Half of a
Yellow Sun
- Reading journal
Pre-write: before reading, respond to the title, front cover images, back cover
blurb. What do you see, or what expectations are set up? Predict what the
novel will be about.
The title of this book, “Half of a Yellow Sun”, makes me think of the sunrise, which
represents hope, dreams, and romance. I guess this book might be about a love
story between a couple or someone is trying to pursue something, and almost
achieves his/her goal. I believe that they have not completely attain their goals as
it only half of a yellow sun.
When I looked at the front cover page,
the first thing I saw was a girl standing
in a field and looking at the distant sun.
I also saw the quote on the top of the
page which is from Time: “A gorgeous,
pitiless account of love, violence and
betrayal.” These images and words
changed my initial thoughts, and I felt
that the girl is lonely, especially as she
is standing in an open field. The colour
of background is dull red, which creates
a repressive atmosphere. Moreover, I
felt the girl is helpless and desperate, as
she might be the character who
experiences the violence and betrayal
from her family or her love. At that moment, I predicted the “half of a yellow sun”
appears when the sun sets. In addition, my guess is that the girl is waiting for
someone, maybe one of her family members or her boyfriend, who has betrayed
her before. So, the half of the sun might indicate the only hope in her heart.
Next, I turned to the back cover. There
is a picture of a black woman, who
might be this novel’s author. Below the
picture, there are several comments
about the author and novel. All of them
have
extremely
high
praise
for
Adichie’s work. The blurb furthered my
understanding of what this novel might
be about, as it states that the story
revolves around, “Biafra’s struggle to
establish an independent republic in
southeastern Nigeria during the late
1960s.” I realize that this novel is not
only about love, but also has African
history and war. This paragraph also introduced the main characters and their
backgrounds, which I felt would help make the novel easier to read:
Ugwu: A thirteen-year-old houseboy who work for Odenigbo.
Odenigbo: A university professor full of revolutionary zeal.
Olanna: The professor’s beautiful young mistress.
Richard: A shy young Englishman infatuated with Olanna’s willful twin sister
Kainene.
Write down first impressions: immediately after finishing a section or a text,
take some time to write down anything that comes to you in relation to the
text, your initial reactions or responses. Write freely here. If you have
questions, include those. If it makes you wonder about something in the real
world, write that…
After reading first chapter:
-
Master (Odenigbo) was study aboard for many years.
-
Odenigbo is in upper class as his family have good economic conditions and
could afford him to study overseas.
-
Ugwu does not believe that he can eat meat every day. He is from lower class.
-
Ugwu comes to a new and nice environment. He could not believe this is all
real.
Quote: “Ugwu held back from reaching out to touch the cement wall，to see how
different it would feel from the mud walls of his mother’s hut”
-
Contrast “mud wall” and “cement wall”.
-
Class difference
Quote: “Many things in packets and cans were arranged on difference levels and ，
and on the topmost，a roasted shimmering chicken. he touched chicken again and
licked his finger before he yanked the other leg off.” p6
-
Using Ugwu ‘s reaction to Odenigbo’s house and the food in kitchen to foil his
family’s poor.
-
“he touched chicken again” shows that He treats the chicken like a treasure.
-
Using imagery, vividly depicted the ornate of Odenigbo’s house.
Quote: “a chunk that he would have been excited to share with his siblings if a
relative had visited and brought it as a gift” p7
-
Put chicken on his pocket. He can eat chicken almost every day, but his family
can only receive it as “gift”, which implies that they have already lived in
different class.
-
On the middle of the chapter, when Ugwu told Odenigbo that he didn’t go to
school after grade2 because of the inadequate money, Odenigbo snapped:
“Your father should have borrowed.” In Odenigbo’s mide, education is one of
the most important thing.
After chapter 1...(plot/quote/theme)
Quote: “‘Oh. That is toothpaste. We use it to clean our teeth.’ Ugwu felt proud
saying we, so that his mother would know he too used it. But she did not look
impressed…. ‘What is wrong with using a good atu?’” p116
-
Theme: class
-
Ugwu already get accustomed to upper class’s life style, even he is just a
servant. There is a gap between he and his family. “toothpaste” is a symbol of
class.
-
Ugwu measures people’s worth on how well they can speak English. This is a
stereotype, because he believes that people from western are always have
high status in society. Therefore, people who can speak English well is closer
to “white people’s” class.
Quote: Dad to Kainene: she is “not just like a son, she is like two.”
-
Theme: gender
-
Kainene’s father define her as a “son” rather than a successful daughter. The
thought of only son can help him to manage business was locked deep in his
subconscious.
-
Simone de Beauvoir: “man is defined as human being and a woman as female,
whenever she behaves as a human being she is said to imitate the man”
-
For Olanna, her parents want her to offer sex with others to help with their
business, which is women’s “job”.
Quote: “You, see, Ugwu? A boy does not belong in the kitchen” masters mom
sounded triumphant. P120
-
A village women’s thought
-
She thinks cooking and doing house work are women’s duty.
-
Amala finally have sex with Odenigbo, she actually did know it is right or
wrong. She is a servant of Odenigbo’s mother. Therefore, Amala must obey
her command.
-
Richard betrayed Susan and fell in love with Kainene. (theme: love &
betrayed)
Quote: “Of course I asked because you are white. They will take what you write
more seriously because you are white.’” P382
-
Theme: class
-
White people can always get more respect from others because of their high
social status.
-
After the war started, almost everyone gets into the refugee camp, and all of
them has the same class as they all lost everything.