CHALLENGING COLONIAL EDUCATION IN ADICHIE S HALF OF A YELLOW SUN. A Thesis

Transcription

1 CHALLENGING COLONIAL EDUCATION IN ADICHIE S HALF OF A YELLOW SUN A Thesis Presented As Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement to Obtain the Magister Humaniora (M.Hum.) in English Language Studies by Febby Winda Pelupessy Student Number: THE GRADUATE PROGRAM OF ENGLISH LANGUANGE STUDIES SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA 2017

2 APPROVAL A THESIS CHALLENGING COLONIAL EDUCATION IN AI}ICHIE'S HALF OF A YELLOW SUN Patrisius Mutiara Andalas, S.J., S.S., S.T.D. Thesis Arlvisor &h*1, -r<= Ft, Yogyakarta, Novemb er l, 20L7

3 THESIS DEFENSE APPROVAI. PAGE CHALLENGING COLONLAL EDUCATION IN ADICHIE'S IIALF OF A TELLOW SLTN By Febby Winda Pelupessy' Student N'umber. i I 6 Defended before the Thesis Committee and Seclaretl Acceptable 't' IESIS {:0esM HTTIlE. ehairpers*n Secretary Meinbers : Ifra. F.i*vita. Ilervi. M.S.. M.A thons.), Ilh.t-r. : Faulus S;tnvotri" Ph.D.. I. Dr. {:i. Fa"j*r Sasr:tita Aji" M.}"lum. 2. Fatrisius Muiiara Andahrs. SJ.. 5.1'.D. qtal-^* Yogyakarta, November 16, 2017 e Graduate Progrann Director arma Universi Budi Subanar, SJ. ii

4 STATEMENTOF'ORIGINALITY } This is to certifiz that all ideas, phrases, sentences, unless otherwise stated, are the ideas and sentences of the thesis writer. The writer understands the full consequences including degree cancellation if she took somebody else,s ideas, phrases, or sentences without proper references. Yogyakarta, Novemb er l, 2017 \J^lta- Febby Winda Pelupessy 111

5 LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH T]NTUK KEPENTINGAI\ AKADEMIS Yang bertanda tangandi bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma: Nama : Febby Winda Pelupessy NIM : Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul: CIIALLENGING COLONIAL EDUCATION IN ADICHIE'S IIALF OF A YELLOW SI.JN Beserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian saya memberikan kepada Perpustakan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan, mengalihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan data, mendistribusikan secara terbatas dan mempublikasikannya di internet atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu memintaizin dari saya maupun memberikan royalti kepada saya selam atetapmencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis. Demikian pernyataan ini saya buat dengan sebenarnya. Dibuat di Yogyakarta Pada Tanggal 1 November 20ll Yang menyatakan Ao ilr {JW.r Febby Winda Pelupessy iv

6 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I thank Jesus Christ for His blessing and Guidance for the accomplishment of my thesis. I give my gratitude towards my thesis advisor, Patrisius Mutiara Andalas, SJ., S.S., S.T.D. for his guidance and insight during the writing of this thesis. I also thank the lectures in English Language Studies especially Paulus Sarwoto, Ph.D. and Novita Dewi, M.S., M.A. (Hons), Ph.D through their classes and discussions, I learn a lot. I would also extant my gratitude to both my parents Jonias Pelupessy and Merna Pelupessy/C for their love, kindness and support in my life. Many thanks also attributed towards my brother and sisters, Imanuel Ianrush, Sarah Novani, Selvina Juliana, and Stella Adriana Natalia. I also would like to thank my friends in English Language Studies especially from the B class of 2015 and literature batch. I would like to thank my friends in literature batch, mbak Laksmi, mbak Sophie, mbak Angel, mbak Nana, mbak Mila and mas Wibi. During our classes we all learn a lot. I also thank Anna Anganita Theresia Latumeten, Theodesia Lady Pratiwi, Dias Gita Chrismana, Agnes Kenya, Fina, Marschall Eirence, Yosafat Barona. Flavianus Batan, and Maximilianus Soter Mite Kombong for the friendship and support during my study. My deepest gratitude also goes to Adela, Ririn, Kristin, Bela and Ria for the time we spend together. v

7 TABLE OF CONTENTS APPROVAL... i STATEMENT OF WORK ORIGINALITY... iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS... v TABLE OF CONTENTS... vi ABSTRACT... vii ABSTRAK... viii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION... 1 A. Background of the Study... 1 B. Research Questions... 8 C. Chapter Outline... 9 CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE A. Review of Related Studies B. Review of Related Theories Education Education Neocolonialism CHAPTER III THE PORTRAYAL OF EDUCATION IN ADICHIE S HALF OF A YELLOW SUN A. Traditional Education B. Colonial Education CHAPTER IV CHALLENGING COLONIAL EDUCATION IN ADICHIE S HALF OF A YELLOW SUN CHAPTER V CONCLUSION BIBLIOGRAPHY vi

