Setting

The short story “On Monday of Last Week” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie takes place in Philadelphia, United States of America. 

In flashbacks, we also get glimpses of Kamara’s life in Nigeria before she immigrated to America. She remembers with fondness the “bathroom with slimy walls” where she and Tobechi used to take bucket baths together, and the blinking electric bulbs in the room where they ate soggy grilled meat with raw onions. The poor yet familiar environment in Nigeria where Kamara felt happy is contrasted with the modern, impersonal environment in America: “the air-conditioned staleness” in the airport, the “milk-coloured linoleum of the kitchen floor” in Tobechi’s apartment, as well as the large, well-supplied house where she works ...