INTERROGATING OPPRESSION AS A PRODUCT OF RACISM IN CHIMAMANDA ADICHIE'S AMERICANAH

This study investigated oppression as a product of racism in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Americanah. The objectives to achieve the aim were to identity the indicators of oppression in the novel Americanah, to describe the oppression depicted in the novel, Americana and to reveal the reason the authors addressed oppression in the novel, Americanah. The reseacher employed the theoretical framework of "Otherness" which is derived from the impression whereby a certain group of persons are considered different from the rest in terms of colour, physical and cultural attributes. The methodology employed for this study are library-based activities. The research data is collected through a literature review of the theoretical framework and analysis of the primary text, Americanah by Chimamanda Adichie. The findings of the study revealed that Americanah explores the experience of immigrants in detail. In telling the story in parallel, the novelist discusses the problems faced african women as immigrants while also addressing the perspectives of African male immigrants. Oppressions identified were cultural imperialism and language discrimination. For cultural imperialism, we identified how the novel portrayed primarily the perspective of Ifemelu, a protagonist who struggles with problems of identification in a new world. Ifemelu's experience as an outsider in the United States revealed how embracing a new identity forced by society, as well as a country's definition of a category like race, may influence a person. For language discrimination, we identified how characters were being discriminated on the grounds of their own speech features such as dialect, vocabulary knowledge, and syntax. It was recommended that societies should be ready to learn to recognize and understand other people's own privilege. People and the government should also find ways to stop systemic racism which are barriers that include wealth disparities, criminal justice bias, and education and housing discrimination. It is important that they address these issues and promote a culture of equity.