8 ABSTRACT Pelupessy, Febby Winda Challenging Colonial Education in Adichie s Half of a Yellow Sun. Yogyakarta: The Graduate Program in English Language Studies, Sanata Dharma University. This thesis focuses on how Adichie s Half of a Yellow Sun challenges the colonial education in Nigeria. This thesis intends to find out how the impact of colonization is embedded in Nigerian education system. In doing so, two research questions are formulated which focus on how education is portrayed in Adichie s Half of a Yellow Sun and how this novel challenges the combination of traditional and the colonial education in Nigeria. This thesis employs two theories in order to answer the research questions. The first theory is education theory proposed by John Dewey and the second theory is educational neocolonialism proposed by Philip G. Altbach. This thesis finds out that education in Nigeria is spread into traditional and colonial education. Traditional education focuses on how moral and values in Nigerian is shared from one generation to another. Oral tradition plays an important role in spreading traditional education. Furthermore, the depiction of colonial education in this novel can be seen from three different aspects. The first is the use of English language in Nigeria, the second is the control towards the teaching material, and the international education provided British. This thesis also finds out that Adichie s Half of a Yellow Sun challenges the the combination of traditional and colonial education through the teaching materials which are presented in the class. The combination of traditional and colonial education is also difficult because of the boundaries between each of tribe in Nigeria which are set during the colonization period. Keywords: Traditional education, Colonial education, Education Neocolonialism vii

9 ABSTRAK Pelupessy, Febby Winda Challenging Colonial Education in Adichie s Half of a Yellow Sun. Yogyakarta: Program Pasca Sarjana Kajian Bahasa Inggris, Universitas Sanata Dharma. Thesis membahas bagaimana novel Adichie berjudul Half of a Yellow Sun menentang pendidikan colonial di Nigeria. Tesis ini bertujuan untuk menganalisa bagaimana dampak kolonisasi tertanam pada sistem pendidikan negara hasil jajahan. Dua rumusan masalah diformulasikan pada tesis ini. Rumusan masalah yang pertama adalah bagaimana pendidikan digambarakan dalam novel Half of a Yellow Sun dan bagaimana novel mengkritik penggabungan antara pendidikan tradisional dan pendidikan kolonial. Thesis ini menggunakan dua teori untuk menjawab rumusan masalah tersebut. Dua teori ini adalah teori pendidikan oleh John Dewey dan teori pendidikan neocolonial oleh Philip G. Altbach. Hasil penelitian thesis ini menunjukan bahwa pendidikan di Nigeria tersebar melalui dua bentuk pendidikan yaitu pendidikan tradisional dan pendidikan kolonial. Pendidikan traditional fokus kepada penyebaran moral dan budaya di masyarakat Nigeria. Selain itu penggambaran pendidikan kolonial dibentuk dalam tiga bagian yaitu penggunaan Bahasa Inggris di Nigeria, Kontrol terhadap penyebaran materi sekolah seperti buku, serta sekolah internasional yang disediakan oleh Inggris. Thesis ini juga menemukan bahwa novel Half of a Yellow Sun mengkritik penggabungan pendidikan tradisional dan pendidikan kolonial melalui penyebaran materi yang diberikan di kelas. Penggabungan dua jenis pendidikan ini juga menjadi sulit dikarenakan adanya perbedaan cara pandang terhadap masing-masing suku di Nigeria karena hasil penjajahan. Keywords: Traditional Education, Colonial education, Education Neocolonialism viii

10 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study Colonization has a huge impact in Africa history. It has an important part in developing African identity. Philip Higgs notes that colonialism in Africa provides the framework for the organized subjugation of the cultural, scientific and economic life of many on the African continent. 1 As the result, the impact of colonization is rooted deeply in Africa including Nigeria even after the colonization is ended. Leela Gandhi writes that the colonial aftermath is marked by the range of ambivalent cultural moods and formations which accompany periods of transition and translation. It is, in the first place, a celebrated moment of arrival charged with the rhetoric of independency and the creative euphoria of self-invention. 2 In other words, colonization puts colonized country such as Nigeria in a huge challenge to find its own identity and culture without being controlled by the colonizer country. Colonization also plays a huge part in shaping world perception about Africa. Africa has been associated with barbaric and uncivilized country for many years. 1 Philip Higgs, Towards an Indigenous African Educational Discourse: A Philosophical Reflection. International Review of Education 54. 3/4 (2008): 446. PDF. 23 November < 2 Leela Gandhi, Postcolonial Theory: A Critical Introduction. (St Leonards: Allen & Unwin, 1998), 5 1

11 Literary works are important in amplifying these stereotypes. Adichie argues that the problem with stereotypes, especially in literature, is that one story can become the only story: stereotypes lead people ability to think in complex ways 3. In other words, stereotypes limit people ability to think and question their own perception. Adichie adds that these wrong perceptions lead to the history of slavery since the colonizers assume that it is acceptable to control the colonized agriculture resources, to take their land, and to civilize them. 4 In line with this statement, Aimé Césaire also questions the notion of civilization in the colonization by explaining that through the mission to civilize one country during the colonization period, it actually does not provide any human value for the colonized country. 5 Through her literary works Adichie gives the voice to Nigeria and clarifies the misinterpretation about Africa. She portrays the misinterpretation about Africa, especially Nigeria, in all of her works including in Half of a Yellow Sun. This novel is a historical fiction based on Nigeria civil war happened from 1967 to Half of a Yellow Sun is Adichie s second novel after Purple Hibiscus which was published in Half of a Yellow Sun was published in Both of Adichie novels are set after the colonization period in Nigeria. These two novels also puts family as the main conflict in the story. Different from Purple Hibiscus, Half of a Yellow Sun presents three different voices which enables readers 3 Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, African Authenticity and the Biafran Experience. Transition 99 (2008): 43. PDF. 11 February < 4 C. Ngozi Adichie, p Aimé Césaire, Discourse on Colonialism. (New York: Monthly Review Press, 2000): 34 2

