Half of a Yellow Sun 325-438 [Chapters 25-28] - Article Example

Half of a Yellow sun The narrative in the Half a yellow sun is based on the Nigerian-Biafra war. Adichie that the issues that led to this war still exist. The importance of war to the Igbo people is highlighted though the war has been portrayed to have a negative impact upon the Nigerians. This novel is therefore based on moral responsibility, class and race, ethnic allegiance, end of colonialism and the impact of love on these issues. Ethnic differences are found between the mainly Igbo protagonists and Miss Adebayo.

These ethnic differences have a negative significance following the 1966 military coup which becomes an excuse for anti-Igbo protests later. The narrative illustrates the violence with a vivid description of headless corpses of the Nigerians. The end of this war makes people to become internal refugees; there is also the outbreak of malnutrition illnesses like kwashiorkor. Olanna barely survives under these conditions with her adopted daughter. The love between the twin sisters portrays the political groups’ conflicts.

Colonialisation history has adapted the war period to the roasting of lizards and bush rats as if they were a rack of lamb. Odengbo a revolutionary freedom fighter yields to alcohol drinking and misery as Olanna draws on insightful strengths. The relationship between the servant and the master changes as the servant returns with fondness and sarcasm with his master’s way of referring to him as “my good man”. Adichie has used history to portray the characters as victims of circumstance or worse be the perpetrators of the violence.

The author tries to make the reader realize the importance of our past or history to our present. The past events that we are ignorant about directly or indirectly define us and help us in defining our present. Political and ethnical pressures in the novel are the result of the Biafra civil war and they serve a sign of hope to the present Nigeria. The misery and horrors experienced by the characters help in changing the capable image of the rising sun into that of a sun filled with blood and starvation.

The ethnic differences have been portrayed by the depth and stubbornness among Africans. This is not only in the differences between Christians and Muslims, but also among other members of the same group who are from different classes, families and different villages. The author has attempted to convey out the other side of human nature of dreadful pettiness, she also the capability of overcoming these setbacks. She vividly narrates the harrowing experiences faced by the characters through the dramatization of the way the characters strive to survive Biafra civil war in the face of starvation, constant threats and bombing raids.

The characters are used to show the issues affecting Nigeria like moral responsibility, the impact of colonialism and the consequences of conflicts in race, class and economic that is evident in Nigeria. The change of cultures happens with time, due to colonialization, the education system has made people to think in English and forget their native languages and also forget their history. It is clear that Adichie’s purpose of writing this novel was to make or enlighten the readers on some of Nigeria’s history and ensure that the stories of Africans should be written by Africans themselves.

The characters though not in real life are a reflection of the present society and the people and their approach to life which is full of conflicts between the modern versus the traditional. The memories of the Biafra war are still present as the people continue to repeat the same things without a concern on the consequences of the nature of war.Works CitedAdichie, Chimamanda. Half of a Yellow Sun. New York: Anchor. 2007. Print.