Title: Half of a Yellow Sun
1Half of a Yellow Sun
- Love and Race/Class Relations as the Seeds of War
and its Resolution
Joyce Chen and Kate Liu, Fall, 2009
2Outline
- I. Introduction
- Nigeria-Biafra war
- Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and the novel
- II. Chap 1 Ugwus Education
- III. Chap II Relations between
- Olanna and her family
- Olanna and her uncles family
- Olanna and Odenigbo
- Seeds of Independence and Conflicts
- IV. Notes References
- V. Next Time
3 Nigeria-Biafra War (1967-1970)
Joyce
4NigeriaBasic Data
Joyce
5NigeriaBefore Colonization
- circa 11th century onwards - Formation of city
states, kingdoms and empires. - 1472 - Portuguese navigators reach Nigerian
coast. - 16-18th centuries - Slave trade
- 1809 - Single Islamic state - Sokoto caliphate -
is founded in north - 1850s - British establish presence around Lagos.
Joyce
6Nigeria Colonization to independence
- 1861-1914 - Britain consolidates its hold over
what it calls the Colony and Protectorate of
Nigeria, governs by "indirect rule" through local
leaders. - 1923-Western-educated elites established the
first political party NNDP the rise of
independence movement - 1960 - Independence, with Prime Minister Sir
Abubakar Tafawa Balewa leading a coalition
government. - 1964-First national election
Joyce
7Nigeria-Biafra WarCauses
- Race-Religion Tribalism to regionalism
- Religion and Ethnic differences
- Hausa-Fulani feudal society governed by Muslim
Sharia. Conservative, undeveloped, yet most
populous - Yoruba feudal society governed by oba (monarch)
- Igbo republic system, governed by titled men.
Covert to Christianity and enjoy the highest
literacy in English during colonization - Economy the discovery of oil reserves
- Direct cause
- Coup in 1966
- genocide in the north 30,000 people of Ibo/Igbo
ethnic origin were killed
Joyce
Part 1 http//www.youtube.com/watch?vJ3ReFoFp0Gs
346 three tribes
8Nigeria-Biafra War International Intervention
- Recognition Gabon, Haiti, Côte d'Ivoire,
Tanzania (the first) and Zambia - A continuous power wrestling between ex-
colonizers - Interest of oil
- Fear of Balkanization (seccesionism)
Joyce
9The end of the War Air raid, blockade,
Starvation, and Ojukwus exile to Côte d'Ivoire
Part 4 http//www.youtube.com/watch?veppgEVwxCfk
featurerelated 412 starvation
Joyce
10Questions
- Different perspectives of the researches on the
war. - Civil war meaningful or meaningless?
- Why/ How do we (non-Nigerians) study the war?
- How is the war presentedby American films such
as Blood Diamond, The Last King of Scotland, and
by African novels and documentary such as
War/Dance?
End of the war http//www.youtube.com/watch?vrZT
puVlKJ_Qfeaturerelated 600 Biafran Govt in
Exile http//www.youtube.com/watch?vrZTpuVlKJ_Qf
eaturerelated
Joyce
11Literary Presentation of the war Earlier
Generation
- Witness memoirs / diaries
- Wole Soyinka (1934-)
- The man Died Prison Notes of Wole Soyinka
- Elechi Amadi (1934-)
- Sunset in Biafra A Civil War Diary
- Ken Saro-Wiwa (1941-95)
- On a Darkling Plain An Account of the Nigerian
Civil War.
Joyce
12Literary Presentation of the war Earlier
Generation
- Chinua Achebe(1930-)
- Girls at War
- Christmas in Biafra and other poems
- Christopher Okigbo(1932-67)
- Labyrinths with Path of Thunder
- Flora Nwapa (1931-93)
- Wives at War and Other Stories.
- Never Again.
- Buchi Emecheta (1944-)
- Destination Biafra .
