4.

Conclusion

The broad implication of the present research is that intersectionality plays a

pivotal role in the discussion of the diasporic undergoing of the characters with regard
to racial oppression. The topics analyzed in each section have corroborated the
interconnections between gender, race and migration in each of their experiences. The
structural and systematic discrimination suffered by the characters offers a vital
framework for understanding the systems of power within the United Kingdom and
the United States societies, which are conditioned by the character’s individual
differences based on gender issues and migrant regularity.
Both characters soon are soon set to the othered sphere whereas skin was not
a factor to worry about in Nigeria. The Western perpetuation of otherness in social
interactions with the locals, whose perception of African countries is biased by the
white savior complex which promotes stereotypical relatedness to uncivilization,
hostility, and mediocrity. In order to belong in society, the characters adhere to racial
categorization in order to conform to the cultural norms. Ifemelu’s continuous feeling
of unbelonging in the United States leads her to change her accent and modify her
appearance by straightening her afro hair in order to conform to Western canons of
beauty. Ifemelu’s degrading episode in the tennis coach’s house after trying to find a
suitable job and the social pressure to meet beauty expectations reflect gender-based
discrimination against dark-skinned women in the contemporary Western world.
On the other hand, Obinze’s irregular status affects his identity as he
impersonates another man in England, and he has no choice but to accept an inferior
position where he is dehumanized and deported at long last. These incidents could be
translated as representatives of 21 st-century Western society where the afterlives of
slavery still survive despite the fact that racism seems to have disappeared. The
characters’ American dreams have proven to be an example of today’s Nigerian
migrants’ dreams, whose perception of the Western nations as utopian homes is
destroyed by the actual struggle of belonging in a post-racial diasporic context that still
preserves racial distinction through its normalization.
 The analyses have proven that the two main characters of Americanah do not
resemble the archetypical image of the black man and the black woman, whose
characteristics contribute to the rebuilding of new masculinities and femininities by
creating new views of manhood and womanhood in migrant Nigerian characters. In
order to do so, the writer adopts a postcolonial feminist perspective which lays stress
on women’s empowerment by promoting individual decision, sexual agency, self-
sufficiency and moral strength, as it is illustrated in Ifemelu’s personal traits.
On the contrary, Adichie’s contribution to new male masculinities is evidenced
in the characterization of the male character Obinze, whose traits are opposing the
stereotyped violent and sexist attitudes present in traditional black maleness. Thereby,
the writer incorporates a fairer literary depiction of black masculinity which
emphasizes emotionalism, passiveness, and civility, traditionally associated with
weaker traits of femaleness. This writer’s reinvention is a claim for gender equality
that establishes new equalitarian ungendered relationships, which supposes a
progressive approach to the representation of Nigerian characters in literature as
equitable individuals.
Interesting research questions for future research that can be derived from the
study of Americanah would be the question of the “Nigerian Dream” in order to
address the failure of the American Dream after the character’s experiences in the
United Kingdom and the United States. Obinze’s and Ifemelu’s longing for their
homeland could be interpreted as a new dream which idealizes their native land as a
consequence of having suffered a long train of unfairness. This provides a good starting
point for discussion and further research.