Circumstances

The commencement address by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was delivered at the Wellesley College campus in Massachusetts, US, where students and their relatives were attending the graduation ceremony of the 2015 class. This is made clear in the video of the speech. Wellesley College is a private liberal arts college for women founded in 1870s. The college has a long tradition through which it has built a reputation of an elite educational institution.

In the speech, there are several references to circumstances in the US, Nigeria, and the world at large. For example, the mention of Hillary Clinton (ll. 15-17) is an allusion to the then ongoing campaign for the 2016 presidential elections in the US. Contrary to Adichie’s wishes in the speech, it was Clinton’s opponent, Republican Donald Trump who won the elections.

Other aspect...