After becoming thoroughly integrated
into Kimberly’s upper class, liberal home life, clashing at times with other
members of Kimberly’s family and community, Ifemulu finds herself invited to a
party. The guest list is full of very generous people, many wealthy and eager
to share the charitable acts they have done for the starving men, women, and
children of third world countries like those in Africa. Though all of them
profess a love for Africa and a desire to help those less fortunate than
themselves, they fail to realize that their behavior is prejudiced. When the
guests discuss their “wonderful orphanage in Botswana, [their] wonderful
microfinance cooperative in Kenya,” (209) reveling in their own charitableness,
they fail to realize how condescending they often come off as. Even the woman
who thought she had thought things through and did not want to be “the NGO that
won’t use local labor” strongly solicits Ifemulu, asking her to contact the NGO
if she ever wanted to find work in Africa and in a way implying that native
African jobs are inferior (209).
These mindsets are all relics from
the 19th century that continue to exist as prejudices in modern
times. Many individuals, such as those attending Kimberly’s party, are not even
aware that they have such prejudices and thus fully think that they are in the
right by acting in what they perceive is the Africans’ best interest. In 1899,
Rudyard Kipling wrote “The White Man’s Burden,” and while its subject is not
Africa, its contents reflect a widely held view at the time that it was the job
of the civilized to help their lessers, bringing them slowly towards
civilization. In modern times, this mindset can be seen in the oftentimes
intrusive charity projects undertaken by the developed world’s wealthy philanthropists.
These often, in the process of doing business and as the NGO chair at Kimberly’s
party feared, stamp out local business.
Furthermore, many of these white,
middle to upper class individuals are blind, purposefully or not, to the
suffering of African immigrants in their own countries. As Obinze claims, “they
would not understand the need to escape from the oppressive lethargy of
choicelessness,” having grown up in relative freedom and comfort. It may be
threatening to them if they acknowledge that their own countries mistreat the
same people that their white civilization is purportedly trying to help, and so
they deny that racism exists in their societies.
The dinner party at Kimberly’s is a great example of how Adichie addresses instances of prejudices that might be considered subtle. The charitable efforts of the upperclass white Americans in this scene represent a number of problems that go largely unnoticed by white Americans but that are pointed out by Adichie throughout the novel. One of these problems is your aforementioned idea that charity from white Americans is necessary to the well-being of Africans, which causes Ifemelu to feel separated from those at the dinner party instead of helped, and leaving within her a desire “to be among those who could afford copious pity and empathy” (209). I agree that this is comparable to the 19th century idea of a White Man’s Burden; the dinner party reflects this idea and its existence in 21st century American reality.
ReplyDeleteAnother underlying issue of the charitable efforts of white Americans at the dinner party that I noticed is that they lump together an entire continent as one entity needing saving. While individual countries are named, Africans are seen as one people suffering from the same affliction and all needing help. One of the first events in the novel is Ifemelu’s hair appointment at a salon in Trenton, where she meets two braiders from Mali and one from Senegal (13). Her time at the salon points to just some of the cultural differences between and diversity in countries in Africa, dismantling this idea that all Africans are the same.
I completely agree that this scene exemplifies a lot of the hypocrisy that Adiche sees in (specifically white upper-class) American culture. She begins that scene by describing the clothes and speech of the party-goers as "nice and safe" multiple times (208). The narrative intrusion here sets up the conflict before the characters themselves begin to deal with it. Characters such as Kimberly are just "nice and safe" with their clothes and speech but rather it stands in and sets up the patronizing way they talk about Africans. The narrator implies that people who are nice and safe in their own social hierarchies will naturally tend towards more aesthetic ways of dealing with problems. Late in the scene, Don admits that these parties are just a way to get people over. It's not as if anybody truly cares about the troubles of another country, but because it is easier to go on safaris or to fundraisers than to support true, material change that would benefit marginalized people either in Africa or America. Because of her own status as an immigrant to the United States, Ifemelu has a keen sense as to the issues of America without having to do much more than go to one party.
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ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading this perspective, and agree that this biased "white man's burdan" certainly portrays the superiority felt by upper and middle class whites. I felt this was well exemplified when the white woman entered the hair salon and asked for cornrows. This request calls to mind the conversation which continues into 2019 regarding appropriation of African culture. Although the white woman may not have been putting effort into supporting double standards, her request for cornrows without fully understanding and appreciating the background and struggles behind the hairstyle is perpetrating a problem. As a white woman, she may feel as though she is supporting African culture. In actuality, she is pushing aside a hairstyle that has prevented women from being hired and has given them the label of "ghetto" in favor of seeming cultured.
ReplyDeleteWe also see this when she recommends the book "Things Fall Apart" to understand African culture, which Ifemelu makes clear is strongly inaccurate and if anything supports the vision of whites as superior. The white woman, however, acts as though she fully understands African culture and plans to vacation to Congo, Kenya, and Tanzania.
It is scenes such as this, dinner parties, and Barack Obama's election which Adiche uses to highlight the underlying bias in white Americans. She notes that they use African culture in order to seem unbiased or enlightened, but ultimately feel it is their job to ensure African culture is "helped" or "showcased" in a way which makes them comfortable and confirms their superiority.