Cultural Ambivalence in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's The Thing Around Your Neck

Abstract

In the story collection Things Around Your Neck Chimamanda Ngozi Adhichi basically raises the issue of Nigerial diaspora in American landscape. Adhichi is an African diasporic writer; she mainly raises the issue of immigrants in American landscape through stories. Issues, evidences, story and characters that are deployed in these stories are suffering from diasporic evidences. Identity crisis, inferiority complex and cultural hegemony are the common themes deployed in these stories. How their mindset is colonized mentally as well as physically is the issue incorporated these three stories. Adhichi presents these stories as the document of fluctuation, dilemma, cultural destruction, inferiority, cultural hegemony of the marginalized groups of people through the life of the characters Chinaza Okafor, Ofodile Udenwa, Akunna and Nkem. "The Thing Around your Neck", "The Arrangers of Marriage" and "Imitation". A Critique of Cultural Ambivalence" is the conclusion of the whole study which asserts that westernization of Nigerian culture has created some sort of anarchy and frustration upon Nigerian people. Keywords: Ambivalence, culture, diaspora, harmony, identity