ABSTRACT

Language is an indispensible characteristic of every human society. The language one speaks tells much about one’s identity with regards to where the person comes from. In every society individuals and groups of persons would like to be differentiated from others, and in that effect, identity comes to play. In this study, the researcher has been able to explore the identity of Achebe in his Things Fall Apart and Adichie in her Americanah have been able to create for themselves through their texts. The study uses Contrastive Hypotheses Theory and the Identity and Difference Theory as guides. At the end of the research, it is discovered that Achebe and Adichie have been able to use language as a quest for identity in their texts Things Fall Apart and Americanah; the study also points out the kind of identity that the use of language in Things Fall Apart and Americanah have created about Achebe and Adichie, and as well shows therelevance of the use of language as a quest for identity in Things Fall Apart and Americanah to literature.