Americanah is a novel that approaches what can sometimes be uncomfortable topics in a manner that is truly eye-opening. By having expressive characters and giving insight to what each of them are thinking and feeling allows the reader to truly connect with their experience and recognize things that they otherwise wouldn't have. For me, the most interesting and eye-opening topic was one of Adichie's biggest ones: hair.
Hair is so much more than just a physical attribute. It connects to someone's story, culture, experience, and more. Adichie gives insight into the struggle that black women face with their hair and the meaning that it has for them. This is clear when she opens the book with Ifemelu traveling to get her hair done and noting how it bothers her that she has to go so far to get it properly done. She goes on to address the fact that black women have been made to believe they have to do their hair a certain way to be "presentable." "My only advice? Lose the braids and straighten your hair. Nobody says this kind of stuff, but it matters. We want you to get that job" (250). Then, since the very treatment black women are made to believe they have go through can actually harm their hair, her hair began to fall out. "Relaxing your hair is like a prison" (257). After this experience, she decided to embrace her natural hair and take care of it in the way it was meant to be. Even then, she was judged by her own family members that had assimilated into society. Still, she learned to love her hair for what it was and stand firm in how she wanted to take care of it.
The novel and this topic touched me even deeper than I imagined by opening my eyes to my own actions and experiences. The Hispanic experience is different than that of the Black experience, and our hair is very different, but curly Caribbean hair is not straight American hair. When reading Ifemelu's struggle with getting her hair done, I thought back on noticing or being told of the damage the heat from straighteners had done to my hair. I recalled sitting in a salon and feeling how itchy my scalp was from treatment to remove the frizz that naturally comes with my type of hair. I realized that over time I learned to feel that I was prettier or cleaner with my hair straight rather than when it was curly. I had no clue that I had fallen into the same trap of sorts that people of other cultures and experiences had until I was forced to put myself in someone else's shoes and reflect on that. Adichie opened my eyes to the world around me and I owe her my thanks, because I now love and appreciate my natural hair in a way I never have before.
I agree that Adichie's reference to hair and the symbolism behind it carried great meaning within the novel. With the book starting out in a hair salon, it showed that attributes such as hair can define identity and how an individual expresses themselves. Throughout the storyline of the salon we see the different characters in the book and how they carry themselves. For example, the contrast between Kelsey getting her hair braided versus Ifemelu. Adichie’s reference to this in the book adds to the overarching idea of stereotypes based on race. We see in the book that Ifemelu's hair changes because she wants to “fit in” at her new job, yet fitting in meant to Ifemelu changing who she was to be seen as an equal. After changing her hair, we later do see the regret Ifemelu had, as she did not enjoy how her hair looked but also it took away a part of who Ifemelu was. While hair may seem like a small aspect, it truly did carry greater meaning especially in Americanah as it tied into the idea of stereotypes and acceptance in a new community. Additionally, it is interesting to see how it does impact individual’s today without noticing why many people do straighten their hair or change their natural hair yet not thinking it could be due to wanting to “fit in”.
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ReplyDeleteI agree with the idea that hair is used to symbolize culture, people’s stories, and experiences. From the beginning of the story, hair is presented as a topic as Ifemelu spends a lot of her time thinking of her experiences while in the hair salon. It is not known immediately why hair is so important to her, but it begins to become apparent when Ifemelu reflects on her arrival to the United States. When Ifemelu first sees Aunty Uju at the airport, she thinks, “There was something different about her. Ifemelu noticed it right away at the airport, her roughly braided hair…” (Adichie 127-128). This was the first time Ifemelu had talked down on one’s hair, and this was done purposely. In Nigeria, hair was seen as part of their identities. Braids were the standard and were seen as a statement of their culture and their beauty. In the United States however, the braids were seen as culturally different and became something that people began to stop focusing on when conforming to American society. Ifemelu’s first glance at Aunty Uju was an introduction to how standards of hair would change for her. As she stayed in the United States, she learned about how braids were frowned upon because of how different they were from what was culturally accepted, and she learned to change her hair to obtain a career and a place within society. However, conforming to society changed Ifemelu as a person especially when it came to the respect of changing her appearance. I think this is something that we need to think about as a society and try to remember the significance of what makes up people’s identities. I think that Ifemelu should never have had to try and change herself to make it in the real world, and I think it is something that still occurs today that needs to be changed.
ReplyDeleteI agree that hair is an important and big part of this book. It carries a lot of symbolism throughout the book as a lot of Americanah takes place in the salon when Ifemelu is getting her hair done. The book also starts out with her in the hair salon which emphasizes the importance of hair in this novel. For Ifemelu, her hair represents her struggles as a black American. This is shown throughout the book as hair is an important aspect of Ifemelu’s life. She has a different opinion on hair than other Nigerians in the United States. She has always liked braiding her hair and keeping it natural, but in America, she is conflicted. It is seen as unprofessional if one does not relax their hair so she ends up conforming to American standards and decides to relax her hair. When she does, she feels different and feels as if a part of her dies with her natural hair being changed. This represents the inherent racism in the United States as there is a cultural pressure for non-Americans to change their natural hair to conform to American standards. I think this is something that people should be aware of and I like how Adichie points it out in this novel.
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