Half of a Yellow Sun

In this chapter, we are again acquainted with the viewpoint of Olanna. The chapter begins with Olanna’s mother confiding to Olanna that Olanna’s father is having an affair, and he has even gone so far as to buy his mistress a residence in the Nigerian capital of Lagos. Olanna confronts her father, and she comes to the conclusion that he is almost totally estranged from her. She says, “it’s disrespectful that you have a relationship with this woman and that you have bought her a house where my mother’s friends live” (272). She commands him to respect her mother, and he says that he will. The next day Olanna finds her mother berating a servant for pilfering from the family’s rice supply, but Olanna manages to soothe her anger. 

Olanna calls Odenigbo on the telephone to vent about all that has been happening with her, but she finds Odenigbo to be equally stressed, as his mother has dropped by for a surprise visit. Olanna makes a jestful comment regarding Odenigbo’s mother’s seeming propensity for magic, but Odenigbo is not amused by it. Some days later, Olanna returns to the university campus at Nsukka just as Odenigbo’s mother and Amala are about to leave to return to their own home.

As the two women are leaving, Olanna notices that Odenigbo passes the car keys to Amala in a very strange way. Olanna begins questioning Odenigbo as to whether or not he slept with Amala, and he says that he did. This utterly breaks Olana’s heart, so she immediately departs in her own car for her apartment. She spends several days there in a state of supreme unhappiness. Odenigbo tries to visit her, but she refuses him entry and he leaves in futility. She decides to go to Kano to stay with family in order to clear her head.

Upon arriving in Kano, Olanna confides in Arize and her Aunt Ifeka about Odenigbo’s infidelity. Both woman become enraged at his betrayal of Olanna, and Aunt Ifeka tells Olanna that she should return to Nsukka and assert her own strength, as she should never let a mere man dictate her life in such a way. Olanna feels that her marriage is ruined at this point, but she is emboldened by her Aunt’s advice and indeed returns to the university. 

Upon arriving back at Odenigbo’s house, Olanna begins to collect all of her belongings. Ugwu attempts to persuade her not to go, but she is enraged at him as well as she feels that he harbored the secret of Odenigbo’s affair. She returns to her own apartment, and Odenigbo comes and attempts to apologize to her, but she refuses the gesture as she feels he is not sincere. In her newfound free time she starts new activities in order to pass the days, and during this period she ends up befriending an African American woman named Edna Whaler. 

Edna makes the suggestion to Olanna that she should visit with a priest in order to get advice on her situation with Odenigbo. Olanna decides to take up Edna’s suggestion, and so she visits a local priest, but his suggestion is to forgive Odenigbo’s transgression, as harboring anger is only causing her further distress. Odenigbo visits Olanna the next day and relays the fact that he has impregnated Amala, which he believes is what his mother intended all along. Olanna cannot help but laugh, and she simply demands that he leave. 

Soon thereafter, Olanna explains to Edna that Odenigbo has impregnated Amala. Edna encourages Olanna to be firm in her resolve, as it is almost certain that Odenigbo is not as distressed about the affair as Olanna is. In response, Olanna tells Edna that she should not impose her own relationship problems onto Olanna’s situation, and thus Edna leaves enraged. Olanna immediately regrets what she has said to Edna but decides it’s best to let Edna cool down.

Olanna decides to go to the store in order to get some wine. At the store, Olanna encounters Richard and invites him back to her place for a few drinks. Richard is hesitant to accept her offer, but he relents and agrees to come. As the night progresses, the two drink more and more wine and become more and more inebriated. Eventually, the two begin kissing and have sex. After, Olanna feels as if a great burden has been lifted from her, and with this event the chapter closes. 

This chapter is told through Richard’s viewpoint. He is feeling extremely guilty about cheating on Kainene with Olanna, so he has been avoiding Kainene at all costs. Winston Churchill’s death provides him with a good reason to avoid her for a few more days, as he decides to attend a funeral service for Churchill that will be held in the Nigerian capital of Lagos. Richard encounters Susan at the funeral service, and so they decide to sit together.

Both of them are genuinely upset at Churchill’s death, and they cry during the service. Afterwards the two attend lunch together, but Richard cannot help but thinking of Kainene the whole time, as he is terrified that he will now lose her if she finds out what happened between him and Olanna. Susan says that she is still waiting to be with Richard again, but that she will wait while he finishes up his affair with a local woman. 