Joyce
13Literary Presentation of the warYounger
Generation
- Dulue Mbachu
- War Games
- Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- Half of a Yellow Sun
- Uzodinma Iweala
- Beasts of No Nation
- Chris Abani
- Song for Night
Joyce
14Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- born (after Biafra war) in 1977
- the family's ancestral hometown is Abba (where
Odenigbo comes from) - grew up in Nsukka,
- left for the United States at the age of 19
- Got her BA degree in communication and political
science at Eastern Connecticut State University,
her master's degree in creative writing at Johns
Hopkins University - Purple Hibiscus (2005)
- Half of a Yellow Sun (2006)
- Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction 2007
Source http//www.l3.ulg.ac.be/adichie/
http//www.halfofayellowsun.com/content.php?pagea
uthor_galleryn1f2
15Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Why write?
- because I wanted to write about love and war,
- because I grew up in the shadow of Biafra,
- because I lost both grandfathers in the
Nigeria-Biafra war, - because I wanted to engage with my history in
order to make sense of my present, many of the
issues that led to the war remain unresolved in
Nigeria today, - because my family my father has tears in his
eyes when he speaks of losing his father, because
my mother still cannot speak at length about
losing her father in a refugee camp, - because the brutal bequests of colonialism make
me angry, - because the thought of the egos and indifference
of men leading to the unnecessary deaths of men
and women and children enrages me, because I
don't ever want to forget. - (source youtube http//www.youtube.com/watch?vQ
O8ZEtyuiZM )
16Half of a Yellow Sun
- Three major characters
- Olanna born of an upper-class family, a teacher
at Nsukku U. before the war - Uugwu Odenigbo's household servant from the
village - Richard Churchill a British writer and
journalist, lover of Kainene kaineinei
17Why the title Half of a Yellow Sun
- Commemorates Biafra
- The sun can be a rising sun, or a falling sun.
- Who and what can survive the war?
18The Novel and the war
- (1) The characters as witnesses
- Olanna -- witnesses the killing of Igbos in the
streets of Kano, including some of her family
(her uncle and aunt) - Richard -- sees the killing of Igbos in the
airport while waiting for a plane - Ugwu forced to serve in the army, where he
witnesses and gets involved in the violence of
wartime (e.g. raping a woman). - -- heard that the Nigerian soldiers had promised
to kill five percent of Nsukka academics.
19Structure the Theme of War and Love
- Parallel between two time lines
- Early Sixties Part I, III (climax),
- Late Sixties Part II (massacre? war breaking
out), IV - 8 chapters end with a fragment from The Book The
World Was Silent When We Died - Two kinds of wars, trauma, and how to survive
both. - (2) The characters as survivors and/or writers.
20The Book in the Novel
- e.g. At Independence in 1960, Nigeria was a
collection of fragments held in a fragile clasp.
(195) - e.g. Nigeria did not have an economy until
IndependenceBut the new Nigerian leaders were
too optimistic - Who wrote it?
- Title from Richard (This war isnt my story to
tell, really 530) - A poem modeled after Okeomas poems
- Ugwu wrote his dedication For Master, my good
man.
21 WHERE YOU SILENT WHEN WE DIED?Did you see
photos in sixty-eightOf Children with their hair
becoming rustSickly patches nestled on those
small heads,Then falling off, like rotten leaves
on dust?Imagine children with arms like
toothpicks,With footballs for bellies and skin
stretched thin.It was kwashiorkordifficult
word,A word that was not quite ugly enough, a
sin.You neednt imagine. There were
photosDisplayed in gloss-filled pages of your
Life.Did you see? Did you feel sorry
briefly,Then turn round to hold your lover or
wife?Their skin had turned the tawny of weak
teaAnd showed cobwebs of vein and brittle
boneNaked children laughing, as if the
manWould not take photos and then leave, alone
(470).
22SEEDS OF INDEPENDENCE (OR THE RISING SUN)
23Reminder Place Names
- setting of chaps 1-2 Nsukka ? Lagos ? Kano
- (Kainene Port Harcourt, running her fathers
business) - Odenigbo from Abba
War Game Jos? Amafor
Abba
Nsukka
24Reminder Character Names
- Olanna
- sister Kainene (45) boyfriend Richard
(44-45) - father Chief Ozobia mother (42-43) Chief
Okonji - uncle Mbaezi aunt Ifeka daugher Arize
(49) --Hausa friend Abdulmalik (50) - ex-boyfriend Mohammed
- boyfriend Odenigbo
- Ugwu
25Chap 1 Ugwus Education
- Ugwu as a villager
- What aspects of the town Nsukka and Odenigos
house are new to Ugwu? - Where does Ugwa keep his traditional thinking?
