Checking Out

Obinze’s character embodies a central theme of the story: The Complexities of the Immigrant Experience. The tone of the first paragraph, describing Obinze’s first perceptions of London, establishes his feelings as an unauthorized immigrant. Ominous imagery depicts the cold weather as possessing a “weightless menace,” while the buildings “all [wear] a mournful face” (Paragraph 1). Here, Adichie’s use of personification presents the city as an unwelcoming character. Obinze’s physical discomfort is accompanied by a profound sense of alienation in a hostile country. This inhospitable imagery culminates in Obinze’s discovery of a pile of feces on a toilet lid. Obinze recognizes the offensive discovery as “a performance,” possibly left there by a disgruntled employee. However, Obinze feels that the “carefully arranged” feces is also a deliberate affront to him, symbolizing the United Kingdom’s attitude toward immigrants. The protagonist is aware of the public perception of “asylum seekers draining the National Health Service” and feels scrutinized and judged (Paragraph 98). Throughout the story, his anxiety and hypervigilance are emphasized. For example, the protagonist’s panic is depicted on his first trip to the registration office when he overhears a woman complaining about “sham marriages.