Even though the portrayals of failed interracial relationships and blatantly racist attitudes of whites towards blacks seem to create an overall negative tone throughout Americanah, Adichie offers hope through Ifemelu’s experiences and the reader's connections. The novel presents a solution to the race problem: to spark conversation between members of all races.
Through Ifemelu’s failed relationships with Curt, there seems to be an argument that interracial marriage is impossible; however, Adiche writes, “The simplest solution to race in America? Romantic love”. Ifemelu has a negative outlook on the race issue, “...because that deep romantic love is so rare, and because American society is set up to make it even rarer between American Black and American White, the problem of race in America will never be solved” (296). Still, there is a contradiction of this point through Ifemelu’s interactions with Kimberly and Morgan, who are both white but with whom Ifemelu has a strong bond.
Americanah teaches the difference between sympathy and empathy to urge the reader to understand and make conversation. Curt and Ifemelu’s relationship serves as a metaphor for race in America. Just because someone does not understand exactly what immigrants or Africans are going through-- such as Curt in the novel-- Adichie makes the argument that there should be conversations between races to better understand one another. Adichie utilizes Curt as the standard privileged white man to stereotype and explain how blacks are treated in America by the common man. Even though some of the scenes-- such as when a white girl went into the hair salon to get braids or when a white man asked why there needed to be a magazine dedicated to black women-- were intended to be cringe-worthy, similar events happen in everyday life. Some people are not aware of their actions being harmful to others, and Adichie creates these scenes to bring that fact to light. Adichie argues that one race does not have to have gone through exactly what another race has in order to understand and provide sympathy for them.
Adichie intends to teach the reader experiences and thoughts of immigrants in America to help others-- not only white people but people of all races-- understand the difficulties and thereby spark conversation about race. She writes, “Try listening, maybe. Hear what is being said. And remember that it’s not about you… If you don’t understand, ask questions. If you’re uncomfortable about asking questions, say you are uncomfortable asking questions and then ask anyway. It’s easy to tell when a question is coming from a good place. Then listen some more. Sometimes people just want to feel heard. Here’s to possibilities of friendship and connection and understanding”(327). No matter what race, Adichie’s themes of understanding through conversation is universal and provides a hope that people of different races can understand each other, not only through romantic love but also platonic love.
I had never thought about the difference between empathy and sympathy while reading this book, but I think this post makes a great point about what the novel does to discuss these topics and how they relate to race.
ReplyDeleteI feel that I can honestly say I do not know very much about other races. I also think that it is not fair of me to say this is only because I have not grown up in a diverse area, instead it is because I have made no effort to understand the culture and backgrounds of others. This is exactly what Adichie is trying to do and this post did a great job bringing light to this discussion that may otherwise go unnoticed.
Adichie focuses on the effort that others make to try and learn about others and even change things. It is ultimately about action and with no action taken, then the race problem will not be solved. However, it seems ironic that Adichie focuses on this trying and effort but has Ifemelu skip that protest and continue to hide behind a computer screen. I think the most effective way to end the race problem is to go out and try to learn things and see what needs to be changed. The more people that know about the issues, the greater the chance there is that someone does something about them. America is full of talk and no action because we do not want to admit that we are not perfect and that we need change. This is why it can be hard to say, “I am uncomfortable, but I have some questions about your race.” In a way it can make people feel weak.
I think Adichie does a great job of showing examples of how someone can still be sympathetic and have a different background. This post really showed me this and makes me want to put forth more effort to try and understand be a part of change.