How Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche Ties All of the Stories together

The Thing Around Your Neck was the first novel I ever read of its kind. Each story is looking through a different lenses of how Nigerians are living in the world . At first this novel appeared disjointed as the setting and times periods changed every short story, and characters of a previous short stories were seemingly forgotten. However, as the novel progressed similarities began to appear. Adichie appears to break the short stories into separate categories all linked by their Nigerian heritage. One of the most prominent  groupings of short stories are the Nigerians immigrating to America. These stories all deal with retaining their Nigerian identity and adapting to the different culture of the U.S.A. In the story On Monday of Last Week Kamara notes how different it was to raise a child in America. The child she babysits, Josh, is always told he is a winner and his father constantly frets about his well being. Josh's diet changes daily as new health fads come and go. Kamara views this as ludicrous and how her childhood diet was what her parents could put on the table. Kamara also disagrees that you should never hit your child. She believes there is a different between discipline and abuse that has been lost in this country. Her preconceptions of how to raise a child clash fundamentally with how Neil believes a child should be raised. Then later on the story The Arrangers of Marriage is the most notable in relation to Nigerians immigrating to America. Dave, the husband, plans on completely abandoning his roots and fully embracing American culture. He fears difference and wishes to be invisible. However his wife, Agatha, is just like Kamara,  she keeps Nigeria in her heart throughout he time in America. She goes along with Dave's changes at first but harbors resentment of her lost Nigerian ways. Agatha and Kamara both hold on to their Nigerian roots and use that belief system to view the outside world.

         The other short stories deal with the Nigerians who stayed. These short stories showcase the violence and corruption that has overtaken Nigeria. Whether it is, bribes being required to visit your son in jail or the riots that overtake the markets and leave hundreds injured or missing. Nigeria is rarely shown in a positive light as these characters strive to survive not prosper. A prime example of this is the short story The American Embassy. As a woman waits in line to interview for asylum the reader is brought through the dark side of Nigeria. Her husband whisked out of the country and her son killed by corrupt soldiers. Freedom of speech is nonexistent as dissidents disappear and criminals are flogged in the streets. This short story lines up with others that cope with the failures of Nigeria.

The stories in The Thing Around Your Neck can be split into two groups: The Nigerians who left the country and the Nigerians who stayed. However, all these stories are linked by the Nigerians attempting to find an identity and how to live in the new world.