Half of a Yellow Sun Lesson Plan

Part 2 of the novel is full of massacre and war, and all the while, Adichie continues to include details about the personal lives of the main characters, such as Richard wanting to propose to Kainene and Ugwu thinking about having sex with Nnesinachi. Why do you think she includes these details instead of just focusing on the impact of war?

Strong responses will note that the personal details of the lives of the main characters are a testament to the actual lived experience of war. War and violence are going on, but the lives of these characters don’t stop. People continue to have separate ideas and desires in life even as war happens around them. For example, Ugwu,...