(Re-)Telling the War Story/Healing the Wounds: A Bibliotherapeutic Reading of Chimamanda Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun
(Re-)Telling the War Story/Healing the Wounds: A Bibliotherapeutic Reading of Chimamanda Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to re-examine Chimamanda Adichie’s Half Of A Yellow Sun as a literary piece that tells the civil war story and bibliotherapeutic text and in carrying out the study, Caruthian trauma theory is adopted as the theoretical model for this paper. The theory would be applied in analysing the conditions of African women and men during 1967-1970 civil war crises, as well as the effects of such experiences on their psyche and formation of ‘self’. It is discovered that Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun demonstrates the power of storytelling as a form of healing and catharsis. Adichie’s novel invites readers to engage with the characters’ experiences during the civil war in Nigeria, encouraging empathy and reflection. By re-telling the war story, Adichie not only educates but also provides a therapeutic space for individuals and communities affected by war to heal their wounds.
Keywords: Bibliotherapeutic, Healing, Emotional problems, Therapeutic
Introduction
Literature serves as a mirror of society by reflecting the cultural, social, political, and economic realities of a particular time and place. Through various literary forms such as novels, poems, plays, and essays, authors depict the complexities of human experiences and the dynamics of societal structures. This reflection enables readers to gain insight into different aspects of society, including its values, beliefs, conflicts, and aspirations. According to Chinwe Ezenwa-Ohaeto, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s novel, Half of a Yellow Sun explores the Nigerian-Biafran War that took place between (1967-1970) and its impact on individuals and communities by examining how the act of storytelling within the novel serves as a form of healing and catharsis for both the characters and the readers (Ezenwa-Ohaeto 45-56).
However, Simon Gikandi, posits that by delving into the themes of memory, trauma, and reconciliation, Adichie presents a narrative that not only educates but also provides a therapeutic experience for those affected by war. The novel portrays multiple perspectives of characters caught in the turmoil of the war, highlighting their personal experiences and emotional journeys. Adichie’s storytelling technique allows readers to immerse themselves in the lives of these characters, witnessing their struggles, losses, and attempts to rebuild their lives (Gikandi 127). Through this process, readers gain insight into the psychological effects of war and the healing power of sharing one’s story.
In the same vain, Minabere Ibelema added that one of the aspect of bibliotherapy evident in Half of a Yellow Sun is the act of remembering and preserving collective memory. The characters’ narratives serve as a means to keep history alive and prevent its repetition. (Ibalema 75). Adichie emphasizes the importance of acknowledging past traumas and ensuring that they are not forgotten. By engaging with these narratives, readers are encouraged to reflect on their own histories and confront any unresolved wounds or buried memories. Furthermore, storytelling in the novel functions as a way to validate individual experiences and provide solace to those who have suffered.
The characters find comfort in sharing their stories with each other, forming connections through empathy and understanding. This communal aspect of storytelling fosters a sense of belonging and solidarity among survivors. Similarly, readers may find solace in identifying with these characters’ experiences, realizing that they are not alone in their pain. Adichie’s use of multiple perspectives and narrative techniques also contributes to the healing process. By presenting diverse viewpoints, she allows readers to see the complexities and nuances of war and its aftermath. This multiplicity of voices challenges simplistic narratives and encourages readers to question their own assumptions and biases. Through this critical engagement, readers can gain a deeper understanding of the complexities of conflict and reconciliation. It is on this backdrop that this paper seeks to explore (re-) telling the war story, healing the wounds: a bibliotherapeutic reading of Chimamanda Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun.
(Re-)Telling the War Story/Healing the Wounds: A Bibliotherapeutic Reading of Chimamanda Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun
Literature Review
Many scholars have looked into the Nigerian civil war experience shown in Chimamanda Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun from different angles. Umelo Ojinmah, in an article titled “No Humanity in War: Chimamanda Adichie‘s Half of a Yellow Sun” shows how Adichie uses fiction to evoke powerful memories of the Nigerian past which still haunts the present. Accordingly, she portrays the effects of the Nigerian-Biafran war on civilian populations through the lives of the characters in the novel (Ojimah, 107). According to Alphonse Dorien Makosso, a peruse of Adichie‘s Half of A Yellow Sun reveals that this novel is a poignant testimony of the civil war in Biafra (163). It is therefore a realistic and factual novel. Readers should be reminded that at the moment when the war broke out, the writer was not yet born. According to Adichie, this novel is the result of witnesses ‘testimonies’ about the civil war.
