Negotiation of cultural identities in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah

Abstract

The Nigerian literature illuminates on the experiences of migration which makes a person oscillate between two different places. The novel describes the formative process of Ifelmu and Obinze who fall in love in Nigeria and migrate to the west,and they ultimately reunite in Nigeria after fifteen long years. The article explores the negotiation of cultural identity in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s novel the Americanah (2013). The Protagonist and other minor characters questions identity, sense of belonging and they try being as positive models through a negative stereotypical society. The characters undergo a redemptive process through migration as they encounter problem with Race, Language and Hair which culturally connects them to the roots. The article attempts to showcase how culture gets fragmented in the global world where the notion of identity becomes an ever changing factor. As the characters undergo changes because of the convoluted identity they struggle to thrive in their hardships. The article also attempts to focus on how negative attitudes and approaches reminds them of their past and develops a positive attitude enabling them to create an identity for themselves in a diasporic society.