The novel Americanah by Chimanda Ngozi Adiche is written in third person limited omniscient and simultaneously being subjective and objective. It is subjective when the main characters are mentioned but generally objective in the assessment of the other characters unless seen through the eyes of Ifemelu or Obinze. At no point do we see a sentence start with I unless it relates to what a character is saying. We are privy to the full spectrum of Ifemelu’s and Obinze thoughts and emotions. It is through these two main characters that we see the world they live in and are introduced to the other supporting characters. The thoughts of the other characters are filtered through the thoughts of either Obinze or Ifemelu.
Because we are experiencing the story through these characters and at that point the author is omniscient we are more connected to these characters. We are not just more connected but all of their assertions are assumed true and as we are viewing the world as they are, we are empathetic to whatever situations they experience.
Having two main characters that share similar scenes together gives an effect of validating and bringing three dimensionality and verification of the objectiveness of the author. With each of the main characters not contradicting each other’s account of events, it gives events legitimacy. Knowing we can trust both characters and the author’s views roots the novel as an accurate account of events and aligns your judgments with the point of view of the author.
Having this point of view affects all of the characters in the novel resulting in only Obinze and Ifemelu being effectively round and dynamic. The other characters are relegated to being mainly flat and being less dynamic if dynamic at all. We see “Aunty Uju” and “Dike” change somewhat and they could even be considered as round but those are the exception.