Americanah isn’t just a novel about America, or just a novel about Nigeria. Both Adichie and the characters she writes have complex relationships with both countries. A main struggle many have is the struggle to stay true to oneself after emigrating from Nigeria. Both Ifemelu and Aunty Uju must ask themselves what they are willing to give up in order to assimilate into American culture. One way that the two specifically differ is their relationship with their natural hair.
Aunty Uju is the first character to discuss relaxing hair with Ifemelu. When she goes in for an interview, she takes out her braids and relaxes her hair. Ifemelu doesn’t like this decision, but Aunty Uju responds that “[y]ou are in a country that is not your own. You do what you have to do if you want to succeed” (146). Aunty Uju is willing to change her appearance and give up her natural hair in order to succeed in a country with different beauty standards. To her, it’s an unfortunate yet necessary sacrifice that’s useless to complain about or argue against. To Ifemelu, however, it appears that “she had deliberately left behind something of herself” (146). She chooses to relax her hair, but in doing so, she’s giving up a part of herself for the sake of appearing more professional, something Ifemelu objects to.
While at first Ifemelu is resistant, she also relaxes her hair for a job interview. Unlike Aunty Uju, however, she regrets this decision. Despite early insecurities about her natural hair, she later becomes a passionate defender of it, posting that “there is nothing more beautiful than what God gave me” (264). The first scene of the novel has Ifemelu defending her choice of hair when the hairdresser questions her decision, saying “I like my hair the way God made it” (15) and trying to convince her of the merits of natural hair. Ifemelu has not only reclaimed a part of herself, but is passionately defending natural hair as a symbol of embracing one's own identity. No longer is she forcing her hair into unnatural styles simply because of American standards.
While Ifemelu finds natural hair beautiful and empowering, Aunt Uju disagrees with her. “There is something scruffy and untidy about natural hair” (269), Uju tells Ifemelu. This conversation shows how the same woman who grew up wearing her hair natural has left that part of her identity behind to assimilate into America. This serves to contrast Ifemelu, who has now reclaimed that part of herself. While the two characters both left Nigeria to pursue careers in America, Uju is more willing to give into American pressures and ideals. Ifemelu sees natural hair as a connection to her culture and her identity, Uju compares natural hair to jute, preferring the look of relaxed hair. The contrast between the two characters helps to illustrate how Ifemelu manages to remain true to herself, and how she fights against the pressure to assimilate.
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie emphasizes hair and its importance. Ifemelu’s decisions to wear her naturally, relaxed, and everything in between mirrors her journey through America and the prejudices she faces. Throughout the narrative, she comes to love her natural hair and fiercely defends it.
ReplyDeleteThe novel begins, of all places, in a hair salon. Aisha, her hairdresser, asks Ifemelu why she does not have her hair relaxed. Ifemelu explains that “she like[s her] hair the way God made it,” but Aisha “clearly [can] not understand why anybody would choose to suffer through combing natural hair, instead of simply relaxing it” (12-13). This is just a glimpse into the comments Ifemelu receives about her natural hair.
Similarly, when Ifemelu tells Ruth about her job interview, Ruth says “My only advice? Lose the braids and straighten your hair. Nobody says this kind of stuff but it matters. We want you to get the job” (204). It is at this point that Ifemelu decides to make the jump, taking out her braids, relaxing her hair, and severely burning herself in the process. However, Ruth’s suggestion proves to hold weight when Ifemelu gets the job and wonders “if the woman would have felt the same way had she walked into that office wearing her thick, kinky, God-given halo of hair, the Afro” (207).
Hair plays a crucial role in Americanah and Ifemelu’s life alike. Ultimately, Ifemelu decides to love her natural hair, whether others approve of it or not. This love echoes her return to her Nigerian identity and her roots.