UNFOLDING PATHS OF WAR AND IDENTITY:A BREMONDIAN ANALYSIS OF NARRATIVE POSSIBILITIES IN ADICHIE’S HALF OF A YELLOW SUN

Abstract

The study analyzes Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun using the theoretical lens of Claude Bremond’s Logic of Narrative Possibilities. It focuses upon the psychological, moral, and political aspects of violence and identity in the narrative framework of the novel. Adichie’s novel unfolds during the 1967-1970 Nigerian military conflict, demonstrating how multiple personas such as Olanna, Richard, and Ugwu survive within the broader historical setting as they face the turmoil for Biafra’s independence. The novel illustrates the bare truth of battle and its adverse impacts on people, while pointing out the themes of resilience, survival, love, and betrayal. By applying Bremond’s theory to Half of a Yellow Sun, the research evaluates how Chimamanda Ngozi develops her personas who are affected by their pasts and surroundings. As opposed to the conventional ways of reprisal, the study depicts how Adichie views the disputants as intellectual individuals and how the vengeance and repression primarily adopt the way of profound moral consequences. Furthermore, the research highlights how Bremond’s technique shows the inconsistency between the authenticity in describing the historical events and presenting a satisfactory closure, illustrating how the characters’ encounters are incomplete which makes it tricky to figure out the story. In the novel, Adichie challenges the readers to look at the historical trauma and ethical values, offering certain emotions and queries open-ended instead of offering accurate interpretations or answers. Adichie represents how she criticizes the excessively unrealistic heroic narratives, analyzes delicate notions of fostering harmony, and offers a moral representation of opposition and survival that emphasizes the writer’s influence on contemporary African literature.