12 to experience not only one perspective but three different perspectives about the conflict which is presented in this novel clearly. Although Half of a Yellow Sun is set six years after the colonization, this novel echoes the impact of colonization towards economic and social aspect in Nigeria, including the challenges in developing a new identity as a nation. This novel depicts the effect of Nigeria Civil war from the eyes of Ugwu, a houseboy, Olanna, an Igbo woman and Richard, a British journalist. The story starts in the early sixties as Ugwu works as a new houseboy. As a thirteen years old boy Ugwu needs to work in order to support his family financial. Ugwu cannot be able to continue his study because his parents cannot afford tuition. This condition is different from Odenigbo his master. As a lecture Odenigbo really values the importance of education. Odenigbo also enrolls Ugwu as a student in a staff member school in the University of Nsukka where Odenigbo works as a lecture. During his time in school, Ugwu learns how to use English language well to communicate with Odenigbo and other people. Odenigbo s personality as a smart and charismatic professor in the University of Nsukka really inspires Ugwu to study hard. Furthermore, working in Odenigbo s house also benefits Ugwu to improve his knowledge by reading many historical books provided in Odenigbo s library. One day, Odenigbo s girlfriend named Olanna moves to live with him. Olanna comes from a rich family. She is the daughter of Chief Ozobia, one of the prominent figures in Igbo community. She has a twin sister named Kainene. Both of Olanna and Kainene s parents really concern with their education. Although their parents do not 3

13 have enough formal education background, Olanna and Kainene pursue their education in one of the best schools in Nigeria. Kainene and Olanna are also able to continue their education in London. Although Olanna and Kainene are twins, they have different personalities. Kainene is more outspoken than Olanna. Kainene will not hesitate to express her honest opinion although it hurts other. Different from Olanna, Kainene is never interested in Nigerian men. Kainene loves white man. This fact then leads Kainene to be in love with Richard Churchill, British Journalist. The story moves from the early sixties to the late sixties, which depicts the beginning of Nigeria civil war. The Islam Hausa starts to execute Christian Igbo who live in the Northern Nigera including Olanna s beloved auntie and uncle. A new republic, called Biafra, is created by the Igbo. This war then leads many Nigerian, including Olanna, Odenigbo, and Ugwu, to move from one place to another. During this war, many schools are closed down, even burned. Olanna starts to teach children near her neighborhood together with Ugwu. Odenigbo organizes the discussion with the university member about the possibility to help Igbo people. While Kainene runs a refugee camp (incomplete sentence). Kainene decides to trade across enemy lines. However, she never returns, even after the end of the war a few weeks later. Divided into four parts, Adichie combines the events between late sixties and early seventies which happen to be the time period of Nigerian war. She also gives the detailed information of each character, especially the different cultural 4

14 background that makes this novel interesting not only as a reading material but also as a research object. Adichie s bravery to voice about Nigerian war puts her novel in a similar position to prominent Nigerian writers, such as Chinua Achebe. Heather Hewett notes that Adichie has published her short stories in several literary magazines including prestigious American journal such as The Iowa Reviewer and Zoetrope All-Story. Adichie s works have won several awards, including the O. Henry Prize; and her novel Purple Hibiscus is shortlisted for the 2004 Orange Prize for fiction, and longlisted for Booker. 6 Hewett also notes that unlike some of her peers, Adichie has made no such assertion of difference about her writing. Hewett notes that Adichie revises Achebe s novel in several ways. She takes one of his themes, the breakdown of family and community under the pressures of colonialisms and religions, and recasts it in post-independent Nigeria, at a time when colonialism s heirs, corruption, political strife and religious dogmatism strain family and community. 7 Adichie s Purple Hibiscus really depicts this issue clearly. One aspect echoed in Adichie s Half of a Yellow Sun is the depiction of education. The notion of education is strongly depicted in Adichie s Half of a Yellow Sun. Adichie creates her characters personality along with their education background. The interesting point is that Adichie depicts those who have good and 6 Heather Hewett, Coming of Age: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and the Voice of the Third Generation. English in Africa (2005): 75. PDF. 31 January < 7 H. Hewett, pp

