“And I knew then that the most dangerous thing about a story is that it can make you believe in something that isn't real.”
— From 'The American Embassy', reflecting on the power and danger of narratives.
Archivist's Choice
The Thing Around Your Neck
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (2009)
Genre
Literary Fiction
Reading Time
240 min
Key Themes
See below
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Twelve stories by Adichie explore the emotional lives of Nigerians navigating tradition, modernity, homeland, and diaspora, revealing the quiet heartbreaks and strong hopes born from these colliding worlds.
Synopsis
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's "The Thing Around Your Neck" collects twelve short stories about Nigerian identity, the immigrant experience in America, and relationships. Each story examines the emotional and cultural clashes characters face, often covering loss, displacement, love, and the search for belonging. From a medical student finding comfort with a stranger during a riot in "A Private Experience" to a young woman dealing with loneliness and cultural shock in "The Thing Around Your Neck," the stories show individuals handling personal tragedies and societal pressures. The collection looks at lasting ties to one's homeland and the changing, sometimes isolating, journey of adapting to a new culture, while also dissecting common human experiences of longing and self-discovery.
Reading time
240 min
Difficulty
Medium
Pacing
Moderate
Mood
Reflective, Melancholy, Profound, Insightful
✓ Read this if...
You appreciate poignant, character-driven literary fiction exploring cultural identity, immigration, and human relationships, with a focus on the Nigerian experience.
✗ Skip this if...
You prefer fast-paced plot-driven narratives, or are not interested in short story collections that delve into cultural and emotional introspection.
Plot Summary
Cell One
Nnamabia, a charming student from a wealthy family in Nsukka, Nigeria, is arrested by police after cult incidents at the university. His parents, at first thinking it's not serious, soon learn about the brutality and corruption in the Nigerian police when they visit him in 'Cell One.' They see the terrible conditions and random violence against prisoners, many of whom are innocent. His mother, a Catholic, struggles with her faith as she bribes officers for better treatment. Nnamabia, initially defiant, changes greatly from his experience, becoming quieter and more aware of injustice after seeing an old man tortured.
Imitation
Nkem lives in Philadelphia with her two young sons. Her husband, Obiora, works in Lagos. Their life is separated but comfortable, supported by Obiora's money. However, Nkem's world breaks apart when her sister-in-law subtly reveals that Obiora has moved his mistress, a young woman named Amaka, into their Lagos home. Nkem feels betrayed, angry, and desperate to keep her dignity. She confronts Obiora by phone, but he dismisses her worries and uses cultural excuses. Nkem finds herself stuck, unable to fully return to Nigeria and reclaim her life, or fully accept her reduced status in America.
A Private Experience
Chika, a young Igbo medical student, is caught in a violent religious riot in Kano, northern Nigeria, while visiting her sister. Separated from her sister, she hides in an abandoned market stall. There, she meets a poor Hausa Muslim woman, whose family is also missing in the chaos. Despite their different cultures and religions, and the violence outside, they share a moment of close connection. The woman, who speaks no English, offers Chika her headscarf for disguise and shares her small amount of food. Through gestures and shared fear, Chika feels a deep human connection, moving past the divisions causing the riot. The woman's quiet strength and faith deeply affect Chika, making her face her own biases.
Ghosts
Professor James Nwoye, a retired Nigerian academic in America, is visited by the ghost of his recently deceased wife, Ebere. Ebere appears as she was in life, cooking and giving advice, blurring the lines between grief, memory, and reality. Professor Nwoye tries to explain her presence, thinking it's his loneliness and her perfume. He finds comfort in her ghostly company, talking to her about their children, their past, and his current life. Ebere's 'ghost' shows his unresolved grief and his struggle to live alone in a foreign country, highlighting the lasting power of love and memory after death.
The Thing Around Your Neck
Akunna, a young Nigerian woman, arrives in America on a visa lottery, expecting opportunities but instead finds herself alone, working as an au pair for a rich, distant family in Maine. She experiences deep loneliness and culture shock, struggling to understand American customs and feeling invisible. She sends money home to her family, who believe she is doing well. Her only comfort comes from her secret relationship with a kind American man. However, a death in her Nigerian family makes her face her mixed feelings about her new life and the sacrifices she has made, leading her to end the relationship and question her place.
The American Embassy
A Nigerian woman attends an interview at the American embassy in Lagos, seeking asylum after her journalist husband was murdered and her young son, Ugonna, was killed in retaliation for her husband's critical reporting on the government. She recounts the terrifying events of her son's death, describing how soldiers stormed their home and shot him. The woman, still deeply traumatized and grieving, struggles to tell her story in a way the skeptical embassy official will believe. She deals with the unfairness of having to prove her suffering to a stranger, while carrying her immense loss and the desperate hope for a new life.
