THIS PRESENTATION WILL INCLUDE

1. WOMEN WITHIN THIS NOVEL.

2. INSTANCES OF WOMAN EMPOWERMENT IN THE NOVEL.

3. CHALLENGES FACED BY THE PROTAGONIST AS A WOMAN.

4. CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE’S BACKSTORY.

WOMEN WITHIN THE NOVEL.
“AMERICANAH”, WRITTEN BY CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE INCLUDES
THE STORY OF THE LIFE OF THE PROTAGONIST, IFEMELU IN THE UNITED
STATES OF AMERICA AND THE VARIOUS DIFFICULTIES FACED BY HER
BEING A WOMAN, AN IMMIGRANT, AND A PERSON OF COLOUR. IN MY
PRESENTATION, I WILL ONLY BE ANALYSING THE ASPECTS OF THE NOVEL
THAT HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE PORTRAYAL OF SEVERAL
WOMEN WITHIN THE NOVEL AND LOOKING AT HOW THE AUTHOR
INCLUDES ELEMENTS THAT EMPOWER THE GENDER IN SEVERAL
POSITIVE WAYS.
 IFEMELU
IFEMELU IS ONE OF THE PROTAGONISTS OF THE NOVEL.
THE CONTENTS OF THE NOVEL REVOLVE AROUND HER
LIFE WITHIN THE STATES AND THE VARIOUS
DIFFICULTIES SHE FACED. OUT OF ALL THE WOMEN THAT
PLAY A PREDOMINANT ROLE IN THE NOVEL, IFEMELU IS
PORTRAYED TO BE THE MOST “EMPOWERED” WITHIN
THE NOVEL.
  IFEMELU’S INITIATION OF RELATIONSHIP.
DURING KAYODE’S PARTY WHERE OBINZE WAS FIRST INTRODUCED
AS A CHARACTER IN THE NOVEL, THAT LED TO THE LONG
RELATIONSHIP HELD BETWEEN IFEMELU AND OBINZE, IFEMELU
BREAKS ALL STEREOTYPES BY INITIATING THE RELATIONSHIP BY
BLATANT WORDS SPOKEN BY HER “AREN’T WE GOING TO KISS?”.
THIS SHOWS IFEMELU TO BE A STRONG-WILLED, INDEPENDENT,
PRECOCIOUS WOMAN BECAUSE ACCORDING TO SOCIETAL CUSTOMS,
IT IS USUALLY THE MAN IN THE RELATIONSHIP THAT INITIATES ANY
FORM OF AN INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP.
 CHEATING ON CURT.
THROUGHOUT A MAJOR PART OF THE NOVEL, IFEMELU IS SEEN TO HAVE ENGAGED IN
A ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP WITH A CAUCASIAN MALE BY THE NAME CURT.
UNFORTUNATELY, THE RELATIONSHIP ENDED WHEN IFEMELU CHEATED ON CURT BY
ENGAGING IN A CASUAL, SEXUAL ENCOUNTER WITH ANOTHER MAN DURING THE
TIME OF THEIR RELATIONSHIP. HERE, IFEMELU IS PORTRAYED AS AN INDEPENDENT
WOMAN, CAPABLE OF MAKING HER OWN DECISIONS, WHETHER IT IS
CONSTRUCTIVE OR DESTRUCTIVE IN NATURE. HER SINGLE-HANDED DECISION TO
ENGAGE IN THIS ‘SEXUAL ACT’ SHOWS HER TO BE A STRONG-WILLED INDIVIDUAL
THAT IS CAPABLE OF TAKING RESPONSIBILITY OF HER OWN LIFE. THIS COMPLETELY
CONTRASTS THE DEPENDANT NATURE ATTACHED TO WOMEN BY SOCIETY AT THE
TIME.
AUNTY UJU
AUNTY UJU WAS AN INDIVIDUAL THAT WAS PORTRAYED AS A
WOMAN EXTREMELY CLOSE TO IFEMELU AND WAS ONE OF HER ROLE
MODELS AND THE PRIMARY REASON FOR HER MOTIVATION TO MOVE
TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. IN THE NOVEL, WE CAN SEE THE
ROLE SHE PLAYS IN IFEMELU’S LIFE, ESPECIALLY HER ROLE IN
EMPOWERING IFEMELU AS A WOMAN.
THE GENERAL.
AUNTY UJU’S ACTIVE ROLE IN THE BEGINNING OF THE NOVEL,
AS “THE GENERAL’S” MISTRESS, EVEN KNOWING ALL THE
POTENTIAL ‘SLUT-SHAMING’ THAT MAY OCCUR FROM HER
DECISION TO TAKE AN ACTIVE PART IN THE RELATIONSHIP.
HERE, READERS CAN ACTIVELY OBSERVE HOW SHE DOES NOT
LETTER OTHER PEOPLE’S OPINION BOTHER HER AND STILL
REMAINS THE STRONG WILLED, INDEPENDENT WOMAN THAT
SHE IS DESCRIBED TO BE THROUGHOUT THE NOVEL.
RAISING DIKE AS A SINGLE MOM.
