Symbolic Representations of Culture and Violence in "The American Embassy"

Symbolic representations of violence through culture are present in nearly all of Adichie’s short stories in the compilation of The Thing Around Your Neck. Adichie’s “The American Embassy” is no different in that it provides the reader with a symbolic representation of violence through a cultural cooking product, palm oil. Further, “The American Embassy”’s depiction of that symbolic representation of violence includes powerful commentary on the distance between the plights of the Nigerian people and those in other parts of the world. Adichie’s reference to palm oil near the end of the short story gives the reader insight as to the cultural dissonance between Nigerian and American culture, “her future rested on that face. The face of a person who did not understand her, who probably did not cook with palm oil, or know that palm oil when fresh was a bright, bright red” (141).

         This seemingly simple recognition of cultural difference by the main character is rather an in-depth appraisal of the lack of understanding that creates a cultural gap in understanding the nuances of Nigerian culture. Throughout the story Adichie references palm oil and it’s similarities to fresh blood. The main character wishes that the blood could be instead palm oil. A reader unbeknownst to palm oil or it’s significance to Nigerian culture may have trouble finding the symbolism in palm oil as a depiction of violence. Adichie understands this cultural dissonance however, and uses it to her advantage. In those closing remarks by Adichie’s main character, the reader who is unfamiliar to palm oil can truly recognize the cultural dissonance between the main character and the visa agent she stands before. Without a mutual understanding of even small cultural nuances, the larger picture of what is going on in another’s cultural experience can also be missed.