The chapter closes with another excerpt from the book The World Was Silent When We Died. In this portion of the text, the anonymous author describes how the Nigerian government and military utilized starvation as a military tactic against the rebels of Biafra. This chapter ends with the anonymous author commenting on how it was starvation that eventually led to the surrender of Biafra. 

Once again this chapter shifts to the viewpoint of Ugwu. The chapter opens with a description of Ugwu’s recent bout of diarrhea, which has been instigated by his anxiety over the fate of Olanna and Odenigbo’s marriage. Odenigbo’s household receives a visit from his mother, who again brings the now pregnant Amala with her. Odenigbo demands that they leave, and his mother relents but declares that she will be back next week and will be bringing Amala with her again. 

Ugwu ventures out into the garden the next morning is surprised to find Amala there. She tells him that she has been eating as many peppers in the garden as she can in an attempt to abort her pregnancy. Ugwu is skeptical as to whether Amala is telling the truth, but for the sake of Olanna and Odenigbo’s marriage he has faith that she is being honest. 

Several days after this, Olanna comes to Odenigbo’s house, but she is infuriated when he tries to say that his affair was his mother’s fault. The conversation quickly progresses into an argument, and the tension of the situation causes Ugwu to get sick again. When his bout of diarrhea passes, he steps outside the house and finds Olanna there as well. He relays to her that he believes Odenigbo’s mother has cursed Odenigbo, but Olanna is completely incredulous about this.

Ugwu watches Olanna return inside, and he then sneaks inside to listen discreetly to their argument. They continue fighting for some time, but eventually their yelling ceases and Ugwu can hear them as they begin to have sex. After, Olanna promptly leaves Odenigbo’s residence. The chapter closes with Ugwu querying Odenigbo as to whether Olanna will ever return. Odenigbo gives no response. 

This chapter is conveyed through Olanna’s viewpoint, and it opens as Olanna arrives at Richard’s house and both of them agree to keep their sexual encounter hidden from Kainene. Not long after her meeting with Richard, Olanna conveys to Odenigbo that she has recently had sex with Richard. Odenigbo does not believe her when she says this, and he remains silent as she leaves to return to her residence. 

Even in spite of Olana’s confession about Richard, Olanna and Odenigbo decide to get back together. She moves back in with him, and on their first evening together they eat dinner in silence. After dinner Odenigbo tells Olanna that he has told Richard not to come around their house again. The couple has sex, and afterwards Olanna calls Kainene in a bout of paranoia, though she is relieved to find out that Kainene is clueless about what occurred between Olana and Richard. 

Shortly after these events, Olanna and Odenigbo travel to Abba to visit Amala who has just given birth to a baby girl. When they arrive at the hospital, they find Odenigbo’s mother who is visibly disappointed that the child is a girl and not a boy. Amala completely ignores the couple during their visit, and the hospital staff relays that Amala is refusing to come into contact with her newborn child. As Odenigbo and Olanna drive home that evening, Olanna declares that she would like to take care of the child. 

Olanna and Odenigbo end up receiving the child, and they bring it home to their house in order to take care of it. Olanna conveys that she would like to name the baby girl Chiamaka, which is a name that her sister Kainene proposed. Later on, Olanna calls Kainene, and Kainene immediately announces that she knows Olanna had sex with Richard. Kainene is clearly upset but she keeps her emotions in check. The chapter ends with Olanna apologizing and stating that her behavior was inexcusable, to which Kainene agrees, ending the phone call. 

This chapter makes use of Richard’s viewpoint. It quickly becomes apparent that it was Richard’s houseboy Harrison who revealed Richard’s tryst with Olanna. Harrison mentions that Richard is not allowed at Odenigbo’s house anymore, so naturally Kainene questions Richard as to why this is the case. Since he does not have a decent excuse, Richard comes clean to Kainene and explains what happened between him and Olanna. Kainene calls Richard unoriginal and demands that he sleep in a different room that night.

On the next day, Odenigbo and Olanna come by and Olanna attempts to apologize, but Kainene simply sends them away. She conveys to Richard that she has destroyed the manuscript of the book that he has been working on. At first this devastates him, but then he is relieved when he realizes that such an act means that Kainene will not be leaving him. 

The chapter ends with another segment from the book The World Was Silent When We Died. The anonymous author relates how the international community abandoned Biafra during its time of need. The author relays how some nations, like England and the U.S.S.R, actively supported the Nigerians, while other nations, such as France and China, supported the Biafrans with only words, failing to provide any tangible resources.