The Shivering
Ukumaka, a Nigerian graduate student at Princeton, balances her studies and social life, feeling out of place. She forms a careful friendship with a fellow student, Ugo, a charming and unusual American who claims to hear the voice of God. Ugo's intense spirituality and unusual behavior first interest Ukumaka, but also make her uncomfortable. As Ugo's claims become more erratic and his mental state seems to worsen, Ukumaka gets involved in his struggles, questioning faith, mental illness, and her own ability to help. The story explores belief, cultural difference, and the complexities of human connection.
Tomorrow is Too Far
The narrator remembers a summer in her childhood at her grandmother's village. She, her older brother Nonso, and their cousins, Dozie and Arinze, played childhood games. A cruel snake prank, meant for Nonso, goes wrong, leading to his accidental death. The narrator, driven by jealousy and a wish to impress her cousins, who preferred Nonso, had secretly weakened the rope swing. The story reveals the narrator's lifelong guilt and the heavy burden of her secret, kept for decades. She deals with the memory, sibling rivalry, and the deep impact of one irreversible childhood mistake.
On Monday of Last Week
Kamara, a Nigerian immigrant, works as a nanny for a wealthy, artistic American couple, Neil and Tracy, and their son, Josh. She observes the subtle tensions and growing distance in their marriage, especially Tracy's emotional withdrawal and her affair with another artist. Kamara, initially focused on her duties, becomes more interested in Tracy's artistic world and her mysterious personality. She feels a quiet longing for connection and a life beyond her current situation, shown by her wish to paint. The story explores the quiet observations of an outsider, the complexities of a failing marriage, and the unspoken desires of those in service.
Jumping Monkey Hill
Ujunwa, a young Nigerian writer, attends an international writing workshop at a secluded estate called Jumping Monkey Hill in South Africa. The workshop is run by Edward Campbell, an arrogant British professor who constantly dismisses the value of African experiences in literature. Ujunwa and the other African writers face his condescending criticism and subtle racism. Ujunwa struggles with her desire to be published and recognized while refusing to compromise her artistic integrity or let her work be exoticized. She also handles the complex dynamics among the diverse group of writers, including a sexual advance from Edward, which she firmly rejects, asserting her independence.
The Headstrong Historian
Nwamgba, a strong and smart Igbo woman from the early 20th century, tells her life story, starting with her marriage to Obierika, a wealthy and respected man. After his death, her son, Anikwenwa, gets involved in colonial politics and Western education, causing a deep split between them. Nwamgba, a strong traditionalist, first resists the influence of missionaries and the British colonial government, especially their attempts to distort her family's history. She dedicates her life to making sure her grandson, a historian, understands and preserves their true lineage and heritage, free from colonial biases, showing the clash between tradition and modernity.
The Arrangers of Marriage
Chinaza, a young Nigerian woman, moves to America for an arranged marriage to Ofodile, a Nigerian doctor who has lived there for years. She quickly realizes that Ofodile has lied about many parts of his life, including his age, his past marriage, and his expectations for her. He tries to control her appearance, her speech, and her interactions, pushing her to adopt an 'American' persona that feels foreign to her. Chinaza struggles with her identity, the loneliness of her new life, and the disappointment of her marriage. She finds comfort in her friendship with a Haitian woman, leading her to question the limits placed on her and to start asserting her own will.
Principal Figures
Akunna
The Protagonist
Akunna moves from hopeful expectation to disillusionment and profound loneliness, eventually finding a brief connection that is ultimately severed by her lingering ties to Nigeria, leaving her in a state of unresolved longing.
Chika
The Protagonist
Chika's initial fear and prejudice transform into a deep empathy and understanding for a stranger, challenging her worldview and making her more aware of shared humanity amidst conflict.
Nkem
The Protagonist
Nkem's comfortable but detached existence is shattered by her husband's infidelity, forcing her to confront the realities of her marriage and her own agency, moving from passive acceptance to a quiet assertion of self.
Nnamabia
The Supporting
Nnamabia's carefree and mischievous nature is stripped away by his traumatic imprisonment, leading to a more somber and reflective personality.
Professor James Nwoye
The Protagonist
Professor Nwoye's initial grief and loneliness are mitigated by the comforting presence of his wife's 'ghost,' allowing him to process his loss and find a sense of continuity with his past.
Chinaza
The Protagonist
Chinaza's initial compliance and hopeful outlook in her arranged marriage gradually give way to disillusionment and a growing sense of self-assertion, as she begins to challenge her husband's control.