15 enough formal education, and also those who never experience any kind of formal education. Colonization also affects the education system in Nigeria even after the colonization period ends. Nina Asher writes that postcolonialists in the field of education such as Hickling-Hudson, Matthews, and Woods note that the result of colonialism pervades the metropolitan countries that built empires as well as their former colonies. It follows educational system, curriculum, and teaching are shaped in context specific ways by legacies of colonialism. 8 As one of the British colonized countries, it cannot be denied that the impact of British in Nigeria is so strong even in Nigeria education system. Before the colonization, Nigeria applies traditional education as an education system. According to Fafanwa traditional education emphasizes on social responsibility, job orientation, political participation, and spiritual and moral values. 9 The purpose of traditional education is limited to maintain culture and values in the colonized countries. Thus, the colonizer develops formal education system which also refers as colonial education in order to improve Nigerian people. Religion plays an important role in developing education system in Nigeria. Michael Omolewa notes that the Christian missionaries were later supported by the 8 Nina Asher, Chapter 5: Decolonization and Education: Locating Pedagogy and Self at the Interstices in Global Times. Counterpoints 369 (2009): 68. PDF. 24 November < 9 As cited in Folasade R. Sulaiman, Internationalization in Education: The British Colonial Policies on Education in Nigeria Journal of Sociological Research 3. 2 (2012): 87. PDF. 16 September 2017.< 6

16 colonial administration in using the new education system as a means of cultivating the mind of Africans to accept European values and practices. 10 The emergence of colonial education brings a standard in Nigeria education system. Colonial education enables the spread of equal education with equal standard across Nigeria. Nevertheless, Omolewa notes that the coming of European education from the late 15 th century onwards has disrupted the traditional system and brought the formal school system at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels, the learning of European languages, literature, history, philosophy, as well as the science subjects, including mathematics, biology, physics and chemistry. 11 This statement is also supported by Adichie s own experience. Adichie explains that I grew up in Nsuka, a small university town in southeastern Nigeria, and started reading when I was perhaps four years old. I read a lot of British children literature, and I was particularly enamored of Enid Blyton. I thought that all books had to have white people in them, by their very nature, and so when I first started to write all my characters were white and had blue eyes and played in the snow and ate apples and had dog called Socks. This, by the way, at a time when I had not been to England and had never seen snow and was more familiar with mangoes than apple. 12 Education plays an important role in developing a country. Education enables human to comprehend their role in life and fulfill their basic role in the society. 10 Michael Omolewa, Traditional African Modes of Education: Their Relevance in the Modern World. International Review of Education 53.5/6 (2007): 594. PDF. 4 September < 11 Michael Omolewa, p Chimamanda Ngozi, Adichie, African Authenticity and the Biafran Experience. Transition 99 (2008): 42. PDF. 11 February < 7

17 Nevertheless, the aims of education comes into question especially to the colonized countries since it can also be used to control the society. The importance of education is also depicted in Adichie s Half of a Yellow Sun. Therefore, the research which is related to colonial education presented in this novel is essential to be conducted. It is important to address the issue on the implication of colonization, specifically in education system since this aspect is rarely examined by other researchers. This thesis examines two important things in colonial education. The first point deals with the depiction of education in Nigeria. This point is important in order to find out how Nigeria educate their people before, during and after the colonization. This point is important to see how Nigeria culture and tradition are presented in the education system. This point also explores how the novel deals with the combination of traditional and colonial education. The second important point this research would like to address deals with how this book challenges the combination of traditional and colonial education. It cannot be denied that formal education set by British forever changes Nigeria education system. Nevertheless, it is important to examine whether the formal education is really helpful to liberate the students or it is just another way to control this country. Therefore, the research of colonial education depicted in Adichie s Half of a Yellow Sun is essential to be scrutinized. B. Research Questions In order to examine Adichie s Half of a Yellow Sun, This research addresses two research questions as follows 8

18 1. How is education portrayed in Adichie s Half of a Yellow Sun? 2. How does Adichie s Half of a Yellow Sun challenge the combination of traditional and colonial education in Nigeria? C. Chapter Outline In order to develop a systematic research, this thesis is divided into five chapters. The first chapter is the introduction of the thesis. This chapter elaborates the background of the study, the research questions, and the chapter outline. The second chapter is divided into two subtopics. The first subtopic deals with the review of related studies. This subtopic examines five previous studies which deal with postcolonial perspective in Half of a Yellow Sun, and how they help extending the research s idea about this novel. The second subtopic elaborates the theories which are used in this thesis. This thesis applies two theories. The first is the theory of education proposed by John Dewey. Dewey s theory of education is used to answer the depiction of education in Nigeria. The second theory which is used the theory of education neocolonialism by Philip G. Altbach. This theory is used in order to find out how this novel challenges the combination of traditional and colonial education. Chapter three deals with the depiction of education in this novel while chapter four examines how this novel challenges the combination of traditional and colonial education to liberate the society. The last chapter explains the conclusion of this thesis and also presents some suggestions for the future researchers who is interested in examining the same novel. 9

19 CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE A. Review of Related Studies In the previous chapter the background of the study and also the research questions have been presented. The need to examine the impact of colonization in Nigeria education system leads to two research questions. This chapter is divided into two subsections. The first subsection elaborates the previous studies related to Adichie s Half of a Yellow Sun, while the second subsection deals with the theories used to support the findings of this research. There are many studies on Adichie s Half of a Yellow Sun. However, this study focuses on the issue of postcolonialism examined in others studies. The review of related studies will enrich the research s knowledge about postcolonial issues depicted in this novel. Moreover, the review is also needed in order to locate this research among the other studies. The first study is entitled The Global North in Achebe s Arrow of God and Adichie s Half of a Yellows Sun by Chima Anyadike. Set in 1920s Achebe s Arrow of God starts with a war between two neighboring regions of rural Igbo land, named Umuaro and Okperi. The conflict of this novel depicts the struggle of Ezeulu who tries to bring his people together in order to appreciate their own culture and belief. However, Ezeulu needs to face difficult circumstances between his own people and also the colonizers who try to control Igbo people using their western style. Similar 10

