A Private Experience - Literary Analysis

A Private Experience is a short story written by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and tells the
story of two women during an ethno-religious conflict. The story captures a harmonic
encounter between two women of contrasting origin, and explores the protagonist’s, Chika’s,
thoughts during this event. Adichie is a Nigerian writer, and has appeared on several channels,
including TED, where she has spoken about issues along the lines of race, feminism, and
identity. In the short story, Chika and the woman take refuge in an old shop, sitting down and
trying to pass the time in a pleasant way. They get to know each other on a personal level, and
Chika gets to examine the woman’s nipples, as well as witness her praying, which Chika
considers to be a private experience. After a few hours, Chika decides to go home, yet the
woman stops her, as she sees that Chika’s leg is bleeding. The Muslim woman quickly takes
off her scarf and ties it around Chika’s leg. Chika ends up staying for an anxious night and
wakes up to the woman saying the rioters are gone. Chika unties the scarf from her leg, and
hands it back to the woman. The woman accepts the scarf and is on her way out of the store,
as Chika stops her, asking for the scarf. The woman, although seemingly hesitant about it,
hands over the scarf, smiles, and leaves Chika in the shop.

The riots are happening in the city of Kona, and the two women are hiding away in an old,
dusty shop. The introduction describes the shop as:

… it was deserted long before the riots started; the empty rows of wooden shelves are
covered in yellow dust, as are the metal paint containers stacked in a corner. The store is
small, smaller than Chika’s walk-in closet back home.

Both women are against the riots, and are worried about someone outside of the shop. Chika
is thinking about her sister Nnedi, and is trying to think of her time at university with her. The
woman is thinking of her children, especially Halima, whom she had taken with her to the
market. The women share the same feelings, thus creating a sense of sympathy and
understanding despite their contradicting origins. In opposition to their macrosocial situation,
they have created trust and bonding through private experiences, as Chika would have
described. The Muslim woman feels safe enough to pray and even take her scarf fully of,
which are both personal experiences. Thus a sense of safety in an unknown environment is
created. Their bond would not appear in a conventional setting, so the setting, meaning the
presence of the riot as well as the hideaway in the shop, is essential to the storyline. The non-
physical setting is very overwhelming, as it varies from intense feelings of fear to feelings of
comfort, friendship and bonding.

Chika is the main character of the story. She has come from the US to visit her aunt in
Nigeria. She is from the middle class, and has the opportunity to study medicine. Her sister
Nnedi is politically engaged, as mentioned several times throughout the story, for example by
the end of the second page, where Chika imagines Nnedi in a safe space:

And she wonders, too, if she mentioned school only to feed herself the reality she needs now—
that Nnedi is not lost in an insane riot, that Nnedi is safe somewhere, probably laughing in
her easy, mouth-all-open way, probably making one of her political arguments. Like how
Africa’s problems would be solved if all the nations adopted the detribalized, pan-African
socialism of Julius Nyerere. Or how the huge popularity of blond hair attachments was a
direct, traceable result of British colonialism.

Earlier, we also get to know how little of politics and social science Chika actually knows:

… she knows nothing about riots; the closest she has come is the pro-democracy rally at the
university, where she held a bright green branch and joined in chanting, “The Military Must
Go!” and “Democracy Now!” Besides, she would not even have participated in that rally if
her sister, Nnedi, had not been one of the organizers.

This clearly shows the main difference between Nnedi and Chika, and pinpoints how
unknowledgeable, and therefore confused, Chika is. She also longs for her sister, as illustrated
in:

Chika says nothing, wondering if that is all the woman thinks of the riots, if that is all she sees
it as—evil. She wishes Nnedi were here; she imagines the cocoa brown of Nnedi’s eyes
lighting up, her lips moving quickly, explaining that things like this riot do not happen in a
vacuum, that religion and ethnicity are often politicized, that British colonialism created a
country that was never meant to be. Then Chika feels a prick of guilt for wondering if this
woman’s mind is large enough to grasp any of that.

This paragraph also shows that, even though Chika is feeling as belittled as she is, she still
questions the foreign woman’s ability to understand her privileged life. Directly afterwards,
though, she senses a feel of remorse because of her prejudiced thinking. Thus one can get the
impression that Chika is good at heart, but struggles to put that into practice as she is living a
privileged life herself. This statement could be reaffirmed in:

She hardly lies, but the few times she does, there is always a purpose behind the lie. Now, she
wonders what purpose this lie serves… Later, she will wonder why she lied to the woman,
why she felt the need to draw on a fictional past similar to the woman’s.

We know that Chika practically never lies, unless it is for a good cause. This is generally
considered to be a good value, thus making Chika seem more lovable, as we get to see how
kind-hearted she actually is. It is also stated that Chika will speculate about why she lied to
the woman to make their experiences more similar and tried to make up a background that
feels more familiar to the foreign woman. Through that lie she might have tried to make the
woman feel more comfortable, maybe even make herself seem more believable. We often
trust other people more if we are more like them, and this might have been exactly what
Chika’s subconscious was aiming for.

