The Short Story and Diasporic Discourse in Chinmamnda Ngozi Adichie’s The Thing Around Your Neck

Abstract

Within the context of postcolonial theory, this essay demonstrates the distinctive epistemological and artistic uniqueness of the short story and its contribution to the literary discourse of diaspora. The essay studies Adichie’s The Thing Around Your Neck as a sub-genre of prose-fiction dealing largely with diasporic identity in its form and characterisation. The study examines Adichie’s The Arrangers of Marriage and American Embassy from the perspective of how they contribute to the diasporic experiences of racial relation, politics and identity crisis. The argument, thus, reveals the socio-economic realities of life in diaspora contrary to the expectations of the families at home. Contrary to the common perception among the migrants that America is a paradise, Adichie presents a picture of the situations in the two worlds-the foreign nation and the homeland.