Abstract
ABSTRACT: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's 2006 novel, Half of a Yellow Sun , utilizes a nonchronological, polyvocal narrative structure to depict a group of people's lives before and during the Nigeria-Biafra War of 1967-70. Throughout its structure, the novel centers questions of authorial rights and suitability, as it through its internal metatext, "The World Was Silent When We Died," problematizes who authors stories of Biafra. Through a narratological investigation of the novel's implementation of polyvocality and internal focalization, I argue Half of a Yellow Sun refuses to provide an easily accepted authorial choice that atones Ugwu of his participation in rape. Instead, the narrative devices expose his projection toward sexual assault and reveal his misogyny toward women. The novel simultaneously condemns and accentuates the harming effects of male-dominated discourse where perpetrators control the narrative and exclude and/or skew the experiences of women victims of sexual assault as it calls for a diversity of voices.