In an author‘s note at the end of novel, Adichie remarks that she could not have written the book without her parents, who wanted [her] to know… that what is important is not what they went through [in the Biafran War] but that they survived. (Chimamanda Adichie 167). However, De Mey opines that Adichie‘s novel is remarkable since, in a very lucid intelligence and compassion it recreates the souvenirs of the 1966 massacres and the violence of the civil war.
For May, it is important to say that the novel appears as a landscape in which different characters from different social classes (the rich and the poor), different ages (young and old people) and from different ethnic groups like the Yoruba (Miss Adebayo), the Hausa (Mohammed) and the Igbo (Olanna), represent the complexity of point of views about the civil war and the massacres. (De May, 25). In the same vain, Alou, (105-109) added that Half of a Yellow Sun also refers to the causes of the war, but the point here is not to narrate the proceeding of the war, that to say according to how books of history present it, but to show how Adichie‘s fictional civil war in Biafra causes are inhabited by what those books say. To her, the causes of that war are complex too because they are deeply rooted in the political organization and the conquest of power by the belligerents.
The review above shows that though studies on Adechie’s novels and perspective concerning the war has been carried out by reputable scholars, none have done any work on (re-)telling the war story, healing the wounds: a bibliotherapeutic reading of Chimamanda Adichie’s Half Of a Yellow Sun. This is the gap that this study addresses.
Theoretical Framework
The theoretical model that is adopted as the framework for this paper is the Caruthian trauma theory. This theory is applied in the analysis of the conditions of African women and men during crises such as war, earthquake, flood etc , as well as the effects of such experiences on their psyche and formation of ‘self’. Trauma theory emerged in the 1990s to address the effects of certain world phenomenon such as wars, drought, etc on man. It examines the psychic condition of victims of overwhelmed incidents. Prominent proponents of the theory are Cathy Caruth, Shoshana Felman, and Geoffrey Hartman among others. Studies on trauma began with Sigmund Freud’s studies on hysteria which is published in collaboration with Josef Breuer in Studies in Hysteria.
(Re-)Telling the War Story/Healing the Wounds: A Bibliotherapeutic Reading of Chimamanda Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun
Freud later engaged in studies on the post-traumatic effects of the First World War and the Holocaust on the survivors as graphically captured in his Beyond the Pleasure Principle (1920). His complete discussion on trauma is lucidly captured in his later works and mostly in what would later be known as Moses and Monotheism. In line with this, Ann Kaplan opines that “Trauma studies originated in the context of research about the Holocaust” (1). In recent years, physicians, psychiatrists and critics have become most concerned with effects of other natural catastrophic experiences as well as all forms of violence even as Kaplan adds that, “…trauma theory quickly extended beyond Holocaust studies in the humanities, especially in the wake of increasing revelations about women abuse in the 1990s” (Kaplan, 33).
According to Michelle Balaev, “the evolution of trauma in literary criticism might best be understood in terms of the changing psychological definition of trauma…” (2). He argues that the history of trauma as a concept is filled with contradictory theories, thereby leaving psychologists and literary scholars at liberty to adopt different definitions of trauma and its effects (Michelle Balaev, 2). Nevertheless, the Caruthian approach is adopted for this study because it helps in the examination of traumas caused by external stressors to individual persons. The realities of war, therefore, shall constitute the external stressors which forms part of the concerns of this study.
(Re-)Telling the War Story in Chimamanda Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun
Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun swings back and forth between the early 1960s Nigeria, and the Southern Region affected by the breakout of the Nigeria – Biafra Civil War in the late 1960s. (Re-)telling the war narrative is done by weaving together the perspectives of three characters: Ugwu, an impoverished village boy employed as a houseboy for Odenigbo, a University Professor; Olanna, a privileged woman whose family resides in Lagos, a graduate student from a London university who forsakes her luxurious life to live with Odenigbo; and Richard, an English journalist in a relationship with Olanna’s twin sister, Kaneine, who is offered an opportunity to write a novel about Nigeria.
The journey of these three central characters leads them to Nsukka in the South, where the core of the Nigerian Civil War unfolds. Adichie delves into the political turmoil stemming from the attempted secession of the southeastern province, predominantly inhabited by the Igbo ethnic group, declaring themselves the Republic of Biafra. The text explores Nigeria’s economic, ethnic, cultural, and religious tensions, delving into the emotional and psychological aftermath of the conflict to present a nuanced portrayal of the Nigerian Civil War.