Ujunwa
The Protagonist
Ujunwa initially seeks validation at the workshop but ultimately finds her voice and strengthens her resolve to write authentically, rejecting the patronizing expectations of the Western literary establishment.
Nwamgba
The Protagonist
Nwamgba's life journey sees her evolve from a traditional wife to a matriarch determined to preserve her family's true history, becoming a symbol of resistance against colonial erasure.
Themes & Insights
Cultural Clash and Dislocation
Many stories explore the deep impact of Nigerians moving to America, showing the culture shock, loneliness, and identity struggles they face. Akunna in 'The Thing Around Your Neck' feels great isolation and disappointment, as the America she imagined is very different from her life as an au pair. Similarly, Chinaza in 'The Arrangers of Marriage' struggles to adapt to her husband's Americanized expectations and the loss of her own cultural identity. This theme also appears in the internal conflict of characters like Nkem, who lives in America but stays tied to Nigerian marital norms, and Professor Nwoye, who feels alienated in a foreign land while dealing with personal loss.
“And then you would come to, and the thing around your neck would tighten again. The thing that made you not want to get out of bed, not want to open the blinds, not want to open the door.”
The Weight of Memory and Grief
Adichie often looks at how past traumas and losses continue to shape characters' present lives. The narrator in 'Tomorrow is Too Far' is haunted by the secret of her brother's death, carrying guilt for decades. Professor Nwoye in 'Ghosts' literally interacts with his dead wife's ghost, showing his inability to fully let go of his past and the deep impact of her absence. The mother in 'The American Embassy' is consumed by grief from losing her son and husband; her memory of their deaths drives her desperate plea for asylum. These stories emphasize that the past is always an active force in the present.
“Sometimes, when I remembered Nonso, I would remember myself as a girl watching him, and I would think that the past was a living thing, that it could be moved and touched, that it could be changed.”
Gender and Power Dynamics
The collection examines the power imbalances between men and women, both in Nigerian and Western settings. Nkem in 'Imitation' faces her husband's infidelity and his expectation that she accept it due to cultural norms. Chinaza in 'The Arrangers of Marriage' deals with her husband's controlling behavior and attempts to erase her identity. Ujunwa in 'Jumping Monkey Hill' confronts the sexism and condescension of the male workshop director, who dismisses her artistic voice. Nwamgba in 'The Headstrong Historian' defies patriarchal expectations to secure her family's legacy. These stories highlight women's strength and their fight for independence against societal and personal limits.
“He didn't want a wife; he wanted a Nigerian wife, a Nigerian wife he could remold into the wife he wanted.”
Corruption and Injustice in Nigeria
Several stories expose the widespread corruption and unfairness in Nigeria, especially within its political and legal systems. 'Cell One' clearly shows the brutality and random nature of the Nigerian police force, as Nnamabia's family must bribe officials for his safety. 'The American Embassy' highlights the dangers journalists face when they criticize the government, leading to violence and murder, and the desperation of citizens seeking refuge from such a system. These stories comment on the social and political realities that often force Nigerians to seek new lives abroad, or suffer great personal tragedy at home.
“They were not interested in justice; they were interested in making money.”
Identity and Authenticity
Many characters struggle with who they are, how they are seen, and who they are forced to become. Akunna's idealized image of America clashes with her real experience, making her question her identity as an immigrant. Chinaza is pressured by her husband to adopt an 'American' persona, leading to a profound loss of her authentic self. Ujunwa strongly defends her authentic Nigerian voice against the patronizing expectations of the Western literary world. Chika, in 'A Private Experience,' loses her class and religious identity, finding a shared humanity with a stranger. These explorations show how identity is fluid and often challenged in a globalized world.
“You were Nigerian, and that was all you were.”
Plot Devices & Literary Techniques
First-Person Narration (Varied)
Allows for deep introspection and diverse perspectives.
Adichie employs first-person narration in many of her stories, but varies the narrative voice significantly. This device grants intimate access to the characters' inner thoughts, emotions, and specific cultural backgrounds. For instance, Akunna's loneliness in 'The Thing Around Your Neck' is powerfully conveyed through her direct, internal monologue, making her experience palpable. The use of 'you' in this particular story directly implicates the reader, drawing them into Akunna's isolation. In 'Tomorrow is Too Far,' the first-person perspective allows for a slow, agonizing reveal of the narrator's lifelong guilt. This narrative choice fosters empathy and a nuanced understanding of individual struggles within broader societal contexts.
