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A Comparison between Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Americanah and Daramola Israel, How I Became A Southern-Fried Nigerian

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A Comparison between Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Americanah and Daramola Israel, How I Became A Southern-Fried Nigerian

Race and Racialism

The essay How I Became A Southern-Fried Nigerian, has helped in understanding the Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Adichie, in the narration through the flashbacks addresses the issue of racism amongst the Africans in Americans who are regarded as Black Americans.  Race has been a pertinent issue in the social fabric in America. In the quest for identity, individuals often affiliate themselves on racial lines so as to have a sense of belonging.  In the essay, Moses in a quest for identity tries to learn some songs affiliated with the Southerners in the region (Daramola, 2016). He loathes the affiliation with Americanisms and instead opts for the association with black Americans. He learns a few of the vocabulary commonly used in the South. However, he fails to find the ultimate solution to identity in  regarding himself as a Black American.

            College is an eye –opener for Moses. He meets for the first time in his adult life, diverse groups of Black people who are not afraid of their identity.  Racial issues become deep rooted as people are affiliated to their cultural backgrounds (Daramola, 2016). He finds blacks from Nigeria who are not afraid to be affiliated to their home town. He finally gets his true identity as a liberating component for his search for belonging.  He gets associated with a Blacks group comprising of Nigerian Yoruba speakers. He goes to an extent of looking for the traditional dress code to show off his identity. The essay sheds light on the kind of challenges that immigrants have on race issues as Adichie reveals in her novel Americanah.

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             Adichie uses thoughtful and critical interaction of a young girl with her life story in  United States to express the perception of all Blacks as African – Americans despite their varying identities. At the start of the novel, the author introduces Ifemelu, a fellowship writer travelling from Princeton town to a nearby town, Trenton , New Jersey. The introduction of the novel brings about the main theme of race and identity on immigrants in United States. Ifemelu, has had a harsh experience as a young immigrant in New York in terms of work and love issues. She is travelling to a cheaper town to get her braids down before she goes back to America. Here, the author presents the struggles that immigrants have in getting jobs as well as fulfilling the American dream as envisioned by many immigrants.  Adichie (2013) brings in the reflections of the young girl as she sits in the salon. She has struggles with hair, culture, language and money.  African differs from whites in the native language. Different speakers accent connect to their racial identities. As such, it is hard for one to bypass the differences among persons based on their spoken English.

            Ifemelu, comes to consider herself Black due to the experiences she had in New Jersey.  The Hegemonic perceptions of the race is different from the American White’s thought as well as the American Blacks thought(Adichie, 2013) As earlier illustrated  in the essay, racial profiling in USA positions the African Americans as all Black people despite of their origin. Often, they are considered as a group of a lower caste in the society.  Interestingly, the American Blacks consider Ifemelu as an authentic black (Adichie, 2013).  Ifemelu finds this new identity of being Black as distinctly different from her early though on African- Americanism. In a conversation with Shan, she describes herself as getting more interest from Whites than African Americans to which Shan attributes to her authentic black roots.

            The issue of race arises when Ifemelu starts dating a white wealthy man, Curt, whose relationship her mother disapproves.  Adichie (2013) describes the disapproval as based on the physique of Curt. Ifemelu describes the disapproval as based on “the kind of white he was, the untamed golden hair and handsome face, the athlete’s body, the sunny charm and the smell, around him, of money.”  The  race challenge is cross cultural as it affects individuals across both races and not just directed to the  Black community. Despite their ongoing love relationship, Curt seems to disapprove the original beauty that Ifemelu possessed. Being black did not limit Ifemelu from wearing out her hair in her desired style. The issue of hair style was a bone of contention in her relationship with Curt. He could not understand why Ifemelu wore her hair in a singed scalp.  Ifemelu has to bear with daily comments on what the Americanisms reacts to hair that project Africanisms. The life of Ifemelu helps understand the racial challenges in the United States. Adichie (2013) , tries to bring the solution of the racial issues through romantic connections. Nevertheless, the romantic connections such as Curt and Ifemelu are still filled with the racial sentiments.

