The story Adichie tells is one of fact mixed with fiction. There was a Nigerian Civil War between 1967 and 1970 that claimed a lot of lives. This war is also sometimes referred to as the Biafran War. The stories in her book begin before the war and grow as we see them struggle with the rest of the people in Nigeria. She does an excellent job creating a fictional story that fits perfectly with the facts that actually occurred back then. She blends history and fiction so well that the story I read was very believable as one that could have actually occurred.
The story begins with a boy named Ugwu. He grows up in a poor small village as part of the Igbo tribe. Nigeria has hundreds of tribes but the three biggest ones are Igbo, Hausa, and Yoruba. The Hausa tribe resides mostly in Northern Nigeria, the Igbo in the South East, and the Yoruba in the South West. Ugwu becomes a house boy for a very well-educated Igbo man named Obenigbo. He is a math professor at the college in Nsukka where he lives. Ugwu has never been a house boy let alone even left his village before and so he has a lot to learn. Obenigbo makes him a project as he wants to educate him and give him a life he would never have staying in his small village. He teaches him to cook and take care of himself and educates him as much as he can. Obenigbo has a British education and has a very proper way of talking to Ugwu. He addresses Ugwu as “my good man” (Adichie page 7) which Ugwu picks up on and enjoys. Ugwu and Obenigbo have a sweet relationship throughout the entire book that shows they really respect and care for each other. The other person that joins this storyline is Olanna. She is a very well-educated Igbo woman who falls in love with Obenigbo and they eventually marry and have a child together. She received a Masters Degree in London but moves back to Nigeria to be with Obenigbo. Her family is very well off and does not agree with her decision to marry someone below their expectations. They try to get her to marry a high-ranking military official to solidify their own status as well. She defies their requests and follows her heart instead.
The second storyline we follow does intersect with the first but you don’t realize that right away. It follows a white man from England named Richard. He is a writer and has moved to Nigeria because he loves the culture and Igbo art. He is trying to fit in with the Nigerian people and makes many friends as he tries to find inspiration for his writing. He eventually meets a beautiful Nigerian woman named Kainene. She is a smart educated woman as well with a Masters Degree from London. She is actually the twin sister of Olanna and that is where the two stories intertwine. The story of Richard and Kainene crosses racial boundaries and adds a little tension to their relationship that way. Richard has to choose between the well off privileged life he is accustomed to and staying in Nigeria to be with the woman he has come to love.
The timeline for the book starts out in the early 1960s. It closely follows both Olanna and Richard and their individual stories as they cross paths here and there. The author goes back and forth a few times between the early 1960s and late 1960s which can be confusing at times. The second storyline that is created in the book happens during the late 1960s while the Civil War is ongoing in Nigeria. Britain has given independence to Nigeria in 1960 but they are still trying to rule over them from farther away. The tribes in Nigeria have always gotten along with each other but Britain puts corrupt politicians in the government that mainly belong to the Hausa tribe which creates tensions in the land. Obenigbo is a math professor but he loves to talk politics and does so frequently with his friends. They believe that Nigeria should be independent completely from Britain and they want to split the country in two to create their own independent state. Britain cannot allow this to happen as they want the oil rights that are in South Nigeria and so they need to keep the country as one. Conflict slowly starts between the main tribes in Nigeria, especially the Igbo and Hausa people. Revolutionaries try to stage a coup to overthrow the current corrupt government but fail miserably. Their leader is Igbo and so most people think the coup was staged by the Igbo people. A second coup is attempted mainly against the Igbo people in 1966 that starts the massacring of many Nigerians. The Southern half of Nigeria splits off from the North which begins the Nigerian Civil War.
Obenigbo is now a revolutionary fighting for a free Biafra. (The part of Nigeria in the South has split themselves from the North and referred to themselves as Biafrans living in a free Biafra.) Richard calls himself a true Biafran as his life is with the Igbo people and the woman he loves. He has learned the language over the years and chooses to stay there instead of returning to Britain while the war rages on. Most of the world ignores the massacres that are occurring in Biafra, and Britain and Russia actually help supply Northern Nigeria with weapons to fight against the Biafran rebels. The people in Biafra are starving and disease runs rampant. Children are kidnapped off the streets to fight in their army and that is actually what happens to Ugwu at that time. While running an errand he is picked up, his head is shaved, and he is forced to fight for the Biafran army. While he is kicked, slapped, and mocked he realizes that the casual cruelty of this new world of his frightens him. (Adichie, page 359) Obenigbo and Olanna have a child by now and do everything they can to keep her healthy and fed as there is almost no food left in the country. Olanna and Kainene’s parents flee to Nigeria as they want to keep their wealth and status. The entire country is in turmoil as the war now affects everyone.
The symbol for Biafra is a rising sun. A flag is created with this symbol and Obenigbo is a big part of this as the Igbo people were very loyal to this cause of creating a free state for themselves. The rest of Nigeria saw the Igbo people as the instigators and so a major massacre of just Igbo people occurred during this war. “What mattered was that the massacres made fervent Biafrans of former Nigerians.” (Adichie, page 205) Obenigbo and Olanna had to flee from their home and all their possessions to stay safe. The Igbo people would rather starve and succumb to disease than give up their freedom to reunite with Nigeria again. They wanted to be free from colonial oppression that was still existing in Nigeria. They try for as long as they can but eventually the Biafrans surrender and join together with Nigeria again. It is a very sad time for them as they fought so hard and bravely for their freedoms. Many people lost their homes, wealthy lives, and so much more fighting for something they truly believed in. After the war, Obenigbo and Olanna return to their home that has been completely destroyed and need to start all over again. Kainene disappears during the war as she goes out to look for food and is never heard from again. Richard stays and desperately tries to continue his life and work without her. Ugwu is found and nursed back to health after almost dying in the war. He is welcomed back into Obenigbo and Olanna’s home to take care of them and their daughter. He knows this is his family and he belongs with
them.
While this story unfolds another story is written and is kind of confusing at first. At the end of chapter 3, a chapter for an entirely different book is introduced. It is called The book: The world was silent when we died. The font for this book within a book is different and catches you off guard at first. Since Richard is a writer and talks about writing manuscripts and such, you first assume this is the book he is compiling as he lives his life in Nigeria. Seven different chapters of this new book are intertwined within the book Adichie writes. You can start to speculate who the author is of this new emerging book as a little more gets added to that story each time. This story seems to be about Nigeria and tells you some of its histories that are not in order. At the end of “Half Of A Yellow Sun” by Adichie, the final chapter is released for the book “The World Was Silent When We Died” and you discover that it is actually Ugwu that is the author of this new book. He dedicates his book with: For Master, my good man. (Adichie, page 433)
I think that was the most perfect ending to this book as it comes full circle with the relationship the book started with. Ugwu starts the book by meeting his new master for the first time and loves being called my good man by him, and he ends the book by dedicating it entirely to him who saved him and made him who he is today.
Living here in America we see a lot of what goes on right around us but sometimes we forget there is a whole world outside of the confines of our small state. We sometimes forget that there are entire countries at war and people dying and starving just on the other side of the globe. Reading this book by Adichie reminded me that there is so much more going on in the world than I am aware of. Even though this happened before I was born, reading the fictional story gave me a small insight into an actual conflict that happened where many died fighting for something they believed in. History being my major at school has opened my eyes more and more to what has and is happening in our world.
[Paper written for HIST 151G class UVU Fall 2021]
Amy Brouwer . 2024 . All Right Reserved