Symbolism of Food and Domesticity
Represents comfort, cultural identity, and emotional states.
Food and domestic settings often carry symbolic weight in Adichie's stories, representing comfort, cultural roots, and emotional well-being. In 'Ghosts,' Ebere's spectral presence is often associated with cooking and the smells of Nigerian food, symbolizing Professor Nwoye's lingering connection to his past and his wife. Nkem's frustration in 'Imitation' is partly expressed through her observation of the domestic disruption caused by her husband's mistress. The simple act of the Hausa woman sharing food with Chika in 'A Private Experience' transcends cultural barriers, symbolizing shared humanity and basic kindness. These elements ground the stories in tangible, relatable experiences while also conveying deeper emotional and cultural meanings.
Cultural Juxtaposition
Highlights differences and tensions between Nigerian and Western cultures.
This device is central to the collection, placing Nigerian customs, beliefs, and societal norms directly alongside their American or Western counterparts. In 'The Arrangers of Marriage,' Chinaza's traditional Nigerian upbringing directly clashes with her husband's Americanized expectations. 'The Thing Around Your Neck' constantly contrasts Akunna's expectations of America with the reality she faces. This juxtaposition not only illuminates the challenges of immigration and assimilation but also critiques both cultures. It highlights misunderstandings, prejudices, and the complex process of identity formation when two distinct worlds collide, often leading to internal and external conflict for the characters.
The Unreliable Narrator
Creates suspense and reveals the subjective nature of truth.
In some stories, Adichie subtly employs unreliable narration, adding layers of complexity and psychological depth. The most prominent example is in 'Tomorrow is Too Far,' where the narrator's childhood memory is presented, but the full, devastating truth of her role in Nonso's death is withheld until the very end, revealing her long-held guilt and self-deception. This device forces the reader to question the narrative being presented, creating suspense and emphasizing that personal truth can be shaped by trauma, shame, or a desire to protect oneself. It highlights the subjective nature of memory and how individuals construct their own versions of reality.
Critical analysis
Notable Quotes
“The thing around your neck, that’s what it is. The thing that makes you unable to breathe, unable to talk.”
— From the title story, describing the feeling of cultural displacement and loneliness.
“Because you are a woman, because you are a girl, you must be married. You must have children. You must be good. You must be everything.”
— From 'Jumping Monkey Hill', highlighting societal pressures on women.
“You learn to make a home for yourself in this world, even if it is not the home you expected.”
— A general theme across multiple stories, particularly 'The American Embassy' and 'The Thing Around Your Neck'.
“Grief was a house with many rooms.”
— From 'The Arrangers of Marriage', reflecting on the multifaceted nature of sorrow.
“Sometimes, I think, we don’t want to be saved. We want to be understood.”
— From 'The Arrangers of Marriage', a character's realization about human connection.
“It was the kind of silence that had a sound, a low hum of things unsaid.”
— From 'The Shivering', describing an uncomfortable quiet between characters.
“She had learned that when you moved to a new country, you had to leave your old self behind. It was not a choice; it was a necessity.”
— From 'The Thing Around Your Neck', detailing the immigrant experience.
“There are people who will say to you, 'You are not black enough.' Or, 'You are not African enough.' Be yourself. That is the only way to be.”
— From 'Jumping Monkey Hill', a powerful statement on authenticity and identity.
“He did not say, 'I love you.' He said, 'I will take care of you.' And it was the same thing.”
— From 'Cell One', illustrating a different expression of love and care.
“The past is always with you, even if you don’t think about it.”
— A recurring idea, particularly evident in stories dealing with memory and trauma like 'The American Embassy'.
“She wanted to tell him that she had learned to live with the fear, to carry it like a second skin.”
— From 'The Private of Liberated Skins', depicting a character's resilience in the face of fear.
“What struck her most was how easily people believed what they wanted to believe.”
— From 'The Shivering', observing human nature and confirmation bias.
“It was not enough to be good. You had to seem good.”
— From 'The Arrangers of Marriage', commenting on appearance versus reality in societal expectations.
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Key Questions (FAQ)
The collection primarily explores the collision of Nigerian and American cultures and the profound human struggle faced by individuals, particularly Nigerian immigrants, to reconcile these two distinct worlds. It delves into themes of identity, displacement, longing, and the complexities of adapting to a new environment while maintaining ties to one's homeland.
About the author
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a Nigerian writer whose works include novels, short stories and nonfiction. She was described in The Times Literary Supplement as "the most prominent" of a "procession of critically acclaimed young anglophone authors [that] is succeeding in attracting a new generation of readers to African literature", particularly in her second home, the United States.
