For over decades, the African continent was no stranger to colonization by European countries, which resulted in quickly earned itself the nickname “the rush for Africa”. . Colonialism is the act of taking over another country and gaining political control and authority, ultimately exploiting the country's resources. Nigeria gained independence from Britain in 1960, but British involvement continued until the end of the Biafran War. This is significant in that the misfortunes resulting from the civil war are the direct cause of colonialism as well as Britain's selfishness and desire for resources, ultimately leading to the loss of lives of innocent civilians. In Half of a Yellow Sun, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie tells the story of the civil war through a group of individuals from diverse backgrounds and their struggles against war, identity and colonialism. The legacy of colonialism through the book has altered identity, language and created ethnic tensions in Nigeria. Adichie argues that colonialism will always distance individuals from their roots. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay The idea of ​​identity in the novel is constantly challenged by colonialism. In the novel, the characters come from different backgrounds, which results in different beliefs due to their own identities and the way they were raised. An example of this can be seen after Ugwu burns Odenigbo’s socks: “His chest was heavy; he didn't know why he'd ironed the socks, why he hadn't just made the safari suit. Evil spirits, that was all. Evil spirits pushed him there.” Through this quote, we can feel a difference in the superstitious and religious beliefs of Ugwu and Odenigbo. Both are Igbo, but one lives in a world full of "evil spirits" while the other does not believe in any kind of religion. After burning Odenigbo's sock, Ugwu becomes convinced that evil spirits made him iron the sock, which ends up worrying him that Odenigbo will send him home. For this reason, Ugwu seeks out a special herb called arigbe which is used to "soften a man's heart". Adichie uses parallelism to show how different Odenigbo and Ugwu are; As I reiterated, both are Nigerians, except they were brought up in a different way, because Ugwu never had the opportunity to get a full education unlike Odenigbo, who is a teacher of well trained university. Because of this, they both have different belief systems and see the world in opposite ways. Ugwu is superstitious and believes in the power of magic herbs and spirits while on the other hand, we have Odenigbo, who has freed himself from old traditions. He calls Ugwu a “stupid ignoramus,” probably because Ugwu is uneducated and knows nothing. Achichie's underlying idea is that a person's environment can influence their belief system more than some would be persuaded to believe. Additionally, identity is retained for some characters in the book. Because of colonialism, many aspects of a person's life can be suppressed, but there are other mechanisms to maintain a strong identity. On Ugwu's second day as a houseboy, he is asked to sing for his master: “Sing me a song. What songs do you know? Sing!”. In the case of the quote, Ugwu is told to sing after having adiscussion with Odenigbo about Mungo Park. The song Ugwu sings is an “old song he had learned on his father’s farm.” Adichie uses symbolism through Ugwu singing to represent her belonging to her village and Igbo culture. Singing is used as an expression of one's identity. As Ugwu sings the song he learned on his father's farm, he uses the song to show his identity and belonging to his village. Although Ugwu now lives far from home, he does not forget where he comes from, which brings up the idea that there is no place like home. Identity plays a major role in the relationships between characters and even among themselves, which can sometimes be confusing. Through colonialism, Nigeria's language is heavily influenced by Britain. In the story, the ability to speak English with different characters shows how colonialism affected some people's mentality towards others. At the beginning of the novel, Ugwu has just met his new master and is completely captivated by Odenigbo's English: “The Master's Igbo sounded feathery to Ugwu's ears. He was an Igbo colored by the slippery sounds of English, the Igbo of one who often spoke English.” In the quote, we can see that Ugwu is fascinated by Odenigbo's English, which ultimately leads, in the story, to Ugwu idolizing Odenigbo along with his partner, Olanna, who is also a well-educated English speaker. Adichie uses the tone of the quote to create humor through Ugwu's attraction to the English language. The sad reality is that not everyone has access to the education to learn English like the others in the book and does not have the necessary resources. Odenigbo is an educated university professor while Ugwu is a poor village boy. Language is used to almost create a social divide, which is significant because it shows how colonialism divided Nigeria through assimilation, distancing the “elite” from the poor. The idea of ​​being well educated can be considered a blessing or a curse. Additionally, language can be used as a powerful tool. With most of the characters, they usually speak in Igbo or English. An example of this is when Olanna visits Arize and they are walking through the market: “O di egwu! I really like it! Do you know how cheap this thing is? Spoken by Arize, we see how she switches between Igbo and English in a single sentence. In the novel, Adichie uses bilingualism by italicizing spoken Igbo to show the essence of identity, as the characters can speak their native language as well as the language of the colonizer. As the characters speak in their native language, they make connections with their culture and country while keeping their identity close to them. Bilingualism can be used as an expression of identity and a sense of peace and home for Nigerians of the book. This is important because Adichie does this to show how colonialism not only affected Nigeria politically but also personally, as learning English was most likely forced on Nigerians. Although the characters may appear intelligent being bilingual, the story of their journey to true learning is unknown. Due to colonialism, ethnic tensions and rivalries are prevalent throughout the novel. Due to ethnic tensions, Nigerians can easily turn their backs on their people in less than the blink of an eye. This can be seen when a group of individuals make fun of a Rex Lawson song: "Our people say the chorus sounds like mmee-mmee-mmee, the bleating of a goat." […] It is said that Sardinia spoke thus when he begged them not to kill him. When.