“Immigration inevitably involves error and revision. What I imagined it would be, its not. For better or worse, some mistake is unavoidable” – Siri Hustvedt. Discuss this opinion of immigration with reference to at least three characters in Amerincanah.
Americanah by Chimamande Ngozi Adichie - Study and Essay Guide
Grade 12 IEB Americanah Essay (3)
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Americanah Essays
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“Immigration inevitably involves error and revision. What I imagined it would
be, its not. For better or worse, some mistake is unavoidable” – Siri Hustvedt.
Discuss this opinion of immigration with reference to at least three characters
in Amerincanah.
The opinion given by Siri Hustvedt on immigration in the novel, Americanah, is
accurate. The opinion is precise as immigration, the action of coming to live
permanently in a foreign country, proves to be a difficult task according to the
novel. Aunty Uju moves to America, as does Ifemelu and both characters
have difficulty adjusting to their new lives. Obinze has challenging
experiences as he tries to become a British citizen.
The first character to leave Nigeria is Aunty Uju. After the mysterious death of
The General, his family turns on her and with no one to protect her she leaves
with her son. Aunty Uju, once in America, has to study, work three jobs and
battle financially. Once Ifemelu comes to America, Aunty Uju has had “her
spirit bleached of colour.”i She is a bitter women with a new “impatience … [a]
new prickliness.”ii Aunty Uju changes the pronunciation of her name and her
accent in order to sound more American. Later, after Aunty Uju asks Ifemelu
not to speak Igbo to Dike, Ifemelu realizes that “America had subdued her.” iii
Once Aunty Uju meets Bartholomew, she moves to Massachusetts with him.
In Massachusetts, she faces racism from her patients and collogues who
believe she is inferior because of her skin colour. Aunty Uju also struggles to
help Dike, who “just wants to be regular”iv as he is the only black child in his
class. It is clear to the reader that Aunty Uju struggles when adjusting to her
new life in America. She faces racism and discrimination from patients and
collogues, even after she becomes a citizen. Aunty Uju emphasises again that
“[she is] in a country that is not [her] own, [she must] do what [she must] if
[she] want[s] to succeed.”v
Ifemelu moves to America after she was offered a scholarship to study. When
she firsts arrives, she expects “the real America”vi to have people with “lives
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