20 to Achebe s previous works, Adhicie s Half of a Yellow Sun explores the effect of colonization by connecting the plot with Nigerian war which happened in Through this study, Anyadike challenges the notion of globalization for the third world countries, specifically Nigeria, by comparing two white people characters in these two novels. According to Anyadike, globalization is a double-edged sword. Globalization opens the door for nations around the world to be interconnected to one another. However, it also opens the big door for the domination. 13 This grim picture of globalization can also be seen in Arrow of God and Half of a Yellow Sun. Through the character of Richard, Anyadike tries to examine the true globalization in Nigeria depicted in Half of a Yellow Sun. Different from the white characters in Achebe s Arrow of God who clearly show their hatred towards Igbo people, Richard is portrayed as someone who adores Nigeria, especially Igbo culture. Anyadike argues that Richard does not only abandon the possessive love of a fellow white woman, but he also undergoes the full processes of wooing and genuinely feeling the anxieties and jealousies of falling in love before he happily gets engaged to a cynical Nigerian girl, Kainene. 14 Before dating Kainene, Richard was in a relationship with a white woman named Susan. During his time with Susan, both of them usually attended a group meeting of white people who usually shares their negative judgment towards 13 Chima Anyadike, The Global North in Achebe s Arrow of God and Adichie Half of A Yellow Sun. The Global South 2. 2 (2008): 140. PDF. 16 March < 14 C. Anyadike, p

21 Nigerian. However, Richard does not easily agree with their judgment. His love for Igbo culture and Igbo-Ukwu art then leads him to find a Nigerian lover, Kainene. It is interesting to see how Adichie uses white person character as a tool to attack the negative judgment. Nevertheless, another interesting point from Richard s character is his dependency on Kainene. Richard s dependency appears because of his insecurity of not being able to suit Kainene s environment. His insecurity leads him to learn Igbo language and culture quickly. This action is quite different from most of the white people characters in postcolonial novels who always try to force their language and culture upon the native. Anyadike describes that in Half of a Yellow Sun, Igbo land has been opened up not only to international trade and business but also to the influences from institutions like universities and international organizations as a result of liberation. 15 Therefore, this novel shows how easy it is for white people to come to Nigeria as the impact of international trader. However, Anyadike argues that this easy access also triggers the Nigerian civil war related to an international oil politics issue. 16 This proves that the progress of globalization cannot be seen easily since the control of the economy is still in the hand of the dominating nation. Anyadike argues that when the society loses the control over its economy, it can only take forward to an intensification of inequalities as we have in the actually existing global order. 17 In other words, the analysis of Half of a Yellow Sun in this study proves that the 15 C. Anyadike, p C. Anyadike, p C. Anyadike, p

22 progress of globalization can only be measured if the society are given a full access to control their own economy. Thus, this study proves that Half of a Yellow Sun still depicts the impact of colonization even after Nigeria gets its Independence in The second study is entitled Dancing Masquerades: Narrating Postcolonial Personhood in Three Novels written by Aghogho Akpome. Akpome argues that Half of a Yellow Sun is a form of self-referential writing since the narrative is composed based on the combination of Adichie s personal life and Nigeria historical background. However, the connection between this novel and Adichie is not conspicuous. Akpome notes that there are similar and equally relevant connections between the story and Adichie s personal, family and cultural identity and history that appear in a number of nuanced, subtextual and paratextual ways, and assert the novel s credentials as an example of self-referential writing. 18 The settings of places in this novel describe the environment where Adichie grows up, such as the University of Nsukka, and the village of Abba and Umunnachi from where her father and mother hail respectively. Some major characters are also taken from Adichie s real life such as Ugwu and Odenigbo. Adichie s story also portrays the ethnic identity in general, and Igbo material cultural in particular. Akpome argues that Odenigbo as one of the main characters in this novel plays an important role in questioning Nigeria s problematic multi ethic national 18 Aghogho Akpome, Dancing Masquerades: Narrating Postcolonial Personhood in Three Novels English in Africa 40.1 (2013): 151. PDF. 31 January < 13

23 formation. 19 Odenigbo is described as an educated professor who does not only show his love for math but also to his country. Odenigbo also initiates numerous intellectual discussions in which he always shares his political insight. Odenigbo refuses to be connected to any identity given by the white people since he thinks that his only true identity is his ethnicity. Similar to Odenigbo s opinion towards culture, many characters in this novel are clearly described by their ethnic affiliation. This style can be seen through the name selection and also the use of language. Adichie also applies some local languages in order to distinguish one identity from others. Moreover Akpome also brings the similar argument from the previous study by Chima Anyadike about the character of Richard Churchill. Akpome argues that the most instructive indication that Adichie considers ethnicity as central to the definition of personal identity is the novel s representation of Richard. Through Richard s point of view, the readers can clearly see Richard s admiration for Igbo culture. 20 This admiration also leads Richard to learn Igbo language and use that in his daily life. Richard also refuses to be treated like the other white people. Lara Adeboyo, one of the characters also says that Richard was an Igbo people in his past life. Nevertheless, in the end of the story Richard refuses to write a story about Igbo and Nigeria war. Richard feels that the story of Nigeria is not his right to tell. This 19 A. Akpome, p A. Akpome, p