Adichie unfolds the harsh realities of war, initially delving into the tangible and literal aspects of it before delving into the psychological and emotional dimensions. She portrays the North-South conflict’s eruption not merely as a historical backdrop but as a gateway to understanding the profound impact of war on individuals, relationships, ethnic groups, and the nation as a whole. The text serves as a manifestation of polyphony within the Nigerian civil war. Adichie transcends conventional historical research, delving deeply into the roots of the conflict, exposing the injustice, violence, and agony of war, highlighting the dehumanizing conditions.
(Re-)Telling the War Story/Healing the Wounds: A Bibliotherapeutic Reading of Chimamanda Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun
By weaving human elements into the narrative, she surpasses a mere historical account, offering multiple perspectives through various voices. The theme of war expands into the broader canvas of humanity, vividly depicting characters grappling with issues of love, class, race, profession, and family. The narrative’s pendulum movement proves highly effective, serving as a device that draws parallels and creates contrasts, reflecting the physical, mental, and emotional transformations the characters undergo. The storytelling vividly transports readers to the brutal moments on the battlefield. For instance, when Olanna is caught in the north visiting a friend when the first Igbo killings began and barely makes it out alive to the south:
A liquid-urine was spreading on the floor of the train. Olanna felt it coldly soaking into her dress. The woman with the calabash midged her, then motioned to some other people close by. Bianu come”, she said, “come and take a look. She opened the calabash… Olanna looked into the bowl, she saw the little girl’s head with the ashy-grey skin and the plaited hair and rolled-back eyes, and opened mouth. She stared at it for a while, she looked away, somebody screamed. (HYS 188)
Here, the sorrowful mother reveals to Olanna and fellow passengers the contents of the calabash she carries: the lifeless, severed heads of her daughter, a poignant illustration of the war’s anguish on a loving parent.
In the novel, despite Nigeria’s formal independence from Britain, the lingering artificial structures from the occupation continue to control the varied tribes united under one Nigeria. For Odenigbo, Biafra represents an opportunity for rebirth for himself and the Igbo people. However, neither he nor the jubilant audience members are aware that a devastating civil war, largely influenced and backed by foreign powers, is on the verge of tearing through the nation (HYS 205)
The flag featuring a half of a yellow sun emerges as a significant symbol in the narrative, depicting a sun rising on the horizon—a metaphor for a nation destined to reunite. However, the absence of the full sun may also symbolize pessimism, a perpetually unfulfilled half. As the war concludes, individuals are left to personally determine whether the glass is “half empty” or “half full” in the seemingly futile struggle for independence. (HYS 205-207) Adichie uses her work of art to retell some part of the untold story of the Nigerian civil war thereby creating a true picture of the war situation in the minds of her readers by portraying the hardship, brutality, various violence that the casualties of war faced.
Chimamanda Adichie’s Half Of A Yellow Sun As A Bibliotherapeutic Literary Piece
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s novel, Half of a Yellow Sun, can be considered a bibliotherapeutic literary piece due to its potential to provide emotional healing and personal growth through reading. According to Kareem Abilash and Tode Jothimani, Bibliotherapy is a therapeutic approach that utilizes literature as a means of promoting well-being, self-reflection, and empathy (7). In this context, Half of a Yellow Sun for example, Adichie depicts how horrifying and traumatising war can be. She also shows how easily ordinary, peaceful people can be lured into it, as seen in the quote. “The skinny soldiers…kicked and slapped and mocked Ugwu during physical training… the casual cruelty of this new world in which he had no say grew a hard clot of fear inside him” (HYS,29).
From the extract, Adichie offers readers an opportunity to explore historical events, engage with complex characters, and gain insights into the human condition. Bibliotherapy is a therapeutic approach that utilizes literature to support individuals in addressing emotional, psychological, or mental health concerns. It involves the use of books, poetry, or other written materials as a means of aiding individuals in understanding and coping with their personal challenges. Bibliotherapy can be implemented in various settings, including schools, libraries, and clinical environments, and it can be tailored to address a wide range of issues such as anxiety, depression, grief, trauma, and self-esteem. The process typically involves the selection of specific texts that are relevant to an individual’s experiences or struggles, followed by guided discussions or reflective activities aimed at promoting insight and emotional healing…
Adichie’s novel explores identity, both personal and national, in the face of political turmoil. The characters grapple with questions of belonging, loyalty, and cultural heritage. For example “The world was silent when we died.”(HYS, 207) this line captures the profound sense of isolation and neglect felt by the characters in the midst of the war. It suggests a broader commentary on the silence of the world in acknowledging the struggles and suffering of those caught in the conflict. In this context, the quote speaks to the characters’ desperate need for recognition and the preservation of their identities in the face of a world that seems indifferent to their plight. Through their journeys, readers are prompted to reflect on their own identities and consider how external forces shape individual sense of self. This introspection can be therapeutic, enabling readers to gain insights into their own lives and experiences.
