Identity

Identity is a major theme of Americanah. Adichie explores identity primarily through Ifemelu. Ifemelu struggles with identity as early as her girlhood when she witnesses a shift in her mother’s identity. Her mother was once a joyful woman with long, beautiful hair. Her hair was such a big part of her identity that Ifemelu sometimes felt like she lived in the shadow of it. Then one day Ifemelu’s mother decides to begin attending a new church and she cuts off all of her gorgeous hair and changes. She becomes a woman who spends her time in prayer and at church and she no longer smiles and laughs the way she once did.

Ifemelu herself experiences a loss of identity when she moves to America. In America she is identified as black, something she’d never had to think about in Nigeria where she looked...