105 pages 3 hours read

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Half of a Yellow Sun

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2006

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.

Chapters 19-24

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part Three: "The Early Sixties"

Chapter 19 Summary

Part Three of the book begins where the events of Part One ended, and we are given the tale through the viewpoint of Ugwu. Richard’s houseboy Harrison and Ugwu are having a conversation regarding tear gas; Ugwu has heard that tear gas can be used to make people fall unconscious, and thus he wants to obtain some to use on Nnesinachi when he returns to his home village of Opi with Richard for the upcoming ori-okpa festival. 

After realizing Harrison is of no help to him, he asks Richard’s gardener Jomo if he knows what tear gas is. Jomo giggles and tells Ugwu that if the girl likes him then he should just wait and make a move at the right moment. Ugwu takes this to heart, and soon thereafter he and Richard arrive back in his home village, though upon arriving he is extremely upset to find out that Nnesinachi left to go visit northern Nigeria several days ago.

After Richard finishes documenting Opi’s ori-okpa festival, Ugwu and his expatriate companion promptly return back to Nsukka. Once there, Ugwu is surprised to find Odenigbo’s mother there, and she quickly sends the houseboy away in light of the fact that she intends to cook that night.

Related Titles

By Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Study Guide

logo

Americanah

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Americanah

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Study Guide

logo

Apollo

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Apollo

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Study Guide

logo

A Private Experience

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

A Private Experience

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Study Guide

logo

Birdsong

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Birdsong

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Study Guide

logo

Cell One

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Cell One

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Study Guide

logo

Checking Out

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Checking Out

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Study Guide

logo

Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE

logo

The Danger of a Single Story

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

The Danger of a Single Story

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Study Guide

logo

The Headstrong Historian

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

The Headstrong Historian

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Study Guide

logo

The Thing Around Your Neck

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

The Thing Around Your Neck

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE

logo

We Should All Be Feminists

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

We Should All Be Feminists

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie