barriers in these countries. Ifemelu's depression resulted from the experience with the training coach who insisted on sexual rewards. Although the protagonist refuses, she accepts his plea to touch him, which leaves her guilty and ashamed of herself (Chimamanda). Thus, the depressive symptoms. If Ifemelu and her Nigerian culture had acknowledged the need for and importance of mental health, she would have visited a therapist and discussed the issue, leading to improvement, as Ginika suggested.

Depression further arises through Dike, the protagonist's cousin, who was born in Nigeria but primarily raised in America. As a teenager, Dike attempts to commit suicide unsuccessfully, and we see Aunty Uju and Ifem conflicting over the reason for the cousin's attempted suicide. The mother claims that Dike's attempt was triggered by depression. She further adds, “It is a clinical disease. Many teenagers suffer from it” (Chimamanda), emphasizing the seriousness of this mental health issue in American culture and beliefs. She narrates how three of her teenage patients also battled depression issues, one of them succeeding in committing suicide (Chimamanda). This demonstration emphasizes the severity of depression as an issue that most teenagers and individuals in the United States struggle with and the effects that it may have, including attempted suicide, as seen through Dike and the other patients. However, Ifemelu raises her argument on another critical issue faced by Blacks in America. She argues that Dike's suicidal attempt is due to his identity conflict. This conflict arises because his mother told him he was not Black to “prevent him from behaving like these people and thinking that everything that happens to him is because he’s black” (Chimamanda). Yet, Ifem tells her that she failed to tell him what he was, leading to a mental conflict between the boys regarding whether he was or not. Hence, according to Ifem, Dike's suicide attempt came from the conflict of whether he was American or Black and what cultural behavior he was supposed to adopt. Ifemelu's argument is valid and vital, even in American society today. Many Black parents want to raise their kids in the American way, language, and culture to prevent them from facing discrimination or being stereotyped by their peers. Yet, they fail to give them a sense of identification with their culture of origin. This situation results in conflicts, confusion, and suicide attempts, as seen in Dike's case.

Conclusion

In summary, Adichie's “Americanah,” through its symbols and motifs, addresses various real issues that the community faces today. Hair shows that racism and racial segregation are still dominant in America, and the socioeconomic differences between races. Barack Obama delivers the hope and unity a leader can bring to the community through Ifem and Blaine's relationship. Finally, the address of depression issues shows variations in culture and beliefs in America and Nigeria, whereby people hold different views on mental health. Overall, Adichie plays a significant and recognizable role in putting together ideas, characters, organization, and style in a captivating novel that portrays the situation in communities today.