Not Part of Your World

One of the most intriguing elements of the story in ‘Akata Witch’ by Nnedi Okorafor is how Sunny feels separate and out of place in every context that she is in. Not only does she feel culturally out of place because of growing up in New York City and living in Nigeria, she feels racially misplaced due to her albinism and how her peers perceive her as more white than black. Additionally, she feels like she doesn’t fit in with the Lamb world or the Leopard world, and must awkwardly exist in all of these spheres.

Whilst this constant duality further emphasizes how Sunny spans different worlds and emphasizes her significance to the plot, it also makes for a very lonely character. As a bilingual dual citizen, I can relate to Sunny to an extent: I find it difficult to prevent the different cultures and languages from merging in everyday life, and it has lead to some awkward experiences. It is difficult to wholly relate to other people when you don’t have similar experiences because individual history informs personality and development; lacking common experiences makes it difficult for people to relate to one another.

However, I think that Sunny’s many dualities are the most important part of her character, not because they furthers the plot, but because they allow for people that have felt out of place in their environment to read about her character and relate to her  in some way.  Even if the readers do not understand or relate to all of Sunny’s experiences, the many different dualities tie the readers in and allow for them to learn more from reading the book.

9 responses to “Not Part of Your World”

  1. mahinasmith Avatar
    mahinasmith

    I found this really interesting as well! I interpreted Sunny’s differences as a product of American individualism. While I agree with the message “its ok to be different.” I do not entirely agree with the way I felt the book defined Sunny by her differences. What do you think?

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    1. malyschm Avatar
      malyschm

      I feel like the book definitely hyper emphasized that she was slightly out of place regardless of where she went. I don’t think it’s a bad thing, particularly because I know that it reflects the experiences of some individuals well. However, there was a part of me that thought Okorafor was checking off dualities from a list. Like, ‘in how many ways can I make this girl a mix of two things and make her feel out of place wherever she goes? Culture? Check. Skin color? Check. Magic? Check.’ etc, etc. I felt like it was just shy of being artificially constructed, but I’m not sure if that is a judgement call I can make because my experience is only based on cultural experiences; I can pass as native in both communities I grew up in, so my sense of displacement is minimized because of that.

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      1. hwseo1004 Avatar
        hwseo1004

        Huh, I never thought of it that way but I sort of agree with you. I feel like it’s really amazing for Sunny to feel so out of place in her home (as only daughter with magic), at school (as albino), between her friends (as an unknown Leopard person), and even among the Leopard people (as free agent) and still be a more or less happy person.

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  2. erinrosenfeld Avatar
    erinrosenfeld

    I was also really interested by Sunny being “in-between” was portrayed throughout the novel. I was interested that Okorafor chose to treat these differences as a source of literal magic power. In Sunny’s case, she’s in between the wilderness and the physical world, and she has special insight into the future because of that. Additionally, her in-between state actually helps to save the lives of two children: Orlu needed “the hair of one who walks between” in order to bring two children back from the dead (321). Similarly, I think feeling in-between two nations in the real world offers crucial insights and perspectives into each of them. Additionally, knowing multiple languages (which is also discussed throughout the book) offers many additional advantages over being monolingual. In this way, Okorafor highlights the advantages of being disadvantaged or different, portraying them as actual powers. Although it’s certainly possible to critique this portrayal of difference/disability/oppression/etc., I really appreciated how it may help ostracized or minoritized readers feel centered throughout the novel.

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  3. kaitlynegp Avatar
    kaitlynegp

    This is really well written and I think you touch upon an important aspect of the novel! I found it particularly interesting when she was asked to identify herself in the context of a nationality or a language; for instance, when Chichi assumes her first language was Igbo (when it was actually English), or during the soccer registration where she said to put whatever nationality was easier. Her connections seem so fluid and important to her characterization, yet she continues to demonstrate no inclination to one over the other. Overall, I think this fluidity contributes to her sense of youth and traits of being (relatively) easygoing and accepting (she adapted to a new world quite rapidly with little resistance).

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  4. allisonrayco Avatar
    allisonrayco

    I agree that Sunny’s dualities add a loneliness to her character, and I find it interesting that this happens despite being a part of a group. Instead of being tasked with an individual quest and meeting people along the way, Sunny, Chichi, Orlu, and Sasha are tasked all together with defeating Black Hat. I think this emphasizes your point that Sunny feels awkward to some extent in all of her different spheres despite her groups within some of them.

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  5. annabilly Avatar
    annabilly

    I think you make some excellent points! Okorafor uses gender as a mechanism to discuss the same theme, especially during the soccer scene. I felt like Okorafor continually uses Sunny’s gender as a way to talk about her identity straddling two worlds. Sugar Cream becomes an important figure in the story as one of the four scholars (and the only female one at that). Initially Sunny’s role model, who eventual becomes her teacher, Sugar Cream can act as a person who helps her transition into her identity as a Leopard free agent person.

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  6. kedam07 Avatar
    kedam07

    I really enjoyed reading this because I could also relate to Sunny, and you bring upon interesting point discussing how her duality allows for others to relate to her.

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  7. edwardslo Avatar
    edwardslo

    I agree that Okorafor does a good job in making Sunny feel relatable. In many parts of the novel, we see Sunny be reminded of her qualities that separate her from the rest of the community. Even once she finds a community with the Leopard people, she still has moments where individuals bring up her skin or American background. She is a character that shows that its okay to feel misplaced even if you do have a strong support network, and that you can find a sense of community in places/environments/social groups that you originally feel like an outsider.

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