Another significant aspect of Half of a Yellow Sun is its exploration of gender dynamics within the context of war and societal norms thus; “You must never behave as if your life belongs to a man. Your life belongs to you and you alone” (HYS, 326) in this quote, the character Odenigbo imparts a powerful message about individual agency and self-determination. This line encapsulates the theme of resilience, emphasizing the importance of personal autonomy and the will to survive in the face of adversity. Odenigbo’s words echo throughout the narrative as characters confront the challenges of the Biafran War. The female characters in the novel challenge traditional gender roles and expectations, demonstrating resilience, strength, and agency. By engaging with these characters’ experiences, readers can gain inspiration and empowerment, especially those who may have faced similar challenges or discrimination in their own lives.
War and conflict leave deep scars on individuals and communities. Half of a Yellow Sun does not shy away from portraying the traumatic impact of war, including physical and psychological wounds. Most part of Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun centers around the Nigerian civil war and the excessive cruelty affects all of the characters. This war was sparked by the massacres of Igbo people in 1966, when angry mobs killed soldiers and citizens as “retribution” for a government coup. The creation of Biafra was then a time of hope for the battered Igbo, but this was quickly tempered by the declaration of war from Nigeria.
In Half of a Yellow Sun, Adichie’s contrast scenes of peace and optimism thus; “Grief was the celebration of love, those who could feel real grief were lucky to have loved” (HYS, 255) like the dinner parties at Odenigbo’s house with sudden scenes of violence and fear. In this way, she creates a tone of constant-suspense, as the country becomes a place of danger and casual violence. This quote in (HYS, 255) encourages readers to view grief not solely as a negative emotion but as a celebration of the love that preceded it. It introduces the concept of post-traumatic growth, where individuals can find meaning and strength in the aftermath of trauma.
(Re-)Telling the War Story/Healing the Wounds: A Bibliotherapeutic Reading of Chimamanda Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun
However, from one to three million people died of starvation and fighting during the Biafra war, and Adichie draws out the personal tragedies in these astronomical numbers. She shows small horrors like a woman carrying her daughter’s several head in a basket, the girls hair still carefully braided (HYS 188) or Ikejide having his head cut off by a piece of shrapnel (HYS 265). There are other tragedies like the poet Okeoma giving up writing in order to fight or Ugwu contributing to the horrors of war by participating in the rape of a bar girl. War and violence is often overwhelming in both the text and the world and sometimes, the only redemption seems to be trying to avoid history’s mistakes by fully confronting them as seen in Adichie’s merciless writing. Through bibliotherapy, readers can witness the characters’ journeys towards healing and resilience, offering hope and encouragement for their own personal struggles. The novel provides a safe space for readers to process their own traumas and find solace in shared experiences.
Adichie’s novel goes beyond being a mere historical account; it serves as a platform for social and political commentary. The narrative sheds light on issues such as colonialism, post-colonial nation-building, corruption, and the complexities of ethnic identity. By engaging with these themes, readers are encouraged to critically examine societal structures and power dynamics, fostering a deeper understanding of the world around them. For readers dealing with their own experiences of loss or trauma, this quote provides a perspective that may be comforting and empowering. It invites them to recognize that the depth of their grief is a reflection of the love and connections they have experienced. Adichie’s exploration of post-traumatic growth becomes a source of bibliotherapeutic support, offering a narrative framework for readers to navigate their own journeys of healing and growth.
Conclusion
Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun demonstrates the power of storytelling as a form of healing and catharsis. Adichie’s novel invites readers to engage with the characters’ experiences during the civil war in Nigeria, encouraging empathy and reflection. By re-telling the war story, Adichie not only educates but also provides a therapeutic space for individuals and communities affected by war to heal their wounds.
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