AFROPOLITANISM IN CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE’S AMERICANAH

Abstract

This paper applies the concept of “Afropolitanism” promulgated by Taiye Selasi in her essay “Bye-Bye Babar” (or: What is an Afropolitan?) in 2005, to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s novel Americanah. Selasi in her essay blends the words “cosmopolitan” and “Africa”, and coins a new term “Afropolitan” which discusses the life of native Africans who live on various continents other than Africa. The novel deals with the life of two Nigerian teenagers Ifemelu and Obinze, who aspire to further their education in America. Ifemelu gets visa and goes to America, while Obinze is refused, he ends up going to England. Both of them struggle in the first world country to create an identity of their own in the midst of cultural and community clashes. All the characters of the novel, who have immigrated to the first world countries, adopt the new culture and new life style. This paper describes the national, cultural and racial identity of Afropolitans in relevance to the novel. It also examines the cultural hybridity seen in the new generation Africans settled in different urban centers. The study further states that despite hybridity of cultures, the Africans have strong bonding for their roots.

Keywords

afropolitanism, cosmopolitan identity, cultural hybridity, african bond.

Works Cited:

(1). Adichie, Chimamanda N. Americanah. London: Harper Collins, 2013. Print.
(2). Bhutto, Fatima. “Rev. of Ghana Must Go, by Taiye Selasi.” The Financial Times, 9 April 2013. Web. 22 Feb. 2017.
(3). Clark, Alex. “Where Colour Matters Most of all.” Rev. of Americanah, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. The Guardian Weekly. U.K: Guardian News & Media 188 (2013): 34-35. Print.
(4). Gnanamony, S. Robert. “Diasporan Divided Souls and Identity, Constituting in Jummpa Lahiri’s The Namesake.”Seva-Bharathi Journal of English Studies 3 (2007): 55-65. Print.
(5). Selasi, Taiye. “Bye-Bye Babar.” LIP 5 (2005): n. pag. Web. 12 Jan 2017.
(6). Shukla, Sheobushan, and Anu Shukla. Migrant Voices in Literatures in English. New Delhi: Sarup and Sons, 2006. Print.

To cite this article

Shoba Jini, V. (2018). Afropolitanism in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s AMERICANAH. Sparkling International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research Studies, 1(1), 24-29.