Examples Of Assimilation In Americah By Adichie

The question of who we are and where we fit into society is a very prominent issue as we try to navigate our lives, which is often times a theme portrayed in literature. There are countless novels in which the main character is on a quest to find his or her identity. More so, this question becomes even more important to immigrants, as they are not only trying to adapt to a new country itself, but they are also trying to adapt to the culture and ideologies of said country. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, in her novel Americanah, highlights this very idea of migration and assimilation through various characters’ lives. In Adichie’s novel, Americanah, a young woman named Ifemelu migrates from her home country of Nigeria to the United States on a student
For example, this idea can be seen when Ifemelu decides to relax and straighten her hair for a job interview at the suggest of her career service counselor, Ruth. She goes to a salon after after a failed attempt of relaxing her own hair at home. The stylist, upon relaxing and straightening her hair, comments: “But look how pretty it is. Wow, girl, you’ve got the white-girl swing!” (251). Ifemelu’s decision to relax her hair shows that societal pressure of conformity convinces her that she has to change her physical appearance to try and get a job. Although, despite her physical change, she still has a feeling that she does not totally form to America’s societal pressures. This idea can be seen in the text after the hairstylist unveils her new hairdo, “She left the salon almost mournfully; while the hair-dresser had flat-ironed her the ends, the smell of burning, of something organic dying which should not have died, had made her feel a sense of loss” (251). This quote alludes to the personal loss she feels to a part of her previous identity; as she becomes more americanized—or “Americanah”—she loses part of her former Nigerian