24 demonstrates that ethnicity has a major part for Nigerian. Moreover Akpome concludes that Half of a Yellow Sun tends to resist the affirmation of hybridity and sycreticism as determining factors of self-definition and retreats instead to a position that tends whether deliberately or not privilege notions if origination and purity. 21 In other words, hybridity cannot always be an easy solution to accommodate the problem of ethnicity. The third study is composed by Obi Nwakanma entitled Metonymic Eruptions: Igbo Novelist, the Narrative of the Nation, and New Developments in the Contemporary Nigerian Novel. Nwakanma notes that Nigeria is in its current formation, a hybrid state; a nation of multiple nations coalescing to form the basis of nation and national belonging. 22 Similar to other colonized countries, Nigerian national identity is a problematic discussion considering its multi ethnicity and difficult process of hybridity. As one of the dominant ethnic groups in Nigeria, Igbo takes an important part in the discussion of Nigeria national identity. However, Nigeria is a multi-ethnic society which consists of more than five hundred ethnic. Because of its multiethnicity, it is hard to decide which ethnic really represents Nigeria. Thus, this study locates its problem on the development of Igbo novelist and how these writers works contribute in shaping Nigeria national identity. 21 A. Akpome, p Obi Nwakanma, Metonymic Eruptions: Igbo Novelists, the Narrative of the Nation, and New Development in the Contemporary Nigerian Novel Research in African Literatures (2008): 1. PDF. 23 May < 15

25 Nwakanma also adds that according to Abiola Irele, the most striking aspect of African discourse is its character as a movement contestation. 23 This movement emerges from the 18 th century when modern Nigerian literature began effectively with the publication of Amos Tutuola s Palmwine Drinkard (1952) and Cyprian Ekwensi s People of the City (1954), but most importantly, the publication of Chinua Achebe s Things Fall Apart (1958). 24 Nwakanma adds that in the years between 1952 and 1970, Nigeria dealt with covering its nationalist movement in order to be acknowledged as a nation free from colonization. 25 Thus, many literary works in those years portray the range of emotions of the new nation and the character of its location within late modernity, and the most prominent theme was an expression of the conflicts of postcolonial condition. Nwakanma notes that the new generation of novelists has emerged within the last decade to shape the direction of contemporary Nigerian fiction in the third phase. 26 Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is considered as one of the prominent novelists in this generation. Moreover, Nwakanma argues that this huge emergence of many Igbo novelists is supported by Igbo politic and intellectual life in the two decades of the interwar and post-world War II years between 1925 and 1945 that helped to influence the rise of the Nigerian novels and the prominence of these Igbo 23 O. Nwakanma, p O. Nwakanma, p O. Nwakanma, p O. Nwakanma, p. 4 16

26 novelists. 27 Among many factors, the spread of western education is assumed to be a prominent factor. James Coleman in Nwakanma notes that by 1945 in spite of their relatively late entry, the Igbo had outstripped every other Nigerian group in the number of people with secondary education. 28 In the same year, the Igbo accounted for more Nigerians in British universities and by far more in American universities; they had the highest number of candidates admitted to Yaba Higher College, Nigeria s premiere postsecondary institution. In other words, Igbo people get enough education support. This fact then triggers many Igbo novelists to use novels as a means of narrative nation. Based on his analysis Nwakanma notes that the first generation of modern Nigerian writing such as Achebe s Things Fall Apart and its project of national imagining confronts the conflicts of colonial society and the challenges of the new nation and becomes deeply involved in the crisis of the postcolonial state with the onset of the Nigerian civil war 29. Most of Chinua Achebe s works deal with colonial conflict and anticolonial struggle and resistance at the onset of the colonial intervention. However, Biodun Jeyifo elaborates that the first two generations come into their own in the epoch of the high tide of decolonization while the last two generations have been confronted with the specters of arrested decolonization, failing 27 O. Nwakanma, p O, Nwakanma, p O, Nwakanma, p.7 17

27 or collapsed states, economic stagnation, widespread autocratic misrule and the delegitimation of the grand narratives of emancipation which held that the liberation of African peoples in the modern world is indissolubly linked to the liberation of all the oppressed people in the world. Nwakanma argues that the sense of an unfinished nationhood or arrested decolonization perhaps accounts for why the contemporary Igbo-Nigerian novels take a radically ambivalent and ironic stance one that now also generally marks the character of much of Nigeria s contemporary fictions 30. This theme is also depicted in Adichie s Half of a Yellow Sun which criticizes the impact of colonization towards the social and politic situation in Nigeria. Through the mix of all the characters in this novel, Adichie challenges Western involvement in Nigeria war as the result of Berlin Conference. Adichie criticizes the government and also social injustice through the eyes of Odenigbo as one of the prominent figures in this novel. The fourth study is Regimes of Waste: Aesthetics, Politics, and Waste from Kofi Awoonor and Ayi Kwei Armah to Chimamanda Andichie and Zee Gamboa written by Connor Ryan. This study notes that Adichie s Half of a Yellow Sun stands out for its treatment of nationhood and experience of social disintegration that follows the traumatic Nigerian civil war O, Nwakanma, pp Connor. Ryan, Regimes of Waste: Aesthetics, Politics, and Waste from Kofi Awoonor and Ayi Kwei Armah to Chimamanda Adichie and Zeze Gamboa. Research in African Literature (2013): 60. PDF. 16 March < 18

