Coping in Americanah

In one of the videos we watched in class, Adichie was quoted as saying that, "Race is America's original sin."  Throughout the novel, it seems there's a parallel between race and religion; Adichie illustrates how both of these institutions involve people lying by denying reality in order to comfort themselves.

At a very young age, Ifemelu observes that those who are religious seem to use their faith to avoid confronting the uglier parts of their lives and even the uglier parts of themselves.  After defying Sister Ibinabo (arguably the most powerful member of the church), Ifemelu makes a startling observation:

When Sister Ibinabo was talking to Christie, with that poisonous spite she claimed was religious guidance, Ifemelu had looked at her and suddenly seen something of her own mother.  Her mother was a kinder and simpler person, but like sister Ibinabo, she was a person who denied that things were as they were.  A person who had to spread the cloak of religion over her own petty desire (62-63).

Unlike religion, which serves as a tool to allow people to evade those things that make them uncomfortable, Ifemelu discerns that, in America, race is the thing that makes people (white people in particular) the most uncomfortable and, therefore, acknowledgement of it is often avoided at all costs. Ifemelu writes in one of her blog posts,

Dear American Non-Black, if an American Black person is telling you about an experience about being black,…Don’t be quick to find alternative explanations for what happened. Don’t say. ‘Oh, it’s not really race, it’s class. Oh, it’s not race, it’s gender. Oh it’s not race, it’s the cookie monster (403).

This section of her post showcases Ifemelu’s experience with the discomfort people face when they are forced to confront the issue of race. Rather than accept that race is still a relevant issue in American society, Americans who are not as affected by race are quick to cloak the issue in something they are more familiar and more comfortable with.

Adichie’s work examines human coping mechanisms, the things people do to avoid discomfort. Lying in some form or another (by omission, to oneself, etc.) is one of the most prevalent strands throughout the novel. It could be interesting to follow this strand within other contexts of the story. For instance, how lying affects Ifemelu’s relationships or how it affects the process by which she develops her identity.  In general, I would argue that Americanah was Adichie’s attempt to make Americans acknowledge race as a relevant issue rather than her attempt to combat racism in America.  Her mission in this book is honesty.