- Do we see similar responses to modernity in chap
2 (p. 34)? - Ugwu as a houseboy
- How does Ugwu settle down and win the masters
heart? Is he completely obedient? - What makes him special as a houseboy? How does
he learn from Odenigbo and his colleagues? - Where do you see the seeds of Biafra independence?
26Ugwu as a villager
- Ugwu -- the town Nsukka and Odenigos house
- Street (3)
- The house too much space (5), bookshelf, ceiling
too high and white (5), tap fridge (7), bulb
(8) - Masters wearing slippers (7), Ironing the socks
- chap 2 (p. 34)the older womans response to the
landing airplane - Ugwas traditional thinking
- Desirous and Sexist a) keeps chicken in his
pocket 2) Nnesinach -? Anulika (9-10) - Wary of the traders in the North
- Literal-minded Cannot understand the analogy the
Master makes (12) - Blames all on Evil spirit (17) curses those he
doesnt like (16) - Believes in dibias power e.g. using arigbe to
win the masters heart.
27Ugwu as a houseboy
- The Masters emphasis on education
- (13-14) Education is a priority
- Different from the other houseboys (21)
- Ugwu attentive and open to learning
- Careful in learning the rhythm of Masters life
(16)- - Reads the books though not understanding them
completely (21) - Listens to the talk of Odenigbo and his
colleagues (21-) Al Ugwu needed was the deep
voice, the melody of the English-inflected Igbo,
the glint of the thick eyeglasses (26) - chap 2 learning to cook from Olanna
28Ugwu as a houseboy (2)
- Ugwu personally involved, he cares about both
Odenigbo and Olanna. - Dislikes Ms. Adebayo (26)
- Cursing her at first (27)
- Finds the masters English to be dignified and
like music, and Olannas, magic (27-28) - Attentive to their interactions (pp. 30-31)
29Seeds of Independence and Survival
- Independence
- Intellectuals comments on racial inequality in
American South, South Africa - pan-Africanisnism vs. pan-Igbo idea-- The only
authentic identity for the African is the tribe
(25) - (24-25)
- Survival
- Ugwu imitates the Master (25)
- Ugwu Feels confirmed (tall) by Olannas smile
appreciates her inner strength like a polished
stone
30HUMAN RELATIONS THE SEEDS OF CONFLICTS
31Olanna and her family
- How do you describe Olannas parents class
background and social position? (clues airport
scene, Lagos Life and the meeting with Chief
Okonji). - How is Olanna related to her parents, and her
sister Kainene? (36-46) - From their interactions, could you tell what the
parents expect of Olanna and Kainene differently?
32Olannas Family rich but cold and distanced from
one another
- Well-known and glamorous
- airport scene recognized by the ticket seller,
who invites her to the VIP lounge (33) - Lagos Life (41) a picture of her and her mother
(Olanna does not feel comfortable about being a
part of the gloss that was her parents life
(42) - the meeting with Chief Okonji.
- the father has a construction company, which
usu. gives the government 10 as a bribe. - They want her to marry one of these famous people
in order to improve their business (43)
33Kainene vs. Olanna
- (36-46)
- Kainene critical/acerbic (????), sharp and
detached - Calls her a sex bait (44) So will you be
spreading your legs for that elephant in exchange
for Daddys contract (44) - Calls Odenigbo Olannas revolutionary love
- The two drifted away since their 2nd-school
years (45) - a clue to future (dis-)connection Richard (44)
34The trip to Kano (1) Olanna and her uncles
family
- What makes Olanna close to her uncle and aunt?
- What types of racial differences, relations
and/or antagonism does Olanna encounter in her
uncles (e.g. her meeting uncles Hausa friend,
her conversation with Arize), and then with her
ex-boyfriend, Mohammed?
