Clash of cultures in the short stories by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Abstract

The object of this article is the English-language multicultural prose of the late XX – early XXI centuries. The subject is the situation of clash of cultures. The research material is based on individual short stories by the contemporary US-Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie published in the book “The Thing Around Your Neck” (2009). The goal of this article lies in determination and analysis of the peculiarities of artistic expression and functionality of the situation of clash of cultures in the writer’s short stories. The relevance is substantiated by the following factors: 1) clash of cultures is typical for the relationships in modern multipolar world during the globalization era, thus it is relevant in literary works of the authors of the XX–XXI centuries;  2) literary studies currently indicate heightened interest in covering various aspects of fictional multicultural prose; 3) Adichie is a remarkable figure in the modern literary process. The short stories by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie are unique in their reference to signal trends in the development of the English-language literature, and thus are a relevant in the context of studying the designated topic. Unlike the works of multicultural writers of the second half of the XX century, which have repeatedly been the object of scientific research, the multicultural prose of the late XX – early XXI centuries is poorly studied. The scientific novelty is defined by the fact that the analysis of short stories from the collection “The Thing Around Your Neck” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, which is not translated into the Russian language, is carried out for the first time within the Russian literally studies. The conclusion is made that the situation of clash of cultures in Adichie’s stories becomes the factor that induces mental crisis in the minds of the characters. There is no constructive dialogue of cultures, and their clash leads the characters to either the loss or substitution of identity.