“Palm Oil”; The Ingredient of Guilt The American Embassy by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie represents how motherhood forces the mother to stay behind for her son. The author first shows signs of motherhood when The short story begins with the narrator being in line to get a visa to America. As she was standing in line, she was “trying to keep her mind blank”, trying not to grieve her son. When she did finally start thinking of Nnamdi, “she wanted to laugh and tell him not to play with the palm oil” (220). Nnamdi’s quick death makes it harder for the mother to accept the fact that he has passed. Her grief leads her to almost make a joke of the very serious and scary situation. The motherhood theme is evident when she is “trying.” She is
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She “wanted to laugh”, but she couldn’t anymore because she was overdue. Another way that motherhood is seen is when the soldiers kill Nnamdi. When they came to capture the narrator’s husband, they break into their house and assault the narrator. As they prepare to leave, Nnamdi “started to cry” (223), and a soldier pulled the trigger. “... the gun went off and the palm oil splash appeared on Nnamdi’s chest” (223). The symbol of the palm oil represents the denial the mother feels after losing her child. Nnamdi’s mother sees the cooking ingredient splashed on Nnamdi’s chest. She does not see it as blood. The motherhood instincts cause her to not see her dying child, but instead the cheerful and playful son she had. She forces herself to imagine her son is still alive, and that she can be a better mother. At the end of the story, Adichie uses the palm oil once again to represent the mother’s denial. As she is talking with the visa interviewer, Nnamdi’s mom is debating on getting the visa to America. Instead, she thinks of her son once more and the “palm oil” on his shirt. “A face that did not understand her, that probably did not cook with palm oil” (229). The “palm oil”
She “wanted to laugh”, but she couldn’t anymore because she was overdue. Another way that motherhood is seen is when the soldiers kill Nnamdi. When they came to capture the narrator’s husband, they break into their house and assault the narrator. As they prepare to leave, Nnamdi “started to cry” (223), and a soldier pulled the trigger. “... the gun went off and the palm oil splash appeared on Nnamdi’s chest” (223). The symbol of the palm oil represents the denial the mother feels after losing her child. Nnamdi’s mother sees the cooking ingredient splashed on Nnamdi’s chest. She does not see it as blood. The motherhood instincts cause her to not see her dying child, but instead the cheerful and playful son she had. She forces herself to imagine her son is still alive, and that she can be a better mother. At the end of the story, Adichie uses the palm oil once again to represent the mother’s denial. As she is talking with the visa interviewer, Nnamdi’s mom is debating on getting the visa to America. Instead, she thinks of her son once more and the “palm oil” on his shirt. “A face that did not understand her, that probably did not cook with palm oil” (229). The “palm oil”