Transculturalism In Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Americanah
The post-independence period in Nigeria during the 1980s and 1990s has been marked by massive economic and academic emigration to the stable and prosperous West (notably the United States of America and the UK). While the situation has been widely debated in the media and society, there have been few literary representations of the experiences of those contemporary emigrations. The theme of contemporary emigration effectively entered Nigerian literature in 2013 with the publication of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah and it is defined by its transcultural concerns. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s third novel Americanah takes us into the sojourns of her female protagonist Ifemelu and other Nigerian youngsters who try to escape the choicelessness of the Nigerian society in the 1990s. In this paper I am to provide a discussion …show more content…
The text imaginatively captures what it means to be an exile, an illegal migrant in a hostile Western culture. Jeff Lewis in his article, “From Culturalism to Transculturalism” tries to clarify the concept of transculturalism. Lewis argues that, By its emphasis on the problematic of contemporary culture, most particularly in terms of relationships, meaning-making and power formation... transculturalism is …show more content…
Adichie presents immigrant experiences as definitely traumatic which constitutes otherness. This in itself is an important theme in Americanah. It is here in America that Ginika, Ifemelu’s friend who is half-caste realises the complex nature of her colour and identity. While driving Ifemelu to Wellson Campus, Ginika recounted her early experiences to her friend in America: “‘I didn’t know I was supposed to have issues until I came to America. Honestly, if anybody wants to raise biracial kids, do it in Nigeria’ “(Americanah
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