Setting

Physical setting

The physical setting in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s short story “The Arrangers of Marriage” is the city of New York. The story names several locations that reflect the everyday American lifestyle such as Key Food, the mall, and McDonald’s. These locations highlight how Chinaza perceives America, since she contrasts them with her life in Nigeria. When she and Ofodile arrive at the food court, Chinaza experiences culture shock, seeing all the people eat in such a small space: “A sea of people sitting around circular tables, hunched over paper plates of greasy food. (...) There was something humiliatingly public, something lacking in dignity, about this place, this open space of too many tables and too much food”.

The action also takes place in t...