In class this past Tuesday, we discussed the role of race and identity in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah. Although I did not choose to answer this reading question in my own response, after listening to others I began to think about the idea of “becoming American” and “becoming black” in the novel.
Ifemelu is identified as black for the first time by others when she migrates to the United States to pursue her education. Ifemelu and Obinze are both given the documents of other “black” individuals who are legal to work be cause people, particularly white people, don’t notice the difference. This is reflective of how fundamental race is as a factor of perceived identity in the U.S. Ifemelu must learn to navigate these racialized dynamics, at times both conforming to and also rebelling against her assigned “blackness.” However, upon returning back to Nigeria, she is viewed as having “become American,” though she most identifies with Nigeria as her home. …show more content…
She seems to occupy a space in between racial and nationality categories that cannot be explained by terms like “American,” “black,” or “Nigerian” though she is forced to take on all of these labels at one time or another. Upon thinking about this further, I am reminded of Chandre Talpade Mohanty’s discussion of the concept of “Third World women” in Cartographies of Struggle: Third World Women and the Politics of Feminism. Like other scholars have, Mohanty problematizes the notion of labels like “First World” and “Third World” and the limiting and counterproductive dichotomy that arises as a result of such
Ifemelu is identified as black for the first time by others when she migrates to the United States to pursue her education. Ifemelu and Obinze are both given the documents of other “black” individuals who are legal to work be cause people, particularly white people, don’t notice the difference. This is reflective of how fundamental race is as a factor of perceived identity in the U.S. Ifemelu must learn to navigate these racialized dynamics, at times both conforming to and also rebelling against her assigned “blackness.” However, upon returning back to Nigeria, she is viewed as having “become American,” though she most identifies with Nigeria as her home. …show more content…
She seems to occupy a space in between racial and nationality categories that cannot be explained by terms like “American,” “black,” or “Nigerian” though she is forced to take on all of these labels at one time or another. Upon thinking about this further, I am reminded of Chandre Talpade Mohanty’s discussion of the concept of “Third World women” in Cartographies of Struggle: Third World Women and the Politics of Feminism. Like other scholars have, Mohanty problematizes the notion of labels like “First World” and “Third World” and the limiting and counterproductive dichotomy that arises as a result of such