AFTER THE UNFORTUNATE DEATH OF “THE GENERAL”, THERE WAS NO
FATHER-FIGURE PRESENT TO RAISE “DIKE”, THE CHILD THAT THE GENERAL
AND AUNTY UJU HAD HAD TOGETHER. AUNTY UJU’S DECISION TO MOVE TO
THE STATES ALONE, AND TO RAISE DIKE AS A SINGLE MOM IN THE UNITED
STATES ONCE AGAIN SHOWS AUNTY UJU TO BE A STRONG WILLED,
INDEPENDENT, WOMAN. FURTHERMORE, HER DECISION TO MOVE FROM A
CITY TO THE SUBURBS DUE TO HER CONCERN FOR DIKE’S WELFARE ONCE
AGAIN SHOWS HER CAPABILITIES OF MAKING HER OWN DECISIONS.
CHOOSING TO LEAVE BARTHELOMEW
TOWARDS THE MIDDLE OF THE NOVEL, AUNTY UJU STARTS A
RELATIONSHIP WITH AN AFRICAN MAN BY THE NAME OF
BARTHELOMEW. BARTHELOMEW ACTS AS A FATHER FIGURE TO DIKE
AT THE TIME, MOTIVATING AUNTY UJU’S DECISION TO MARRY
BARTHELOMEW. HOWEVER, UPON THE WITNESSING OF THE
CHAUVINISTIC CHARACTER AND NATURE OF BARTHELOMEW, AUNTY
UJU MADE THE SINGLE-HANDED DECISION TO LEAVE BARTHELOMEW
FOR GOOD, EVEN AT THE RISK OF ABANDONING THE ONLY FATHER-
FIGURE IN DIKE’S LIFE AT THE TIME.
OBINZE’S MOTHER.
OBINZE WAS RAISED IN NSUKKA. HIS MOTHER, A
PROFESSOR AT NSUKKA UNIVERSITY, WAS ANOTHER
GREAT ROLE MODEL IN IFEMELU’S LIFE. SO MUCH SO,
THAT SHE FELT AS THOUGH SHE COULD SHARE
ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING WITH HER, INCLUDING BIG
DECISIONS SUCH AS INTIMACY IN IFEMELU’S AND
OBINZE’S RELATIONSHIP.
  HER DECISION TO LEAVE NSUKKA
UNIVERSITY.
OBINZE’S MOTHER WAS A WELL RESPECTED PROFESSOR AT THE
NSUKKA UNIVERSITY. HOWEVER, SHE LOST THE JOB WHEN SHE
ACCUSED A MALE PROFESSOR OF MISUSED FUNDS, AND WAS
SLAPPED PUBLICLY SIMPLY BECAUSE SHE WAS A WOMAN AND
‘OUGHT TO REMAIN IN THE PLACE OF ONE’. SHE WAS THEN OUTRAGED
BY THIS BEHAVIOUR AND DID NOT ALLOW ANYONE TO LEAVE THE
ROOM TILL THE PROFESSOR PUBLICLY APOLOGIZED AND ADMITTED
TO SEXISM. THIS SHOWS THAT OBINZE’S MOTHER WAS PROUD TO BE
A WOMAN AND IS THE VERY SYMBOL OF WOMEN EMPOWERMENT IN
THE NOVEL.
TEACHING OF RESPONSIBILITY.
OBINZE’S MOTHER WAS THE ONE WHO TAUGHT IFEMELU
THE IMPORTANCE OF ‘SAFE SEX’ AND ABOUT THE
DANGERS OF UNPROTECTED SEXUAL INTERCOURSE. THIS
ADVICE PROVED TO BE A TURNING POINT IN IFEMELU’S
LIFE AND ALSO SHOWS OBINZE’S MOM TO BE A MODERN,
FORWARD, WOMAN THAT UNDERSTANDS THE NEEDS OF A
WOMAN AND DOES NOT BELIEVE IN THE WOMAN HAVING
TO PLAY ANY ‘ROLE’ IN A RELATIONSHIP.
KIMBERLY
KIMBERLY WAS IFEMELU’S BOSS AT THE FIRST JOB THAT IFEMELU HAD
IN THE UNITED STATES THAT OFFERED A STEADY PAY. IN MANY
INSTANCES WITHIN THE NOVEL, KIMBERLY ACTS AS ‘BUFFER’ OR
‘SHIELD’ BETWEEN IFEMELU AND THE UGLINESS OF THE COUNTRY.
KIMBERLY IS SHOWN AS AN APOLOGETIC CHARACTER, WHO FEELS THE
NEED TO APOLOGIZE FOR THE BEHAVIOUR OF ANY NEGATIVE
BEHAVIOUR PORTRAYED BY A WHITE INDIVIDUAL DURING IFEMELU’S
STAY IN AMERICA. BECAUSE OF THIS, KIMBERLY CANNOT BE SKIPPED
WHEN TALKING ABOUT THE EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN.
 GIVING IFEMELU STABLE EMPLOYMENT
KIMBERLY’S ACTIVE INTEREST IN IFEMELU IS
BLATANTLY OBVIOUS FROM THE FIRST MEETING
BETWEEN THE TWO. THE FACT THAT KIMBERLY WAS
THE FIRST BOSS THAT IFEMELU HAD, THAT WAS
WILLING TO PROVIDE IFEMELU WITH A JOB THAT PAYED
‘UNDER THE TABLE’. KIMBERLY’S AFFECTION TOWARDS
IFEMELU COULD BE BECAUSE KIMBERLY FELT THE NEED
TO EMPOWER IFEMELU AS A WOMAN.
INSTANCES OF CHAUVINISM WITHIN NOVEL

