No Humanity in War: Chimamanda Adichie´s Half of a Yellow Sun

Dr. Umelo Ojinmah

Abstract

In her evocative tale, Half of a Yellow Sun, Adichie captures the impact and immediacy of the Nigeria-Biafra war through the lives of the characters she portrayed in the novel, which attest to her imaginative ability, creativity, and remarkable research skills. A compelling and refreshing read, her fictionalized but masterful tale of events preceding the war, evokes powerful memories of Nigeria's cloyed past that still beclouds and haunts the present. The plot line and the realized characterization within the framework of a compelling historicity, demonstrate a fearlessness and a proficiency expected of a budding master storyteller. Eschewing squeamishness or overt melodrama, she explores the themes of war; human brutality and bestiality; betrayal of love, trust, friendship and country; memory and historical truths; and child soldiering, amongst others, with deft freshness and remarkable adroitness.

Dr. Umelo Ojinmah is Professor of English and Literary Studies, and Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Nasarawa State University, Keffi, Nigeria. He obtained his Ph.D in English and Comparative Literature from the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand, in 1988. Since then he has taught at Federal Polytechnic Nasarawa; Federal University of Technology, Owerri; and Nasarawa State University, Keffi.