We perceive Ivy League schools to be spaces of intellectual freedom and a forum for social expressivity. However, every year there are stories of students from lower income families who are unable to fit in socially. They can not compete with the financial spending of their peers at the school. They’ve been accepted but not truly “accepted”.

What does it mean to be “accepted” in America? Adichie explains that there is less of acceptance and more of tolerance. We have become a country of tolerance, and I believe Adichie’s main idea of civic revolves around this idea.

Adichie gives us two examples in the first chapter about what she perceives to be the norm in America. The first is her encounter with the white guy with dreadlocks who is wearing shabby clothing. She expects him to openly accept her blog and her ideas. He “looks” like he would be more open minded. In her case, the complete opposite occurs, the man with the dreadlocks tells her,”Race is totally overhyped’, and ‘ it’s all about…the haves and have-nots.” Adichie’s view of the american civic is molded by her past experiences. She shows us that to be an American is the most general, vague, definition in the world. We can be close minded or accepting as seen in her conversation with the middle aged man on the plane, who told her how black children are rarely adopted, yet him and his wife welcomed an african child into their life. We can be called racist by everyone else in the world, because no other country deals with the type of diversity we do. Yes there are racists in America, but they do not define the entire nation. Even Adichie is able to see that with her unusual encounters with everyday people. America is a country of immigrants, where civic is perhaps more vague for a citizen here than it is anywhere else.

Cited: Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi. Americanah. New York: Anchor, 2014. Print