The REAL Thing Around Your Neck


     When I first read the title of the novel by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, I couldn't quite figure out what this book would be about.  As I started reading the first chapter, I had a hard time connecting the title to the story.  I was even more confused when I got to the second chapter and the story had completely changed.  After the first page of the second chapter I realized it was a completely different story.  I kept reading and still couldn't figure out when the thing around your neck would come up.

     I finally got to the chapter labeled The Thing Around Your Neck and I was even more confused than before.  Going into the chapter, I thought it would be a necklace or some African custom piece, but it was actually a metaphor.  The story followed a young woman as she migrates to America.  With America being a symbol of hope for a better life throughout the novel, the woman struggled in her new life.  Having to leave all she had ever known behind in Nigeria, she had to adapt to new circumstances in America.  Her hopes of going to university were put on the back-burner as she had to find work in order to pay rent for her tiny apartment.  At night, she said that something would wrap around her neck and almost choke her until she fell asleep.  I didn't quite understand what she meant by that until she met her love interest.  Having someone to share your life with and confide in had helped the woman in adjusting to her new life.  Later in the story, she said the thing around her neck had began to loosen.

     In my opinion, I believe that the thing around your neck is your demons.  It is what you're scared of or something that is controlling your life in a negative way.  In some ways, I think a person need to have to comfort and security in another for those demons to go away.  I found it strange that this chapter was in the middle of the novel.  I thought it would be better if it was the last chapter, but overall I see that the thing around your neck can be applied to every story in the novel.  Each character had to deal with their own demons and either had to seek out the help of someone else or let their demon control them.  By the time I finished this book, I found the title very suiting.

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