“I think you travel to search and you come back home to find yourself there.” - Chimamanda
Ngozi Adichie. Discuss Adiche’s statement in the light of the journeys undertaken by the
characters in Americanah.
Adichie suggests that when travelling, one is searching but when one returns home, one will find
oneself there. This will be shown through an analysis of Ifemelu as she leaves America after many
years to return to Nigeria, Obinze as he returns to Nigeria after being deported from London and,
in opposition to the experiences of Ifemelu and Obinze, Emenike as he leaves Nigeria and finds
himself in London.
Ifemelu attends school and university in Nigeria. At the chance Ifemelu is able to study in America
and receive a visa, she fiercely seizes the opportunity and moves to America. Ifemelu is, at first,
overwhelmed by America. While Ifemelu is in America, she learns that she had not been ‘black’
until she came to America. It is clear to her “that race was not embroiled in the fabric of her
history.” “It was the commercials that captivated her… lives full of bliss, where all problems had
sparkling solutions in shampoos and cars and packaged foods … they became the real America,”
but after “discover[ing] race in America,” she starts a blog because “[race] fascinated her.”
Although America has provided Ifemelu with material and professional success, she is drawn back
to Nigeria. Upon her return, Ifemelu finds herself “somehow irrevocably altered by America.” “At
first, Lagos assaulted her,” this is in contrast to Princeton’s “smell of nothing.” Ifemelu’s
homesickness for Nigeria causes her to return home even though Ranyinudo becomes her
unintentional tour guide for Ifemelu’s return to her homeland.
Similarly, Ifemelu has two long-term boyfriends in America, Curt and Blaine. Curt is privileged,
white male who has never faced hardship. Curt is able to help Ifemelu with employment and green
card but “that was what Curt had given her, this gift of contentment, of ease”. Yet, “she had
slipped out of her old skin” with Curt, in contrast to the “self-affection” she felt when she was with
Obinze. Blaine is an older, black professor who is an impressive academic and well-informed
about everything. Ifemelu and Blaine “bypass[ed] several steps, ignore several unknowns and
slide into an immediate intimacy.” However, Obinze remains “her first love, her lover, the only
person with whom she had never felt the need to explain herself” and this becomes clear when
she suggested that referring “to [him] as an ex, that flippant word that said nothing and meant
nothing.” Clearly, Ifemelu finds her heartsickness and homesickness as ease when she returns to
Nigeria, her homeland, and thus finds herself at home with Obinze.
Obinze, as a young boy, was encapsulated with America. He read books about America and
watched television shows about America. Later, he is denied an American visa on more than one
occasion. When his mother is invited to an academic conference in London, she lies in order to
get Obinze a visa to England, in the hope the country will open doors for him. His experience with
his immigration is less successful than Ifemelu’s. “Obinze became Vincent” after his visa expires
so that he can work illegally and pay for a fake marriage to Cleotilde. At his wedding, when he
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