The Postcolonial Self: Cultural Hybridity in Half of a Yellow Sun Anonymous College

Cultural identity used to be relatively simple, since in the pre-globalization era, cultures were somewhat homogenous and many people stayed within one culture for the majority of their lives. However, the contemporary world offers challenges to the traditional norms of cultural identity. The rise of African postcolonial literature has offered many new opportunities for discussions of how identity has changed, especially for those whose culture has been irrevocably shaped by colonialism. InHalf of a Yellow Sun, the author explores cultural hybridity through the tensions that exist between their native Igbo culture and the beckoning culture of the West. This work illustrates how a few individuals both resist and integrate the norms of Western culture, and through an exploration of the text, the notions of both DuBois’ double consciousness as well as Stuart Hall’s vision of cultural hybridity come into play.

Stuart Hall’s notion of cultural hybridity is a concept for the global era and for its unique needs. Hall conceives of a cultural identity as a process of “becoming” (Hall 225)in the sense that it is never completed. Therefore, in a global world, perhaps the process of cultural identity formation is sped up. Moreover, Hall...