28 In doing so Adichie avoids linear chronology but she uses the mix between early sixties before the Nigerian war and the late sixties during the war. The novel is divided into four big chapters. Chapter one and three of the novel are set in early sixties while chapter two and four are set in the late sixties. Ryan elaborates that Adichie levels classic realism s hierarchy of discourse, letting the novel instead unfold in three overlapping narratives. 32 Instead of using one single narrator in the novel, Adichie applies multi narrators to develop the conflict in this novel. The plot of the story is described from the eyes of three different characters with three different social background such as Ugwu a house boy, Ollana an educated woman and Richard a British writer. Moreover, Ryan claims that Adichie s novel prefers the history of Biafra to be penned by an ordinary Biafran not by a sympathetic expatriate like Richard nor by a figure like Odenigbo, the intensely committed intellectual. 33 In the end of the novel, the story of Biafra war is written by Ugwu as one of the main narrators of this novel. Unlike the other prominent characters in this novel, Ugwu is not equipped with enough education background. Ugwu also comes from a very poor family. He does not continue his school because his father cannot pay the tuition. However, Ugwu is the only person whose character changes throughout the novel. Through Ugwu s eyes the readers can see the true side of Nigerian especially Igbo people. 32 C. Ryan, p C. Ryan, p

29 Ryan also argues that in the context of African women s writing Adichie s text demands us to consider the idea that novel concerning nationhood foreground nationalist struggles by subordinating the interests of women and other minorities. 34 As the result of patriarchal system woman s voice is also unheard in the society, including in the struggle of national. Similar to this notion, Ryan noted that Adichie s Half of a Yellow Sun has a complete blurring of the distinction between serious national politics and mundane politics of her characters life. 35 Through the story, the readers are given a romance relationship between Olanna and Odenigbo. Before dating Odenigbo, Olanna was with a Hausa man from Kano named Mohammed. During the Nigerian war it is impossible to trust other ethnics especially Hausa people who killed many Igbo people in North. When Mohammed offers a help for Odenigbo and Olanna, Odenigbo rejects the idea by explaining the killing and raping done by Hausa people to many Igbo people. Although, Olanna still believes that the judgment is brutal and wrong Olanna cannot argue and decides to follow Odenigbo s words. Olanna s action to follow Odenigbo causes her voice to be unheard. The fifth study is written by Amy Novak entitled Who Speaks? Who Listens?: The Problem of Address in Two Nigerian Trauma Novels. This study argues that Half of a Yellow Sun is a trauma fiction since it focuses on the massacre of the Igbo during the Nigerian war, by pointing out the effect of the conflict from the 34 C. Ryan, p C. Ryan, p

30 civilians. 36 This novel does not tell the impact of Nigerian war from the soldier or those who are involved directly in the war, but it tells the impact from three civilians named Ugwu, Olanna, and Richard. The analysis of this study shows that the novel challenges the concept of postcolonial by connecting the violence of post-independence Nigeria with the centuries of colonial rule. 37 Half of a Yellow Sun is set six years after the colonization in Nigeria. Through one of the main characters named Odenigbo, this novel criticizes the government that is still controlled by British. Moreover, this statement is similar to what Frantz Fanon calls as a Manichean order: The colonial world is a Manichean world. The colonist is not content with physical limiting the space of colonized, i.e., with the help of his agents of law and order. As if to illustrate the totalitarian nature of colonial exploitation, the colonist turns the colonized into a kind of quintessence of evil. 38 After the colonization, colonization and slavery are exchanged by the creation of a market that relies heavily on the import of European and US products and by the fueling of tension between class and ethnic groups in the name of this continued trade. This finding also supports the study by Chima Anyadike who claims that the progress of globalization is better achieved if Nigeria is controlled by their own 36 Amy. Novak, Who Speaks? Who Listens? : The problem of Address in Two Nigerian Trauma Novels. Studies in the Novel 40. ½ (2008): 33. Web. 31 Jan < 37 A. Novak, p Frantz Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth. (New York: Grove, 2004), 4. 21

31 people. 39 Novak also argues that Half of a Yellow Sun questions the objective authority of the western observers to know Nigeria. 40 Novak elaborates that Half of a Yellow Sun represents the details of trauma in Nigeria, alongside a critique of the representation and construction of Africa in Western imagination. 41 In the novel the readers are presented by the wrong perception about Nigeria before and during the Nigerian war. This wrong perception develops the ignorance by the Western during the Nigerian war. In order to overcome this problem Major Madu, Kainene s close friend asks Richard to write a news about Nigeria war. On the other hand, Richard is offended because he is asked to write the news as an outsider and because of his position as a white man. Madu assumes that white people will concern more if the story of the war is told by a fellow white man. Thus, Novak argues that to this day, African remains an abstraction in the West, locked behind imperialist essentialism and generalized racist images. 42 Novak concludes that Adichie s Half of a Yellow Sun performs such an act of translation by implicating the Western subject and contesting its privileged position as detached observer Chima Anyadike, The Global North in Achebe s Arrow of God and Adichie s Half of a Yellow Sun. The Global South 2, 2 (2008): Web. 16 March 201. < 40 Amy Novak, Who Speaks? Who Listens?: The problem of Address in Two Nigerian Trauma Novels. Studies in the Novel 40. ½ (2008): 33. Web. 31 Jan < 41 A. Novak, p A. Novak, p A. Novak, p

