Characters
- Akunna
- Young Nigerian woman who wins the U.S. visa lottery.
- cf. “You won the American visa lottery.”
- Leaves Nigeria with high expectations of success and freedom.
- Experiences culture shock, loneliness, and financial insecurity in America.
- Traumatized by her uncle’s attempted sexual assault; this shapes her distrust and distance.
- cf. “pulled you forcefully to him”
- Independent and resilient; leaves her uncle’s home and finds work on her own.
- cf. “the next morning, you left”
- Feels isolated: communication with Nigeria fades; belonging weakens.
- cf. “you didn’t write a letter”
- Begins a relationship with an American man but feels exoticized.
- Struggles with grief over her father’s death.
- The “thing around her neck” symbolizes anxiety and immigrant trauma.
- Represents challenges of immigrant women between hope and marginalization.
- Young Nigerian woman who wins the U.S. visa lottery.
- The Boyfriend (Unnamed White American)
- Well-educated and wealthy; comes from an upper-class family.
- cf. “his grandfather in Boston had been wealthy”
- Interested in African culture, literature, and history.
- cf. he “had read a lot about sub-Saharan African countries, their histories”
- Tends to romanticize/exoticize Akunna’s background.
- Though kind, he reinforces cultural distance unknowingly.
- cf. “you knew that he did not understand”
- Represents liberal but naïve attitudes toward Africa.
- Treats Akunna with affection and support.
- cf. “He held you while you cried”
- Ultimately fails to grasp her emotional struggle.
- Symbolizes limits of cross-cultural relationships.
- Well-educated and wealthy; comes from an upper-class family.
- Akunna’s Uncle
- Nigerian relative living in America; Initially appears helpful and respectable.
- cf. he “said you could live with him ”
- Represents power imbalance and hypocrisy.
- Makes sexual advances, betraying trust.
- His harassment forces Akunna to flee, triggering her isolation and struggle.
- Embodies hypocrisy: portrays himself as moral yet preys on vulnerable family members.
- Symbolizes the threat and exploitation immigrants may face within their own communities.
- Nigerian relative living in America; Initially appears helpful and respectable.
- Akunna’s Father
- Appears only in memories.
- Represents emotional connection to Nigeria.
- His death intensifies Akunna’s grief and dislocation.
- Symbolizes emotional distance from home.
- Akunna’s Family
- Remain in Nigeria and rely on her imagined success.
- cf. “you will have a big car”
- Communication fades as isolation grows.
- Symbolize pressure, expectations, and what she left behind.
- Remain in Nigeria and rely on her imagined success.