THERE ARE VARIOUS INSTANCES APART FROM THE ONES

STATED, WHERE WE CAN SEE CHAUVINISM IN THE
AFRICAN SOCIETY AS WELL AS IN THE UNITED STATES OF
AMERICA. THESE INSTANCES MAY BE EXPLICITLY
DESCRIBED WITHIN THE NOVEL, OR IMPLICITLY MADE
OBVIOUS ONLY THROUGH INTERPRETATION.
IFEMELU’S DAD’S RESIGNATION

ONE INSTANCE WHERE IMPLICIT MALE CHAUVINISM

IS OBSERVED IS WHEN IFEMELU’S FATHER RESIGNS
FROM A JOB THAT HE HAD BEEN DOING FOR YEARS
BECAUSE HIS NEW EMPLOYER INSISTED THAT HE
CALL HER ‘MUMMY’.
THE ‘NUN’ INCIDENT.

A NUN IN THE CHURCH MAKES A COMMENT ON A WOMAN

WEARING TIGHT TROUSERS BY SAYING THAT THE GIRL IS
“COMMITTING THE SIN OF TEMPTATION”. THIS SHOWS HOW
WOMEN, ESPECIALLY RELIGIOUS WOMEN LACK EMPOWERMENT
THAT SHOULD GENERALLY BE OBSERVED IN ALL WOMEN.
CONFLICT WITH BARTHELOMEW
ONE NIGHT WHILE WATCHING TELEVISION, BARTHELOMEW MADE A COMMENT
ON YOUNG GIRL THAT WORE A SHORT SKIRT BY SAYING “A GIRL IN NIGERIA
WILL NEVER WEAR THAT KIND OF DRESS, LOOK AT THAT. THIS COUNTRY HAS
NO MORAL COMPASS.”. TO THIS, THE OFFENDED IFEMELU REPLIED BY SAYING
“GIRLS IN NIGERIA WEAR DRESSES MUCH SHORTER THAN THAT O, IN
SECONDARY SCHOOL SOME OF US CHANGED IN OUR FRIENDS HOUSE SO THAT
OUR PARENTS WOULDN’T KNOW”. ALTHOUGH BARTHELOMEW PAYS NO HEED
TO IFEMELU’S WORDS, THIS SHOWS IFEMELU TO BE AN EMPOWERED WOMAN.
CONCLUSION
APART FROM A FEW OF THESE MAIN CHARACTERS, THE AUTHOR INCLUDES MANY
WOMEN WITHIN THE BOOK AND EMPLOYS A MESSAGE OF FEMINISM WITHIN THE
NOVEL. ONE OF IFEMELU’S IDENTITIES IS HER GENDER IDENTITY…I.E. HER IDENTITY
AS A WOMAN. WITHIN THE NOVEL, THE AUTHOR DESCRIBES IFEMELU AS AN
EXTREMELY PRECOCIOUS GIRL WHOSE THOUGHTS AND IDEAS ALL SUPPORTED THE
EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN WITHIN THE BOOK.
Thank You !!!