Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Half Of A Yellow Sun

Divergent Struggles for Identity and Safeguarding Human Values: A Postcolonial Analysis of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun
In the novel Adichie uncover the characters’ struggles base on loss of Identity and Human values which is basically as a result of the Nigerian civil war. The characters strive to bring back what they lost due to the war. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was born much later after the Nigerian civil war of 1966-1969. Chimamanda Adichie had the interest to revive history of the war; she used her imaginative talent in bringing what she hasn’t experienced. The novel Half of a Yellow Sun is a literary work which used the theory of what we called post-colonialism or post-colonial studies, which is a term that is used

In the house young people gather to discuss the political future of the country, in the meeting the importance of several kinds of African system of government is discussed amongst the educated people (Odenigbo and his friends). Odenigbo have always tried to defend the ideal unit for Africans, and his colleagues have always stressed upon the pan Africanism or nationalism. The white people have always claimed that they are the ones that created what is called Nigeria according to Odenigbo the real African man has existed since before the white man come. According to him they created what is called “black” as much as possible in order to differentiate themselves with the blacks. He said he was an Igbo man since before the emergence of the white man. The role of identity can also be seen in the character of Kainene, she was given a name which was partial since her birth because she is not as beautiful as her sister, this makes her lose her identity in the family, and she always feels out-casted. According to her the Igbo’s would never be civilized because of their primitive traditional believes, she said when a girl is born and she is named as “Ogbenyealu” which means “Not to be married by a poor man”. , she says it is a clear idea about

Odenigbo was asked to vacate his two room apartment because the landlord has gotten a new tenant who will pay twice the money, accommodation had started becoming problem to the people. They got a house which has nine rooms’ one bathroom and toilet; almost all the people in the house are refugees. “There were too many people in the yard; a family of sixteen lived in the room next to Mama Oji. The bathroom floor was slimy with too much dirt washed off too many bodies” (Adichie. 326). There was over population in the compound which made the tenants to be aware of all what other people are doing, there is no privacy at all. Olanna’s room is next to the toilet, it was unbearable for her at first because of the smell, she always wished there is fan in their room, there was no electricity at all, unlike the house they left; she had never experienced such in her life. She also met uneducated and uncivilized people, first is Mama Oji, who thought that being a doctor means medical doctor, until Olanna explained to her that Odenigbo is not a medical doctor but book doctor. Also because of overpopulation the compound becomes so noisy, whenever Mama Oji is fighting with her husband; she doesn’t allow them to rest because of shouting. Olanna also had to endure the Pastor’s loud praying which he does all the time. There is also a girl who played piano everyday her name is Alice, she also