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             Ifemelu finds out that race can be a hidden component in her conversation with other people as sometimes it may pass as demeaning of the other person. She goes to work for a White woman who is simply not comfortable with race so as to admit that Ifemelu is Black(Adichie, 2013).  The openness created by Ifemelu once she tells the woman that she can actually say that she is Black develops into a friendship.  She finds honesty as the thread knitting their friendship. Unlike in Africa, Nigeria, Ifemelu finds out that saying one is Black is not easy in America  as not all Black people are considered beautiful. Ifemelu brings on the issue of gendered racialism. Black women are perceived in terms of their looks and the textual of their hair. In another scenario, Ifemelu, finds herself admiring a White woman in a miniskirt since  her legs are largely accepted in the her surrounding( Adichie, 2013). Black women, such as Ifemelu, experience more criticism on their identity.

             The gendered racial challenges emerge as part of Ifemelu’s history of her upbringing. Her family was subjected to poverty after her father was dismissed from his workplace for failure to call the boss, Mummy (Adichie, 2013). The novel illustrates how the Nigerian society is highly stratified on the issues of race with patriarchal dominance. Women were supposed to be under men. Thus, even in highly professional set ups, the women bosses could not be afforded by the male employees the same kind of respect that the men bosses were given. Both the white and the Black races did look down on the place of the woman in the society. The black woman was a victim of gendered racialism in the White and Black societies.

             The racial challenges are seen to be experienced among Black Americans and other authentically black persons.  Black Americans perceive that the Black persons would be more in understanding of their intrinsic struggles (Adichie, 2013).  Blaine, feels disappointed with Ifemelu after she fails to understand the discrimination against Mr. White. The   horrific treatment of the Blacks by the Whites is evident, but to Ifemelu, the treatment can never be something that can be taken personal.

             The novel places the experiences of two characters, Ifemelu and Obinze in Nigeria and in America to contrast their experiences within the two countries on issues of race. Racial profiling targets more on women in both societies as compared to men. Obinze tends to be less harsh in his attribution of race, partly due to his experience that may be less dehumanizing as compared to Ifemelu experience. Eventually, the Americanah, are described as a group of individuals who refuse to remain true to their identity  and resort to speaking English even after their return to Nigeria from America.

Authenticity

             In the Essay, Moses tries to hide his identity in school through posing as a Southerner ( African-American).  Despite his assertion, that there was no single moment that he never considered himself as Black, there are many instances where in order to flee from being humiliated on the basis of race, he hid behind the Southerners title (Daramola, 2016). The  turnaround in Moses life came upon his admission in college. He met a group of Nigerians, of Yoruba descent just like him who were not afraid of their racial identity. They could use some of the Yoruba words amidst their conversation. Moses friends in college influenced him positively as he grew a liking of his original Nigerian identity. Ideally, Moses discarded the southerner affiliation and clung to the new found identity. Eventually, he found liberation in being known as a Nigerian of a Yoruba descent.

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            In the Novel, several characters find true joy and happiness in being authentic. The untruths despite being unbearable become worse if they are being untold. Aunt Uju refusal to tell Dike about General, his father leads Dike to assume that his father did not love him (Adichie, 2013).  Just like other life events, immigrations containing a  lot of falsehoods is entwined with harrowing experiences.  Immigrants get into marriage where there is no love so as to have legal citizenships in their new states.  Also, immigrants go to the extent of using other people’s work permit to get legal employment. However, the joys of earning is short-lived as the document holder keeps on making demands on the immigrant and may end up reporting him or her to the authorities eventually leading to deportation.

             Honesty as envisioned in the relationship between Obinze and Ifemelu brings much joy. Obinze describes Ifemelu as being honest in her sexuality as not pretending to be like other girls who no man has laid a hand on them( Adichie, 2013). Despite being away from each other for a while, upon Ifemelu return to Nigeria, the two lovers still have emotional connection which they do not deny. Obinze asserts that it is just not enough for his children to grow up in a home where there is no love among the parents. He finally divorces his wife and chooses to spend the rest of his life with Ifemelu.  Further on, Obinze acknowledges the strain that his divorce has on Kosi and Buchi. He opts to face the uncomfortable truths and address the issues concerning them as a lead to long term happiness.

Language

             Language is an important element to the immigrants. In the Essay, Language, including accent, is often attributed as a sign of race, social class and assimilation. Moses seems to identify with the Southerners in his high school years as is evidenced by the development of an accent. Later on, when he gets to college, he chooses to use Yoruba words as a sign of his Nigerian origin (Daramola, 2016).   The use of Southern Language was a sign of him being Americanah signifying his assimilation in a new culture. Also, it was an evidence of the social class as the Southerners were higher in the social class as compared to Africans.  The spoken language containing accents could help in relating on the racial background of a person and looking into the various dynamics surrounding the comments on the use of the specific language.

