Half of a Yellow Sun

“I hope you’ve thought about coming to join us at the ministry, Olanna. We need first class brains like yours.”

Olanna’s father, Chief Okonji, says this to his daughter in one of his numerous attempts to enlist his daughter to work for the government. Chief Okonji is very wealthy and wants the same for his daughter, but in the end she travels her own path.

“Papa is asking what kind of white man is this? Why did he come here and what is he doing?”

Emeka translates this message from his father to Richard, as the father does not understand why this European tourist did not bring a camera to the Ugwu-Igbo pot excavation site. Richard did not come as a mindless consumer, however, but as a sincerely interested scholar. 

“I will not let this witch control him. She will not succeed. I will consult the dibia Nwafor Agbada when I return home; the man’s medicine is famous in our parts.”

Odenigbo’s mother says this to Ugwu to signal her firm determination to remove Olanna from Odenigbo’s life. This horrifies Ugwu, but when he later tells Odenigbo what his mother said, he simply shrugs it off. 

“Ha, I didn’t think our pepper was made for your type, Richard!”

Odenigbo says this to Richard as they are sitting together and enjoying a local dish known as pepper soup, which is extremely spicy. Nigerians love the dish,   but most Europeans cannot handle its heat. Richard is not like most Europeans, however, as he thoroughly loves the dish and the culture.

“The Constitution is suspended and the regional government and elected assemblies are hereby dissolved. My dear countrymen, the aim of the Revolutionary Council is to establish a nation free from corruption and internal strife.”

Major Nzeogwu makes this statement at the beginning of his announcement to Nigerian nation that an Igbo coup has occurred. Odenigbo and his family listen to the speech with great interest, and they are inspired that new and great things will be in their future.

“We hear rumors they have been doing this in Kaduna and Zaria since the coup; they go out into the streets and harass Igbo people because they say the coup was an Igbo coup.”

Arize explains this to Olanna after they have been harassed in the street by    Hausa sympathizers. The two women only escape because of Arize’s being able to speak Yoruba, so it becomes clear that sectarian divides are quickly worsening at this point in the narrative.

“Madu is in Kaduna … Madu is in Kaduna.”

Kainene utters this in disbelief after hearing over the radio that Kaduna has been the site of a recent massacre of Igbo military officials. Kainene is close to Madu, and thus she is horrified when she realizes that Madu was in Kaduna at the time. This signifies the increasing amount of sectarian massacres that occurred during the civil war. 

“The Igbo must go. The infidels must go. The Igbo must go.”

A Hausa militant chants these statements through a loudspeaker as Olanna is fleeing Hausa-controlled territory with Mohammed. She has to wear an Islamic veil to be safely whisked out of Hausa territory, marking yet another moment where identity can mean the difference between life and death. 

“Say Allahu Akbar!”

One of the Hausa militants who ransack the Kano airport says this to the Igbo Nnaemeka, knowing that if the man attempts to say it, then his accent will identify his tribal affiliation. Nnaemeka does not respond, and the militant ends up shooting him right in front of Richard’s eyes. 

“Eastern Nigeria … shall henceforth be an independent sovereign state of the name and the title The Republic of Biafra.”

The Igbo Colonel Ojukwu makes this announcement to the peoples of Eastern Nigeria as an official declaration of secession. Odenigbo is delighted at the news and claims it will be a new beginning for their family, and patriotic fervor sweeps through Igbo peoples.

“Evacuate now! The Federals have entered Nsukka! We are evacuating now! Right now!”

Mr. Ikenna frantically bursts into Odenigbo’s house and warns everyone present that Nigerian forces are entering into the city of Nsukka. Odenigbo still does not think that the war will be long, so he tells his loved ones to grab only a few items of clothing as they will not need more. 

“Are you sure you’re not an agent of the Nigerian government? It is you white people who allowed Gowon to kill innocent woman and children."

A Biafran soldier says this to Richard as the man attempts to enter the closed- off city of Nsukka to retrieve his manuscript. The man repeatedly denies Richard, and eventually fires off this quote due to Richard’s persistence. It conveys the general disdain towards Europeans present at this point in the novel. 

“But what if Nsukka is not recovered? What happens if this war drags on and on?”

Olanna’s mother poses these questions to Olanna, as her daughter does not   believe that the war could be dragged out. Olanna’s mother is fleeing to London, but Olanna refuses to come with her; she intends to stay with Odenigbo, though the war eventually does drag on. 

“Remove it! Remove that white dress! They will see it and target us!”

Okeoma screams this at Olanna as a Nigerian air raid interrupts Olanna and Odenigbo’s wedding ceremony. The bombs are falling dangerously close to the couple’s house, and so Okeoma throws his dark coat over Olanna to remove her as an obvious target. 

“Why do you want to use tear gas on a young girl? Look, go to your village, and if the time is right and if the young girl likes you, she will follow you.”

The gardener Jomo advises this to Ugwu after Ugwu expresses interest in using tear gas to incapacitate his love interest. Jomo simply explains that there is a normal and better way to go about such an activity.

“If you eat plenty of hot peppers, they will remove pregnancy.”

Amala says this to Ugwu as he finds her in the garden eating a large amount of spicy peppers. She is trying to abort the baby that she conceived with Odenigbo, as she never really wanted to participate in Odenigbo’s mother’s scheming. Ugwu wonders what this will mean for Olanna and Odenigbo.

“I took your manuscript from the study this morning and I burned it.”

Kainene says this to Richard as they are talking about Richard’s affair with Olanna. Richard says he will never be able to forgive himself if he loses her, but Kainene says she has made peace with the situation by destroying Richard’s manuscript. 

“Was that the Director of Mobilization himself who just left?”

Professor Ezeka, who is now the Director of Mobilization, visits Odenigbo’s   house while only Ugwu is there. Ugwu’s neighbor Eberechi sees this occur, and so she asks Ugwu if her eyes were correct. She is impressed by this, and the two begin a friendship that ends in Ugwu falling in love with her. 

“Target Destroyer, aren’t you a man?”

Ugwu’s commander High Tech says this to him as he and several soldiers are holding down a bar girl for Ugwu to rape. Ugwu resists at first but after prodding from his commander and peers, he begins the tragic act of raping the girl, signifying the point in which he reaches rock bottom. 

“We all had a bit of a shock when we heard you were alive and at Emekuku Hospital— a good kind of shock, of course.”

Richard says this to Ugwu as he visits the boy in the hospital after he has been seriously wounded on the battlefield. Richard, Olanna, and Odenigbo had feared that Ugwu had been killed, so they are happy to hear that he has survived. Richard helps Ugwu return home after this. 

“The white man brought racism into the war. He used it as the basis of conquest. It is always easier to conquer a more humane people.”

Odenigbo says this to Kainene as they are having a discussion one day. This quote illustrates Odenigbo’s increasingly pessimistic attitude as the war drags on. He begins to blame the white Europeans for providing the political catalyst for the Nigerian Civil War.

“Why do you still have Biafran number plates? Are you supporters of the defeated rebels?”

A Nigerian soldier says this to Odenigbo as his family’s car is stopped at a Nigerian checkpoint. The Nigerians have just conquered the Biafrans, and thus tensions remain high. The soldier harasses the family for a bit but eventually lets them go on their way. 

“Why is Aunty Kainene still at afia attack?”

Baby asks this of Olanna, as she does not understand why Kainene has yet to return from her trip to Nigeria. It has become increasingly apparent to the adults that Kainene will never return, but Baby has yet to understand this. Olanna snaps at Baby to drop the subject after she asks this question.