The Hausa, Muslim woman accompanies Chika in the shop. She is from the lower class and
has 6 children. She has no education, and sells onions, melons and groundnuts. She lost one of
her daughters at the marketplace during the riot, and is worrying about her. The woman is
quite generous, as she offers Chika both her wrapper to sit on and, later, her own scarf that she
has used to cover her hair. The very start of the story consists of her helping Chika to find
shelter in the store, even though the woman did not know who Chika was, or which side of
the riot Chika was on. We know that the woman has experienced several riots before, as she is
giving advice so confidently that she must be certain of the possibilities:

“We will be fine here,” the woman says, in a voice that is so soft it sounds like a whisper.
“They won’t go to small shops like this. They will go to big buildings and the market.”

Her experience and therefore knowledge on riots is reaffirmed when Chika is hesitant to
sitting down on the wrapper.

“Sit,” the woman says. “We will be here a while.”

“Do you have an idea how long … ?”

“We should stay at least until tonight, or tomorrow morning.”

Both Chika and the woman are warm-hearted people, yet the trait has different origins.
Chika’s kindness may have been manifested through her inexperience and innocence, as she
has never witnessed anything similar to a riot before. This privileged way of growing up may
have lead her to assume that everyone wishes others the best, not the other way around.
Therefore, she might have developed a well-wishing mindset of her own, yet her kindness
could be mistaken for naïveté. The woman’s kindness, however, may be rooted in her
personal experiences, as she has been living in a disadvantage. Her dependency on others may
have made herself more helpful and hospitable to strangers, as she may feel the need to return
the favor.

Another contrast between Chika and the woman can be noted in their social awareness.
Although Chika is academically educated, she does not possess much knowledge in politics or
culture, and therefore is left clueless when she is abandoned at the market. The woman,
although not academically educated, seems to know what to do and how the riot will play out.
This emphasizes how theoretical knowledge will never measure up to practical experience,
and how both women are intelligent in different fields.

The story calls out how ethno-religious conflicts harm the innocent population most, as well
as put attention on how two completely contradictory human beings can form such a strong
bond when put to the test. Humans are social organisms that need each other for comfort and
compassion, meaning that when a human is forced through a hard time, they need the comfort
and intimacy of other people. At the same time, they are willing to help others, as they
understand what the other person is going through. Chika and the woman find comfort in each
other, although their backgrounds are unfamiliar. The title, A Private Experience, can refer to
how, although the circumstances are new, the different women create a personal, private
bond. The story is easy to compare to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict today, as it is also ethno-
religious. In the story, as well as in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the ones that suffer the
most are the people, the blameless population that wants nothing more than a peaceful life.

The story is written in a way that enunciates humanity and compassion rather than and
informative text on the people’s experience during a conflict. Adichie achieves this through
focusing on the feelings and conversations of the main character, instead of offering a general
view on the topic. The title, A Private Experience, indicates that the story will be personal.
The story is written in chronological order, but we are offered some flash-forwards that helps
the reader understand the significance and impact of the character’s actions and thoughts. For
example, when Chika is dreaming about how it would be to be reunited with her sister,
Adichie gives the reader a flash-forward:

Later her family will offer Masses over and over for Nnedi to be found safe, never for the
repose of Nnedi’s soul.

We get to know that Chika and her family will not find Nnedi, therefore making the reader
feel even more sorrowful for Chika and her current situation. Because we get to know how
important Nnedi is for Chika, and we know that Nnedi will be lost, the feeling of grief is
emphasized before it even happens, thus creating stronger feelings for the reader.

By the end of the story, Chika leaves bringing two objects with her. Those objects are the
woman’s scarf, and a blood-stained rock she finds on the way home. When Chika is about to
leave the woman, the author gives us a flash-forward:

Later, as she walks home, she will pick up a stone stained the copper of dried blood and hold
the ghoulish souvenir to her chest. And she will realize then, in a strange flash while
clutching the stone, that she will never find Nnedi. But now, she turns to the woman and adds,
“May I keep your scarf? The bleeding may start again.”

These two objects are symbols for the two main themes put into a personal perspective. The
scarf symbolizes the bond that Chika and the woman had, the moments they spent together
and their mutual generosity. The scarf is an essential part of the woman’s outfit, as we can tell
that she is religious through her prayer and her remarks along the lines of:

“May Allah keep your sister and Halima safe,”

The scarf clearly has an important role in the woman’s religion and personal life, and the
woman’s willingness to give away the scarf shows the close bond between Chika and the
woman.

The blood-stained rock can be a symbol of the riot, and how it affects the people. The item
will remind Chika of her own experience during the conflict, as well as point out the people’s
suffering. We see it is linked to Nnedi in some way, as Chika will be clutching it when
thinking of her sister, and how Nnedi will never be found. The stone was used to foreshadow
Nnedis death, and can therefore also be a personal symbol of how the riot took Nnedi’s life,
separating the sisters permanently.

The story A Private Experience gives us a humane view upon an ethno-religious conflict. The
feelings and emotions of the main character are neatly demonstrated through well-used
literary devices like foreshadowing, flash-forwards, and symbolism. The storyline can easily
be compared to other present conflicts, thus creating familiarity and understanding within the
reader. Adichie’s short story offers a moral of kindness and generosity across cultures,
identities, and classes.

Sources:

A Private Experience, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, 2004