1. POV
1.1. "He led me to the lift(elevator)"
1.2. When arrangers of marriage are mention POV switches from "I" to "you"
1.2.1. "Another thing the arrangers of marriage did not tell you- the struggle to brown beef in oil and dredge skinless chicken in flour.
1.2.2. "The arrangers of marriage only told YOU that doctors made a lot of money in America.
2. Themes
2.1. Apperence
2.1.1. "I do not want us to be known as the people who fill the building with smells of foreign food," he said"
2.1.2. "I wanted a Nigerian wife and my mother said you were a good girl quiet. She said you might even be a virgin."
2.1.3. "You were light-skinned. I had to think about my children's looks. Light-skinned black fare better in America."
2.2. Foreigness
2.2.1. "he defrosted pancakes from a birght yellow bag."
2.2.2. "I had not seen enough white people to correctly gauge their ages."
2.2.3. "I did not want to eat biscuits but I wanted something familiar in the cart."
2.3. Lies
2.3.1. "The arrangers of marriage only told YOU that doctors made a lot of money in America. They did not add that before doctors started to make a lot of money, they had to do an internship program and a residency program..."
2.4. Ideal American life
2.4.1. "I had imagined a smooth driveway snaking in between cucumber-colored lawns, a door leading into a hallway, walls with sedate paintings. A house like those of the white newlyweds in American films tat NTA shows Saturday Nights."
2.4.2. "This is not like Nigeria, where you shout out to the conductor," he said, sneering, as though he was the one who had invented the SUPERIOR American system."
2.5. Mimicry/Cultural transformation
2.5.1. "Busy. Americans say busy, not engaged," he said."
2.5.2. "Americans dont drink their tea with mil and sugar."
2.5.2.1. "Nia made tea, with milk and sugar..."
2.5.3. "Its and elevator, not a lift. American say elevator."
2.5.4. "They will never move forward unless they adapt to America." (Dave talking about latino families in supermarket)
2.5.5. "You dont understand how it works in this country. If you want to get anywhere you need to be as mainstream as possible. If not you will be left by the roadside."
2.5.6. "Light-skinned black fare better in America."
3. Irony
3.1. "Uncle Ike would probably smile into the phone, the same kind of smiles that had loosened his face when he told me he that the perfect husband had been found for me."
3.2. "You will have plenty of time to get to know each other before the wedding"
3.3. "Americans cook things right. See how healthy we look."
3.4. "It is like we won the lottery for you!" Aunty Ada said."
3.5. "She's okay, but be careful because she can be a bad influence." (Dave talking about Nia)
4. Locations
4.1. Supermarket
4.1.1. "They will always be doomed to supermarkets like this." with carts that cannot go to your car.
5. Symbols
5.1. Food
5.1.1. American cookbook
5.1.2. "limp pancakes" and "bland tea"
5.1.3. Chinaza: "I did not want to eat biscuits but I wanted something familiar in the cart." Dave: "Cookies, Americans call them cookies. "
5.1.4. Pizza; "We'll get pizza first," he said. "It's the one thing you have to like in America."
5.1.5. "...he lead the way to Mcdonald's. The restaurant was nestled near the rear of the mall; a yellow and red M the size of a car stood at its entrance."
5.1.6. "But the next day, he came back with a Good House Keeping All-American Cookbook, thich as a bible."
5.1.7. "Another thing the arrangers of marriage did not tell you- the struggle to brown beef in oil and dredge skinless chicken in flour.
5.1.8. "He ate a few pieces of oily-friend potatoes before responding."
5.1.9. "I noticed that he did not finish chewing before he took a sip of water."
5.2. Names
5.2.1. "Americans have a hard time with Udenwa, so I changed it."
5.2.2. Ofodile Emeka Udenwa to Dave Bell. The simplification and how "mainstream" the name is reflects the culutral loss in between both coountires.
5.2.3. Chinazas name was first introduced to us when Dave talked about changeding hers to the American version.
5.2.4. "You now, Nia is a Swahili name. I changed my name when I was eighteen."
5.2.4.1. "she, a black American, had chosen an African name, while my husband made me change mine to an English one."
6. Characters
6.1. Dave
6.1.1. Post Colonial subject.
6.1.1.1. "im not called Ofodile here, by the way. I go by Dave."
6.1.1.2. Dave says he doesn't drink tea with milk and sugar because he has gotten "used to the way thinsks are done here a long time ago."
6.1.1.3. "and he smiled, the eager smile of a person who wants to be liked."
6.1.2. Imposes mimicry on Chinaza
6.1.2.1. Didn't even ask her for permision"When he filled out a Social Security number application for me the next day, the name he entered in bold letter was Agatha Bell."
6.1.3. Promises of a better life
6.1.3.1. "Also when I become an Attending, we will not live in a neighbourhood like this."
6.1.3.2. "I'll buy a car after my residency."
6.2. Chinaza
6.2.1. The oppressed character
6.2.1.1. "She was right, I could not leave yet. I went back across the hall the nest evening. I rang the doorbell and he opened the door, stood aside, and let me pass."
6.2.2. Dave imposes mimicry on her.
6.2.2.1. "speak english. There are people behind you" he wishpered.
6.2.2.2. "You need to speak English at home,too, baby."
6.2.3. Chinaza was no impressed by the american culture the same way her grandparents and Dave were, she much prefered Nigeria.
6.2.3.1. "I sat before my limp pancakes-they were so much thinner than the chewy slabs I made at home-and bland tea that I feared would not pass my throat."
6.2.3.2. "There was something humiliatingly public, something lacking in dignity, about this place, this open space of too many tables and too much food.
6.2.4. Chinaza wanted independence for herself
6.2.4.1. "I did not remind them that I wanted to take the JAMB exam again and try for university."
6.2.4.2. "Something leaped inside of me at the thought, the sudden and new thought, of earning what would be mine. Mine."
6.2.4.3. Nia: "You can wait until you get your papers and then leave. "You can apply for benefits while you get your shit together, and then you'll get a job and find a place and support yourself and start afresh."
6.2.5. Transformation
6.2.5.1. Dave: "Look around, don't lower your eyes like that. Look around. You get used to things faster that way," he said." Chinaza: "I turned my head from side to side so he would see that I was following his advice"
6.2.5.2. Stands up for herself: "I deserved to know before we got married"
6.3. Nia
6.3.1. Chinazas eye opener, the opposite point of view than Dave
6.3.1.1. Shirley: "It smells really good. The problem with us here is we have no culture, no culture at all."
6.3.2. "she was the kind of woman Aunty Ada would disapprove of." because of her looks
6.3.3. Nia is Chinazas' comfort zone
6.3.3.1. "that i had taught Nia how to say "Im hungry" and "See you tomorrow" in Igbo."
6.4. Grandparents
6.4.1. the "arrangers of marriage"
6.4.2. Why wasn't it her parents? Why did Adichie choose the grandparents?