The
title of the novel “Americanah” comes in reference to ever present idea of
non-African blacks coming to America and changing into an Americanized version
of themselves. With a title made to address the clichés seen when these
individuals return from America, it would lead one to expect a novel breaking
the stereotypes and providing insight. “Americanah” provides eye-opening
insight to the readers yet bends to each and every stereotype of American
literature.
Ifemelu’s blog is the best illustration
of perceptive outsider’s insights. Ifemelu’s observations in America are most
beautifully shown by her earliest blogs, while she was still a stranger to the
nuances of America. My favorite example comes from the blog “A Michelle Obama
Shout-Out Plus Hair as a Race Metaphor” (Adichie 367) where she examines how
the natural state of hair for black women in America is anything but natural. This
seemingly mundane aspect of life means much more when the idea is related to
Michelle Obama. Michelle would likely lose the support of some of these women
if she did not have the “acceptable” straight hair she typically sports. If she
were to embrace her natural texture many American would view her as unkept, and
lazy, based on something as superficial as her hair. This insight although
small generalized to all of American culture in a way that anyone can see
independent of their race, or background. Ifemelu’s revelations continue after
she returns to Nigeria. Upon returning to Nigeria she remains a stranger in her
own home and is able to provide insight here just by looking at the differences
in food.
Although Ifemelu is able to perceive
overlooked nuances wherever she goes, she fails to avoid them within her own
story. Ifemelu lives a cliched American love story where girl meets boy while
young, falls in love, but ends in heartbreak. She then falls into a string of
men each teaching her a specific lesson and leaving her thinking about her
first love, only to finally end the string with her first love. Not only does
her love story exemplify the arc of every stereotypical love story. Not only
does Ifemelu live a stereotypical love story, but she also lives a stereotypical
American dream. Growing up in Nigeria she dreams of escape and makes it to
America through her applications and falls on hard times upon her arrival. She
grits through rock bottom until getting a taste of success from Curt. This taste
of success gives her the stereotypical foothold to get her out of her pit and
allow her to start her assent into the world. After meeting Curt and freeing
herself from the simplicity of his life and the things he had given her she is
able to follow her dreams and start her successful blog, a very rare success.
Both of Ifemelu’s major story lines follow a stereotypical arc that is often
overdone in American literature. Although the novel aims to reveal American
stereotypes, it also embodies the stereotypical American literature storyline.
The last paragraph of the above post describing Ifemelu’s relationships is an insightful overview of the overused American storyline and how it is woven into Americanah’s plot. That is an excellent observation that causes one to reevaluate the juxtaposition of American culture and Nigerian culture in the book. For example, the dichotomy of the commentary about not fitting into American culture while concurrently fitting into the quintessential American storyline helps to show the similarities between the countries while also contrasting the differences of each distinct culture. Having Ifemelu go through the American dream and openly professing her Nigerian heritage through her speech and her “God-given halo of hair, the Afro,” (Adichie 252) speaks to this dichotomy as well.
ReplyDeleteThe point about Ifemelu catching nuances about American culture but missing just how easily she fits a stereotype was also interesting. This point is something that one could easily overlook but highlighting it can cause a shift in one’s perception of Ifemelu as a character. It is also interesting how Obinze talks about wanting to visit America so he can live the American Dream that Ifemelu eventually lives; he is obsessed with reading American fiction and she does not share that interest. One can only wonder if she had read those books if she would have caught herself living out that dream just like she caught the nuances of American culture.
The initial comparison between Ifemelu’s story line and American tropes is helpful for interpreting the novel, and, in addition to all of the similarities that have been pointed out, the points in which the does not follow the steps of the American Dream are also worth examining. Ifemelu’s arc follows the same pattern, but differs from what would be expected from an immigrant success story. American success, and maybe even American love, is the prize at the end of most American tales, but Ifemelu’s story ends with Nigerian success and her Nigerian love. This shows how the novel, while heavily featuring America, does not revolve around it.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, at the end of the novel, Obinze falls out of love with the American Dream with the revelation that he “could buy America” (Adichie 535). Later in the same conversation, Ifemelu states that the American Dream is “a lie but you buy into it and that’s all that matters” (Adichie 536). The reality is that America is not a place where hard work will always lead to a house with a white picket fence and 2.5 kids—it takes money, connections, luck, or a combination of all three for an immigrant to make it in America. For a purportedly honest character, it is interesting that it doesn’t bother Ifemelu that the American dream is a lie like it does Obinze, adding to the list of contradictions between the characters’ beliefs about lies and honesty.
I agree with this view on how Ifemelu lives out a very stereotypical American dream. She started out struggling, looking to find work wherever it presented itself, even falling into the stereotypical foreign babysitter role. I believe that her inability to not fall into the same stereotypes that she so heavily criticized stems from her own insecurities. There is a slight disconnect in this book between what she is saying to others, and what she is doing herself, and for me, it makes her much harder to like her, and harder to take her message seriously. Ifelemu constantly criticizes other “Americanahs” for bragging about America and defining themselves by their time there, considering themselves to be higher than others because of it. When Ifemelu returned from America, she was constantly criticizing the culture of Nigeria, as she preferred the way of America. She even went so far as to join a club with other Americanahs, where they drank “champagne in paper cups, at the poolside of a home estate...chic people...with foreign accents” (Ardichie 501). She associates with the people that she so harshly criticizes and slanders online, and it makes it very hard to want to understand her character.
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