Half of a Yellow Sun is a literary tour de force that examines Nigerian culture through the prism of three main characters. The novel focuses on the violence and family relationships of the main characters over an important period, the Biafran War. Some of the fundamental issues that Adichie focuses on are how femininity and masculinity are interpreted through these specific characters and how these roles are treacherous and sometimes devastating to relationships and morality. The cinematic depiction of Half of a Yellow Sun does not emphasize the subjugation of women as inhuman beings, the nature of masculinity as represented through sexual violence, and the dichotomization of men and women in distinct spheres; by distorting the narrative to fit Olanna's lens, the film is unable to portray femininity and masculinity as a structure of culture and power as Adichie does in the text. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay In the film, Ugwu is fascinated by Olanna as a sexual being and intimidated by her intellectual prowess. In contrast, in the novel, Ugwu is obsessed with sex to the point where rape becomes a fantasy reflecting the cultural impact of his environment. His growth within Odenigbo's household challenges some of his ideas about masculinity, as Olanna and Odenigbo are both intellects and strong-willed in their own senses, but Adichie writes Ugwu's narrative as if he acted as a naturalist text; Ugwu's environment has a hold on him to the point that he barely makes it out alive. When he is captured and forced to fight, his comrades-in-arms say to him: “Destroyer of targets, are you not a man” (458)? When he is captured and forced to participate in a genocide committed by someone else, he is also forced to perform sexuality in a way he never has before. Ugwu's role as a man is defined by the sexual nature that mixes with masculinity in the text. Ugwu's sexuality develops as a reflection of the relationship between Odenigbo and Olanna as he continually overhears their sexual encounters and begins to develop his own understanding of sexuality through them. In Odenigbo's house, he cooks and cleans and Mama, a woman who believes very much in superstitions and defined, non-fluid gender roles, chastises him for wanting to work in the domestic sphere. Ugqu is reprimanded from all sides. In the text, his character is shaped by his tendency to survive against the overwhelming forces of sexual violence and by his obedience to cultural definitions of masculinity. In the film, Ugwu is seen as a quiet observer, all his actions depict him as a loyal servant of Odenigbo and a passive friend of Olanna. Ugwu's shy nature and ambivalence is a clear marketing choice that the film's developers implemented to polarize the characters into two categories: ; good and evil. By doing this, the writers simplified the narrative and gave the audience clear emotional triggers to empathize with Ugwu as he is innocent, loving and shy. Ugwu's restructured narrative gives him little influence over the audience, he becomes a stable stronghold in Odenigbo and Olanna's story, but does little, if anything, to show the crusade coming of age in Nigeria during the Biafran War. In the novel, Richard seeks to become part of Nigeria by learning the language, claiming the land as his own, andwriting about the world around him. His view on Nigeria is in direct opposition to Susan's, who believes that the people around them need to be civilized and, more importantly, colonized. Early in the text, Richard is taken to parties as Susan's trophy boyfriend, Adiche explains: "[Richard]...didn't even mind when a pasty-faced drunk woman called him Susan's pretty boy » (66). This feeling of emasculation is crucial to the development of Richard's character. He is emotionally invested in Nigeria and he wants it to be part of his identity, but his powerlessness limits his ability to raise a family in this new place. His only way in is through his attachment and love for Kainene, with whom he continually maintains an imperfect connection due to her adultery and inability to have sex. Nevertheless, Richard's desire to avoid being tampered with led him to proclaim himself the owner of Kainene and Nigeria. Richard states, “It was a new beginning, a new country, their new country” (211). Her power to make Kainene her own and, furthermore, to write herself into the story, gives her a control and power that is neither shown nor expressed effectively in the film version of Half of a Yellow Sun. In the film, Richard is reduced to a secondary character, only seen and perceived as an extension of Kainene. Like Ugwu, he becomes the caricature of a sensitive and tragic artist. Richard's only viable moment of perceived helplessness is when Olanna must take on driving responsibilities when the two men search for the missing Kainene. The forced focus on family in the film diminishes the overwhelming narrative of masculinity that Adiche puts forward, and even more so with Richard it generates a narrative about romance and family rather than property and power. By presenting the film through Olanna's lens, the film misses the multitude of perspectives Adichie points out are crucial to understanding and witnessing different cultures as an outsider. Olanna becomes the protagonist but her growth as a character is strictly limited to the romantic narrative between her and Odenigbo and the focus on her relationship with her sister. By ignoring the large amounts of sexual violence in the film, the writers were unable to delve deeper into the narratives of sexuality that Adichie focuses on in her book, particularly women's liminal sexuality. Viewers of the film only have a very objective view of the characters' sexuality which is only exposed as loving or primal, with no one's body becoming a political battlefield for power as is the case in the text . Kainene explains to Richard: “They display pieces of meat on the tables…my sister and I are meat. We are here for suitable bachelors to make the kill” (73). Kainene connects the lives of women to those of animals whose sole purpose is to serve others, to be killed and consumed by someone else. Amala is the perfect example of this consummation as Mama allegedly used evil magic to lure Odenigbo to Amala in order to advance her lineage. The text clearly focuses on Olanna's struggle with pregnancy, but the film barely, if at all, emphasizes her fertility. A crucial moment that was omitted from the film was Amala's attempt to abort her fetus after being raped by Odenigbo. Amala explains the process: “If you eat a lot of hot peppers, they will eliminate pregnancy. “She was huddled in the mud like a pathetic animal” (300). Amala's desire to rid her body of the child and thus dispel Odenigbo's lineage is seen as both primal and detrimental to the drive toward the future, especially if she carried a.