35Olanna and her uncle and aunt
- Uncle Mbaezi light-complexioned, earthy (47),
admired by Olanna because of his differences from
her mother - Aunt Ifeka breastfeeding O and K always kills
a hen when O visits - Arize (49) gives her an excited hug,
- a Hausa friend gives her a pair of slippers
friendly. Olannas parents look artificial by
comparison. - The whole household noisy, lively and intimate
- Olannaavoids looking at the cockcroach eggs or
worrying about the choking smoke (51)
36The seeds of Independence
- Igbo Uncle about The Igbo Union
- Igbo Union Grammar School (47)
- Anti-colonialist Odenigbo critical of
Europeans views of Africa Hegel calls
Africa a land of childhood (62) ? If Europe had
cared more about Africa, the Jewish Holocaust
would not have happened. (62) - Okeoma the function of WWII (63) realizing
that white man was not mortal.
37Seeds of Conflict (1) Racial Differences
- Arize
- lack of appreciation of Ijaw culture and their
stockfish (51) cheap or delicious for Arize?
Mischievous or condescending? - About a man from Abba so ugly (52)
- looks forward to getting married, but definitely
not to a Hausa man - Mohammeds mother used to be standoffish, speak
stiffly (57)
38Seeds of Conflict (2) Olanna and Odenigbo
- How did Olanna get to know him? Is their
relationship sex-driven only? - Olanna A mixture of ideal and sex.
- Mohammed youre a nationalist and a patriot,
and soon you will marry your lecturer the freedom
fighter (58) - Their sex being interrupted, she is reluctant to
go meet his colleagues. (62) Her connection to
life is later also a means of survival. - But she talks more when feeling threatened by Ms.
Adebayo (64)
39Tentative Conclusion a collective history
written about/by
- Intellectuals who are idealist but beaten
- Igbo mathematician, poet (in the group are also
one from the Caribbean, one from America, one
from India) - Foreigners Some indifferent and some
sympathetic - Susan escapes.
- Dr. Patel -- Indian doc. who never eats kola nut
but appreciates the joke - Richard a friendly foreigner who is sympathetic
but still an outsider. - Olanna in between her interest in intellectuals
debates and the joie de vivre - Ugwu in between his traditional thinking and
learning from the masters.
40Notes (1) Black German Holocaust
- Heroro people In 1904, the Heroro tribe of
German South-West Africa revolted against their
colonial masters in a quest to keep their land
the rebellion lasted four years, leading to the
death of 60,000 Heroro tribespeople (80 of their
population). The survivors were imprisoned in
concentration camps or used as human guinea pigs
for medical experiments - the Rhineland of 1936 Hitler retaliated against
the African soldiers' occupation by targeting all
Black people living in the Rhineland first. In
particular,Germany's 24,000-member Black
community was the number one focus for Hitler's
sterilisation programme. (source)
41Notes (2)
- Kola nut (??? ) -- offspring of the cola tree
that grows in Africa, South America and the West
Indies. Chewing this nut is a favorite pastime
of natives who claim it diminishes fatigue and
thirst and (for some) has aphrodisiac properties.
(source)
42Note (3) Kwame Nkrumah
- (21 September 1909 - 27 April 1972) was an
influential 20th century advocate of
Pan-Africanism, and the leader of Ghana and its
predecessor state, the Gold Coast, from 1952 to
1966. - attempted to rapidly industrialize Ghana's
economy. He reasoned that if Ghana escaped the
colonial trade system by reducing dependence on
foreign capital, technology, and material goods,
it could become truly independent. Unfortunately,
industrialization hurt the countrys cocoa
sector. - As his government was overthrown, and Nkrumah
deposed, Ghana fell from being one of the richest
country in Africa to one of the poorest.
http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kwame_Nkrumah
43Reference
- http//www.historians.org/Tl/LessonPlans/nc/Trask/
study.htm - http//www.nathanielturner.com/rememberingbiafraal
iteraryreview.htm - Hawley, John. Biafra as Heritage and Symbol
Adichie, Mbachu, and Iweala. Research in African
Literatures 39.2 (2008) 15-26. Print.
44Next Time 1.2
- 0.2 -- Grief of Stranger --a traumatized
immigrant in a city - 1 -- The first four chapters -- A childs
experience of escaping from a city to a
countryside.