32 Moreover, all of the previous studies are useful in order to enhance the research s knowledge about postcolonial issues depicted in Adichie s Half of a Yellow Sun. The postcolonial issues elaborated by these previous studies are mostly about the national identity facing by Nigeria as a new country which filled with a lot of different ethnics. Most of the previous studies also give voices to the main characters in the novel, especially Ugwu. In addition the previous studies also widen the researcher s knowledge about African literary works especially those who has the same theme and tone. However, the study which examines education point of view in this novel has not been conducted yet. Therefore, the researcher argues that the impact of colonization in education aspect needs to be conducted since education can be a tool to liberate a nation but at the same time it can also be used to dominate other nation. B. Review of Related Theories 1. Education John Dewey notes that The most notable distinction between living and an inanimate object is that the former maintain themselves by renewal. 44 In other words, the human ability to adapt to a new circumstance and maintain his existence is a basic factor that distinguishes human and an inanimate object in their existence. Dewey elaborates that The primary ineluctable facts of the birth and death of each one of the constitute members of a social group determine the necessity of 44 John Dewey, Democracy and Education. (New York: Dover Publication, 2007), 1. 23

33 education. 45 It proves that education guides human s life. Education enables human to connect his own experience and his surrounding in order to improve his life for the better. According to Dewey education is a reconstruction or reorganization of experience which adds to the meaning of experience, and which increases the ability to direct the course of subsequent experience. 46 It means that education enables human to restructure an information which they get from their experiences and alter that experience to be meaningful. This is similar to Jean Piaget s concern about experience and intelligence. Piaget elaborates that The essential functions of intelligence consist in understanding and in inventing, in other words, in building up structures by structuring reality we learn by constructing meaning from our experiences. 47 Dewey divides education into incidental education and formal education. Incidental education refers to the education which human get from living with others 48, or in Aliu Babs Fafunwa s word traditional education. Fafunwa notes that traditional education aims at inculcating attitudes and values capable of integrating 45 J. Dewey, p J. Dewey, p Jean Piaget, Science and the Psychology of the Child (New York: Orion Press, 1970), p John Dewey, Democracy and Education. (New York: Dover Publication, 2007), 6. 24

34 the individual into the wider society. 49 In other words, traditional education is a crucial device to spread the value and moral to the society in order to guide the life. Fanfunwa elaborates that the objectives of traditional education is to develop the child s latent physical skills, character, to inculcate respect for elders and those in position of authority, to develop intellectual skills, to acquire specific vocational training and to develop a healthy attitude towards honest labor, to develop a sense of belonging and active participation in family and community affairs; and to understand, appreciate and promote the cultural heritage of the community at large. 50 Furthermore, Michael Omolewa writes traditional education uses the age as the grading system in which those about the same age are brought together to share responsibilities, work together and to be introduced to activities that will not be burdensome for their grade. The entry to each grade involves initiation during which the initiated person is made to appreciate the degree of responsibility, accountability and privileges of the process into which he or she is being initiated. 51 Thus, traditional education does not have measurement system which can be used to measure students ability or knowledge. 49 As cited in Michael Omolewa, Traditional African Modes of Education: Their Relevance in the Modern World. International Review of Education 53. 5/6 (2007): 596. PDF. 4 September < 50 As cited in Folasade R. Sulaiman, Internationalization in Education: The British Colonial Policies on Education in Nigeria Journal of Sociological Research 3. 2 (2012): 37. PDF. 29 June < 51 As cited in Michael Omolewa, Traditional African Modes of Education: Their Relevance in the Modern World. International Review of Education 53. 5/6 (2007): 596. PDF. 4 September < 25

35 The second type of education is formal education which related to school and teaching material. In altering the experience, formal education is needed to develop the standard of education in a society. Dewey elaborates that Without such formal education, it is not possible to transmit all the resources and achievements of a complex society. 52 Formal education sets a standard in the education system by providing the devices and also materials to be taught in institutions such as school and universities. This system is intended to spread the knowledge to a wider society. However, Dewey echoes his concern to formal education by degrading those countries which he assumes still apply traditional education. Dewey argues that undeveloped social groups are not equipped with special devices and material. As the result, they have little formal education. According to him, undeveloped social group has little formal teaching and training. Savage group relies on instilling need disposition into the young upon the same sort of association which keeps adult loyal to their group. The savage group does not have special devices, material or institutions to support the teaching process. 53 Dewey also argues that Formal education also opens a way to a kind of experience which would not be accessible to the young, if they were left to pick up their training in informal association with others since books and the symbols of 52 John Dewey, Democracy and Education. (New York: Dover Publication, 2007), J. Dewey, p. 7 26