Representations of home, dislocation, and resilience in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah.
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Date
2021
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Abstract
This dissertation aims to explore the literary representations of ‘home’, dislocation and
resilience in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah (2013). Through a close-text analysis
of the migrant trajectory from dislocation (within and beyond the boundaries of the
homeland) to the possibility of a permanent return home, I intend to investigate what
opportunities there are for migrants to overcome the challenges of uprootedness and reestablish a meaningful sense of ‘home’ and belonging in new spaces. The novel depicts two
central protagonists who are estranged from their home country as a consequence of postindependent
disenchantment, and whose ways of understanding ‘home’ are further challenged
upon their return to a ‘strange’ and unfamiliar Nigeria. I have, therefore, found it necessary to
investigate alternative perspectives of ‘home’ that offer a broader and more nuanced
understanding of what it means to belong in an increasingly globalised and fluid world.
By applying select postcolonial and psychological theoretical concepts and perspectives, this
dissertation seeks to explore pathways of managing and overcoming the trauma of emotional
and physical dislocation. While acknowledging the severe consequences of border crossing on
the migrant’s psyche, I also consider possible coping strategies that initiate a process of
building resilience and overcoming adversities. Drawing on recent psychological approaches,
I aim to provide a more balanced interpretation of the novel’s depiction of the migrant
experience, suggesting that such experiences have the potential to deepen personal growth
and world knowledge.
Description
Masters Degree, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.