Adichie's portrayal of the immigrant experience in Americanah is multifaceted and everchanging through the parallelism in Ifemelu and Obinze's livelihood in foreign surroundings.
Ifemelu's first instances in America reduced the small hope she had for herself. Growing up with Obinze, she familiarized herself with the glorification of the American experience through his fanaticism, where he only read American books because to him,"'America is the future'" (Adichie 84). Obinze's curiosity was a window of hope that traveled with her but that, after a couple of months, closed because of her lack of luck. She fell into a shadow of hopelessness and depression because she could not find a job and had no support system, to the point where "she left the dirty plates under her bed until greenish mold fluffed up around [them]" (Adichie 192). She always had Aunti Uju and Ginika, but both were wrapped up in their own problems and adaptations to America.
Obinze's immigrant experience was the opposite of Ifemelu's from beginning to end. After several failed attempts to migrate to America, Obinze ultimately settled with the clandestine efforts of trying to create a life in England. Yet, despite the smoothness of finding a job, he felt unhappy, stressed, and unlike himself because he had to lie to maintain a life he wasn't sure of. He could not have a lasting life there because of those contradictions and doubts. Yet, unlike Ifemelu, he started with the support of his mother, who made sure "to clear away dirty plates from [Obinze's] room" (Adichie 289). The difference in plate status represents the contrasting circumstances of support both characters were in. While Ifemelu felt alone and neglected in her struggles to the point where she let all her worries pile up with no one to contact for help, Obinze always had the silent unconditionality of her mother.
The beginning of these characters' respective immigrant lives would allow the reader to assume that Obinze, who had an immediate job opportunity and family support, would succeed and adapt faster despite his illegal status. Yet, the irony of their immigrant tales is that the opposite happened. While Ifemelu's miserable migrant life ascended into vast professional opportunities, Obinze's promising adventure descended into a self-perception of failure.
Even though several reasons exist for the descent and rise of each character, the ultimate reason for their circumstances is each's relationship with their past lives. While Ifemelu's "ghosting" of Obinze marked the turning point of opportunity in America, Obinze's reminiscence of Ifemelu came in the most unwanted moments. The only chance Obinze had of staying in England was if he contrived matrimony with Cleo. Yet, despite his efforts to form a bond, the whole thing felt like a "forced intimacy" (Adichie, 283) because "Ifemelu came to his mind when he thought of love" (Adichie, 319), not allowing him to detach and start anew.
They were each other's nostalgia trap. While one let go and the other held tight, one progressed professionally while the other was left behind.
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