americanah: examining characterization

To be able to understand this analysis, here is a list of all the characters indicated below and a brief summary of who they are, as well as their importance to the narrative from SparkNotes. 

(Source: https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/americanah/characters/)

IFEMELU

"The protagonist of the novel, a Nigerian woman who moves to America. Ifemelu is opinionated and disarmingly frank to the point that it gets her into trouble. Despite her stubbornness, Ifemelu’s journey to America is more an idea other people had for her than her own. Throughout the novel, she turns more to the markers of her true self, including her real accent, her natural hair, and a return to Nigeria."

OBINZE

"Ifemelu’s first love, a calm, thoughtful Nigerian man. Throughout the novel, Obinze is attracted to authenticity and he finds Ifemelu’s honesty and bluntness refreshing. As a youth, Obinze loves the idea of America and believes it to be the future. After seeing the obstacles Nigerians must go through to succeed in America and Britain, he resolves to stay in Nigeria. Obinze becomes wealthy and falls into a superficial marriage, but never falls out of love with Ifemelu."

CURT

"A wealthy white man full of energy and optimism who dates Ifemelu. He enjoys giving Ifemelu lavish gifts and taking her to exotic destinations, even making sure she is able to find employment after graduation. However, Curt is also possessive of Ifemelu, and unable to fully understand her."

BLAINE

"An earnest and justice-minded Black American man and a professor of political science. Blaine’s strong principles often lead to conflict in his dating relationship with Ifemelu."

EMENIKE

"A friend of Obinze’s from university who becomes patronizing upon growing his wealth in London, England."

PROMPT:

"Throughout the novel, we get to see several Nigerian characters in a new context; London. Choose one and explain how and why London has changed them, as well as how Adichie uses this new setting to highlight an aspect of the immigrant experience."

Through Adichie’s characterization of Emenike, we see how much London has changed him. This transformation is so apparent that Adichie writes that he was “completely absorbed by his own disguise”, symbolizing Emenike trying to suppress his Nigerian identity by embracing his new position in London society. When Obinze visits Emenike at his home, visual imagery is used when describing his dining table, with ceramic plates that are “chipped at the edges” showing how Emenike's new facade is flawed and that Obinze sees through him. Tactile imagery is used when Adichie describes the feeling of a flower floating on water, it is delicate and subtle, representing the two identities that Emenike tries to balance. He pretends to be the same person with Obinze, but needs to fit into his new life at the same time, like a flower floating on the surface of the water. He can’t be submerged into one identity, finding balance on the surface of both. Finally, indirect characterization is used when Emenike’s friend Mark is described by Obinze. Mark is also a part of the upper class that Emenike tries to fit into, showing that while society may view him as “superior” to Obinze, the way Obinze describes Mark shows how he may actually feel bad for him. There is no envy or jealousy at all. This can translate to the way that Obinze feels about Emenike himself. While he may have more material possessions now, he hates the way London has changed him.

PROMPT:

"Compare and contrast Curt and Blaine"

Curt and Blaine are very different people, although Ifemelu is drawn to the both of them for the same reason. Even seen through her relationship with Obinze, we as readers realize that she gravitates towards people who are educated, as well as those who have strong convictions. Both Curt and Blaine are educated men with strong convictions, just in different ways and about different things, as they come from very different worlds. Blaine is the social justice warrior who makes Ifemelu feel bad for not caring about equal rights protests and the struggle of Black Americans. Instead of understanding that Ifemelu is "American African" and didn’t even consider herself Black until a few years prior, Blaine tries to shame Ifemelu for her contrasting ideals. Since Blaine was born in America, he grew up experiencing racism all his life, which is what now makes him so passionate about issues concerning race. Curt on the other hand is totally oblivious to the race problem in America, not even realizing that popular women’s magazines have no Black women featured in them or any products (eg. lipstick, foundation, hair care, etc) that cater to the Black community. However, he is a man that knows how to get around in life, how to be successful and he has connections that allow him to get ahead. His knowledge revolves around his privilege, but nevertheless, he knows what it means to achieve the ultimate American dream, which is a form of being educated in its own right. Similarity, it’s interesting to see how both men try to mold Ifemelu into becoming similar versions of themselves. They each want her to be an active participant in the very different lifestyles they have, Curt’s being of privilege and Blaine’s of social awareness. Though in the end, we see that Ifemelu ultimately rejects both and prefers to live her own truth by returning to Nigeria to be with Obinze, a partner who has never tried to change Ifemelu and one who truly understands her background.