             In the novel, Adichie (2013) describes Ifemelu father speaking with an accent as opposed to other Nigerian men in his workplace. Ifemelu attributes the use of academic words in his father’s speech as a consequence of missing out on the higher education. The fellow men in the workplace speak pidgin English but they remain highly Nigerian in vocabulary. Ifemelu experience in America was based on various kinds of comments on the language she used. Initially, she chose to speak with an accent. She was often told that she had been assimilated. The comments kept her off leading to  her speaking of English language just as she learnt it in school. Her relationship with Obinze was fruitful in the initial phases due to their ability to use proverbs in Igbo.

Books and Education

             Education is transformative in the view that other people possess regarding race, identity and even language use. Also, it plays a major role in the determination of the books that are deemed as useful or not.  Moses, prior to college education, did not have anything to do with his Yoruba identity. As such, he stuck to his Southerner traits so that he could easily pass as an African American person (Daramola, 2016).  Education helps broaden his understanding on the issue of identity. He changes his affiliation to Southerners and becomes true to his identity as a Yoruba from Nigeria. The realization is like an escape from a false assertion that is liberating in its own way. The change in Moses life and his choice of following his true identity helps understand the choice of books in the novel by Ifemelu.

             Ifemelu, being a highly educated woman values books highly. However, throughout the novel she is often told that she values the wrong type of books. As a teen, Obinze tries to make her read the books that he likes such as on America or by American authors. Blaine, tries to get Ifemelu to read literature books that are of a higher caliber than the ones she has. Ifemelu gets embarrassed when dating Curt due to the kinds of magazines she is in too such as the Essence. He finds the magazines a bit racially skewed.  Shan, Blaine’s sisters questions the achievement of racial book in the country.  Just like in the essay, education enables the beholder to make liberating decisions on the personal preferences free from the interference of others. Adichie compilation of the book is an affirmation that education can bring the naysayers down.

Identity

            Identity is a central theme in migration of people from their native land and their ultimate settling in foreign countries.  Daramola (2016) explores the identity challenge through presentation of the life events of Moses. He posits the question whether identity is through birth name or birthplace.  Moses, despite being born of Nigerian parents, has spent most of his life in the United States. As such, he has little connection to his native country. On the other hand, Moses is born in the United States and experiences life in much similar ways as the original inhabitants of the country. Eventually, he states “ I once felt torn between Nigeria and Florida, between jollof rice and fried alligator, but there is no real me without both.”. His assertion describes a situation of lack of true identity. There can never be a blend of two identities. One must choose the kind of identity they want to be linked with.  The essay helps in understanding the issue of identity in the novel.

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             Americanah, construes the concept of identity as dependent on how others view us.  Some characters conform to the perceived identity while others become true to themselves and refuse to conform to the societal expectations.  In the novel, identity is formed as people let go of the old identities and form new ones. Ifemelu, the main character undergoes a change of identity. Prior to her going to America, she had a different perception on race and herself worth. However, once Christina Tomas talked to her in a calm voice assuming that she does not understand English since she was Black the result was demeaning.  Her self worth deteriorated due to the identity associated with her African nature.  Auntie Uju, after experiencing America has become a watered version of herself. She becomes less passionate and spiritless. She goes on to agree to marry a man that treats her terribly. The immigrants are accorded with a lower social status identity since the whites consider them to being from an inferior race. Eventually most of  the Immigrants have feelings of worthless in the foreign countries. Adichie throughout the novel, portrays the manner in which power and wealth have the ability of transforming and manipulating identities.

            Eventually, the essay, How I Became A Southern-Fried Nigerian by Daramola Israel has helped in expounding and understanding the concepts in the novel Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. The immigrants African- American experience a myriad of issues in settling in foreign countries. Identity formation construed by societal set classes may help in improving the identities of the immigrants or in worsening their identities. Language remains the basic element of expression that can be used in race identity. Through the two literal readings, it is evident that honesty in being authentic to one’s background helps in fulfillment of long-term happiness. Truth is the basis of all the honest dealings across the cultural backgrounds. Untold truths in establishment of identities may bring more harm than lies.

Reference

Adichie, C. N. (2014). Americanah. New York, N.Y: Anchor Books, a division of Random House LLC.

Daramola, I (2016) How I Became A Southern-Fried Nigerian

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