Failure of American Dream in Chimamanda Adichie's Americanah

Abstract

This thesis is an attempt to show disillusioned and discontented lives of Ifemelu from the perspective of an American Dream through the reference of Chimamanda Adichie's Americanah. It deals with the broader area related to American Dream. Within the broader field of American dream, it focuses on failure of American dream.The protagonist Ifemelu, in the novel, concerns with journey to America from Nigeria carrying the dream of prosperity and better life but her dream shatters after reaching their in dreamland. She fails to achieve the dream because of racial discrimination and inequality. It is a novel written by black writer about the condition of blacks in the world of whites. With the help of reference from the text, the researcher argues that Nigerian youngsters whom dreamed the "American Dream" and have taken the American world as the land of unlimited possibilities, equality, justice, and individual liberty, is not same in reality. As a researcher, I will substantiate the argument from the perspective of Ifemelu that her thoughts toward the Promised Land are not true in reality. Ifemelu is discontented because of racial discrimination and racial segregation. At last, her experiences in the United States and her returning to Nigeria indicate the downfall of so-called American Dream. So, basically, this research paper deals with disillusioned and disappointed lives of character through racial inequality theoretical insight. Keywords: American dream, Failure, Gender, Immigration, Identity