How does Adichie explore the relationship between culture and identity?

"The face of a person who did not understand her, who probably didn't cook with palm oil, or know that Palm oil
when fresh, is a bright bright red and when not fresh, a congealed orange lump
There were the blind beggars led by children, singing blessings in English, Yoruba, pidgun, Igbo, Hausa
She wanted to scold him about playing with the palm oil in the kitchen. 129
Maybe the red splash really was palm oil 133
She did not look, because she knew the blood would be red like fresh palm oil

Chimimanda Adichie, an African author, wrote an anthology titled Thing

Around Your Neck, exploring facets of Nigerian life, their relation to conflict
and the themes that come with the conflict. A very distinct aspect that is shared
within many of the short stories in the anthology explore various links between
the themes culture and identity, whether it be through language, or references to
country-specific objects or even the characters very distinct and different
thought process. Adichie explores the relationship between the culture of the
Nigerian people and also their identity throughout her short stories.
The use of different languages in Adichies short stories allows her to show the
different emotive states of the characters within her story. Information about the
characters disposition can be derived from whichever language they are using
at the time. Adichie uses English and other African languages to differentiate
between the characters different moods and mindsets. She does this not only to
remind the reader that Nigeria is a country that has been under the effects of
colonization but also to give her characters more depth, adding to the cultural
identity they possess. One of Adichies short stories, Cell One, explores the
intricacies between the use of English versus Nigerian and the characters mind
with the emotional language of their culture. In Cell One, Nnamabia, the
unnamed protagonists older brother had obviously stolen his familys jewels,
leading to an incredibly unconvincing lie. Weve been robbed! He said in
English, shows truly how deceitful he was. As though it was a rehearsed line,
Nnamabia speaks English as he always did when he was defending himself.
Adichie does this not just as an introduction to the characters personality, but to
also show what kind of identity the character retains using language as an
emotion, or as in this case, a lack thereof. On the other hand, Nnamabias
mother shows a great deal of emotion and thus is represented in her native
language. Her disappointment cannot be explained by her in English, so she uses
the words: Chi m egbuo m! My God has killed me! signifying not only the raw
emotion in her voice but also the cultural identity she retains, even though her
country had been colonized. Adichie juxtaposes the two characters, Nnamabia
and his mother to display the two sides of the same coin. I would never violate
your trust like this Nnamabia says in English to show the reader his true colours.
This compared to Ekwuzikwana! Dont say that! an outburst, revealing the
cultural identity hidden behind the person, making them become one with their
culture. The different languages within the short story, Cell One make for
revealing insight into the culture of the people within the short story.

Through cultural referential themes and concepts, Adichie shows that people can
cover up the emotions that have been affected by alien occurrences. With the
grounded, concrete objects relating to their culture, the character affected by
emotional distress may have an easier time dealing with grief. The protagonist
character in The American Embassy is afflicted with grief after her son is killed
by government soldiers. She tries her hardest to keep in touch with the real
world while her mind is in absolute turmoil, shown by the disjointed time
travelling of the plot narrative. One of the things keeping her mind in check is
the firm belief that her son is not dead and covered in blood, but in fact dirtied
with palm oil after knocking the bottle from a shelf he could not have possibly
reached. The palm oil is a recurring theme in The American Embassy, as a
cultural reference that lets the protagonists retain her sanity to make it through
the Visa qualification test. The protagonist is confronted with the interviewer
who probably didn't cook with palm oil, or know that Palm oil when fresh, is a
bright, bright red. This cultural divide really accentuates the fact that the
protagonists identity is much more different than the interviewer with the pale
face, the face [that] did not understand her. Adichie lets her unnamed mother
protagonist deal with the denial in a first person limited viewpoint, letting the
reader in on her clouded mind, letting them experience the mothers sorrow and
cover up firsthand. This also allows the reader access to an intimate portion of
her mind, one that stays unknown to the other characters in the sort story. This
also lets the reader in on the cultural aspects of the denial of the death of her
son. The constant references to the palm oil that she mistakenly believes that
her son is covered in show the cultural familiarity she has to surround her mind
with to maintain composure. This proves another instance of the culture
impacting upon the identity, forming a strong, unbreakable relationship.