Immigration and Race Relations in Selected Stories in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's The Thing Around Your Neck

Abstract

In recent times, it has been observed and recorded that the number of Africans migrating to countries such as Europe, North America, Australia, New Zealand etc. is increasingly high because these countries are perceived as the most ideal places to live on earth. These perceptions are enhanced by what they see in movies where the best sides of these countries are shown. The Africans who already reside in these countries also contribute to this situation as they give the impression that life is easy over there. Though not far from the truth, there is no doubt that the material conditions and social utilities in developed countries have reached higher levels compared to Nigeria. However, the real picture of life abroad is rarely portrayed. It is the recent fictions the show the negative sides of the picture. The researcher with the aid of five short stories in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's The Thing Around Your Neck, exposes immigration and race relations in order to understand issues surrounding immigrants' lives there. Concentrating on Nigeria and the United States of America, this study adopts racial theory as it looks at what led to African migrations. Enhanced through the use of data gotten from secondary sources, this study therefore explores the intricacies of immigration and discomfitures encountered by individuals who find themselves in foreign nations.