The Immigrant Experience
In the collection, several characters navigate the harrowing experience of being an immigrant to the United States. In "The Arrangers of Marriage," Chinaza feels alienated from American culture. Although she understands the hope that America represents for her family, she finds it difficult to capitalize on these ideals. Instead, she feels rejected by her Americanized husband and her peers. She also finds that there is a clear dissonance between the outward perception of America and the realities of American life.
In "The American Embassy," the unnamed protagonist must navigate bureaucracy in order to be granted asylum in the United States. She feels pressured to capitalize upon the death of her young son, Ugonna, in order to be granted a green card. During her interview at the embassy, the narrator realizes that she does not want to sell her life story in order to receive citizenship. She realizes that staying in Nigeria and honoring the memory of her son is more aligned with her personal beliefs. In this story, the reader gets acquainted with the exploitative, bureaucratic, and performative nature of the American citizenship process.
Confronting Racism
In The Thing Around Your Neck, numerous characters must confront stereotypes surrounding their race and nationality. In "Jumping Monkey Hill," Dr. Campbell brings together writers from various African countries for a workshop. Although he claims to support African storytelling, he fails to represent Africa as a continent full of complex and varying cultures and languages. Instead, he pushes for a unilateral African narrative riddled with violence and savagery. Although the writers on the retreat recognize Dr. Campbell's problematic behavior, they find it incredibly difficult to stand up to a singular person who represents centuries of colonial oppression.
In the short story "The Thing Around Your Neck," Akunna must navigate being a Nigerian woman in the United States. Aside from her cultural alienation, Akunna experiences racism for the first time in her life. At her restaurant job, customers repeatedly ask her demeaning questions about Africa. In addition, her boyfriend makes insensitive comments that often lead Akunna to feel "othered" in her relationship. Akunna deals with these feelings firsthand without having an ally to share her experience with her, thus contributing to her sense of loneliness.
The Prevalence of Deceit
In the collection, numerous characters lie and deceive others in order to maintain the status quo. In stories such as "The Arrangers of Marriage" and "Imitation," the male characters lie to their wives about their infidelity. As a result, their wives often lie about their feelings of disappointment and betrayal in order to maintain the ideals of a nuclear family. In "The Arrangers of Marriage," Chinaza must cover up the fact that she feels ostracized by her husband. She knows the sacrifices that her aunt and uncle went through in order to ensure her marriage and grant her the privileges of an American life, and she doesn't want to disgrace her family by filing for divorce. Chinaza must choose between her own happiness and meeting social and familial expectations.
In "Tomorrow Is Too Far," the narrator lies about baiting her brother to climb the tree in his grandmother's yard. Although she is motivated by feelings of jealousy, she is too embarrassed to admit her frustration to her family members. Instead, she acts out, which results in her brother's accidental death. Following her brother's death, she then frames her grandmother for pushing her brother to climb the tree. This results in her parent's divorce and the narrator's ultimate separation from her Nigerian identity. While she attempted to deceive her family for self-preservation, the narrator is ultimately harmed by her own actions.
Expression and Identity through Writing
If you consider Adichie's own background, it becomes clear that many of the stories in the collection draw inspiration from her own life. From navigating the immigrant experience to confronting racial and socioeconomic inequalities, many of the characters confront situations that Adichie has lived as a Nigerian writer in America. In a few of the short stories, writing is used by the fictional characters as a tool of self-expression. In "Jumping Monkey Hill," the characters find power in writing about their daily lives. Although Dr. Campbell attempts to control the content of the stories, the authors assert that their writings are true depictions of African life. Their stories contribute to an unwritten narrative that seeks to cast Africa as a continent of many different cultures, languages, and customs. In the concluding story of the collection, "The Headstrong Historian," Grace decides to become a scholar and author in order to educate others about pre-colonial Nigerian society. In this way, Grace uses writing to reconnect with her identity and to express how colonialism attempted to erase the stories of so many.
Violence in Post-Colonial Africa
In both "The American Embassy" and "A Private Experience," the protagonists are placed in the center of violent conflict in Nigeria. In "The American Embassy," Adichie explains that the narrator's husband is on the run because the government threatens journalists who speak against their repressive regime. In "A Private Experience," Chika, the protagonist, bonds with an unlikely character as they both fear for their lives in hiding. In using war and national violence as a background in her stories, Adichie highlights how her characters are forced to adapt and resist in the face of adversity. Although Western audiences have often been conditioned to view African countries as epicenters of unrest and corruption, Adichie aims to have the reader empathize with the characters by addressing their humanism and the shared vulnerability of existence.
Womanhood
Many of the stories in the collection feature women as protagonists or narrators. In nearly every story, women are subjugated to violence, aggression, and inequality due to the constraints of patriarchal society. In "Imitation," "The Shivering," and "The Arrangers of Marriage," the female protagonists realize that they have abandoned their own preferences and values in order to align themselves with the ideals of their male partners. Although their society places emphasis on being married, they find that the expectations for partnership often involve them forgoing aspects of their individuality. As a result, the women grow discontent and resentful about their lives, and they act out in reactive ways. For example, in "On Monday of Last Week," Kamara's attraction to Tracy is partially fueled by her admiration for her. Tracy is a woman forging her own career and life separate from her husband, and Kamara does not truly reckon with her own dissatisfaction until she sees another woman leading by example.
Class Differences
Across many of the short stories, the characters are forced to confront how different social classes divide them. In "A Private Experience," Chika is used to the comforts of her privileged lifestyle. When her safety is threatened, she befriends an older, Muslim woman. From their first moments together, Chika notices the differences between herself and the woman. From the language she uses to the clues she gives about her daily life, Chika realizes that she has never met a person like this before. Chika wonders if the woman knows what "university" is, thus further acknowledging their different lifestyles.
In "The Shivering," Ukumaka demonstrates her wealth in subtle ways. When she speaks of Udenna, her ex-boyfriend, it is clear that both of them are of a high social class. Ukumaka is blind to her privilege until she meets Chinedu, who is clearly from a different class background. When Ukumaka describes how she and Udenna used to shop at the organic grocery store, Chinedu scoffs and explains that the prices at the organic store are ridiculous. Another time, Ukumaka flippantly asks Chinedu about the last time he visited Nigeria. When Ukumaka realizes that Chinedu can't afford to buy a plane ticket back, she understands how she has taken her financial security for granted.
