A Negritudinal Paradigm

Despite the fact that Americanah is Adichie's most talked-about work, the few articles that have been published on this novel have not addressed many of Americannah's most significant issues. To date, none of the short articles, reviews, and scholarly articles considered how this novel is related to the Negritude movement. Exploring Americanah through postcolonial and Negritude lens, this paper examines the implications of the novel's turning point, the protagonist's decision to return home challenges the West's "Master Narrative" and it's imposed culture that erodes African identities and roots. Drawing on the writings of multiple postcolonial writers, I argue that following a Negritudinal paradigm, Adichie's Americanah rejects the projected black inferiority that has been advanced in Western discourses. The novel therefore urges Africans to re-evaluate African culture through a renewed appreciation and respect for African languages and cultures, and the cultivation of an Afro-centric sensibility.