Utopia to Dystopia in Adhichie’s The Thing Around Your Neck

Abstract

The major thrust of The Things Around Your Neck research is to expose or focus upon the issue how Adhichie’s migration and cultural in-betweeness is presented. Even though Adichie's work is an analogy of human desire for power and their surviving it still provides the possibilities of establishing a utopia, and is more important for this paper, illustrates the factors in a utopian society that ultimately led to the creation of a dystopian society. Nkem, Kamara, Akunna, Ofodile and Chinaza migrated to America for better life. They migrate there because this country lacks education, lack of infrastructure, politically instable, economic condition, corruption and unemployment which are the main cause of migration. As immigrants they have to face problems but in the same way migration opens wide range of possibilities in their life. So, all the characters have to suffer physically and mentally as immigrant in America. This thesis explores the condition of Nigerian people in the country and abroad which means in America.

So, this research explores all the elements of utopia The Thing Around Your Neck which is proved by migration and their imaginary place where the life would be perfect. Utopia is a place where people can get every kind of pleasure and happiness. They find the place which meets the place of their ream. Utopia is a pace of perfections. It full any kids of need and greed. People get their ambitions achieved and their each and every kind of desires fulfilled. This novel explores the effect of social atmosphere and locale in those who come to imbibe and assimilate the new trends and norms of this locale. The characters are unhappy with society in general and cannot communicate with the social milieu on one prefect or the other. They feel disturbed by the pretentiousness and violence in society. They nurture utopian dreams. Society demands compromises, which they egotistically abhor.