“He didn’t want any women to intrude and disrupt their lives.”
Despite a few early difficulties adapting to modern luxuries, Ugwu has quickly settled into Odenigbo's household; his desire for permanence and stability is understandable, since he and Odenigbo are both intellectually gifted and quickly establish an easygoing sense of trust. This desire also proves ironic, since a woman - Olanna - appears soon enough as a possible disruption. Olanna, though, is a welcome presence, another modern Nigerian who has an easy rapport with Ugwu. Though smart, Ugwu is shortsighted in some of his desires and preconceptions - a fact that is further underscored when the disruptions of war make domestic disruption, from "any women" or from some other source, seem minor.
“The new Nigerian upper class is a collection of illiterates who read nothing and eat food they dislike at overpriced Lebanese restaurants and have social conversations around one subject: ‘How’s the new car behaving?’”
Kainene points out a problem that existed in Nigerian culture, which is trying to copy the Western world and the white population inside the country. Nigerians have adopted European customs, food, and habits and consider elements of a distant culture as being better than the Nigerian ones. As the daughter of a businessman with international contacts, Kainene is among those who accepted some Western elements in her life. What is more, even servants such as Harrison pride themselves in knowing how to cook Western food, a requirement many employers had. This assimilation, however, did not mean that Europeanized Nigerians were inherently happier; most of the time, they forced themselves to seem more Western in order to gain their peers' admiration.
“The real tragedy of the postcolonial world is that the majority of people had no say in whether or not they wanted this new world; rather, it is that the majority have not been given the tools to negotiate this new world.”
Here, Odenigbo is speaking of his own mother, a superstitious village woman who disapproves of the relationship between Odenigbo and Olanna. These may seem like harsh criticisms to direct at a relative, but Odenigbo has real pity for those who have not modernized. Instead of dismissing his mother's attack on Olanna as nothing more than a rant, Odenigbo sees his mother's outburst as a sign of the "tragedy" of uneven progress and postcolonial discord that he thinks about on a daily basis, sometimes debating issues of this sort with his academic colleagues. He also takes action; after all, Odenigbo's attempts to educate Ugwu are meant to bring a promising young man into the "new world" that Odenigbo inhabits.
It was wrong of Okeoma to assume that he was one of those Englishman who did not give the African the benefit of an equal intelligence.
The Europeans in Nigeria were not the only residents of the country who had moments of cultural bias, and, as is obvious from the quote given above, even ethnic Nigerians had certain misconceptions about the white men inside their nation. Okeoma, for example, expects Richard to be just the same as other postcolonial whites: cruel, proud, and to some extent prejudiced. Though a cosmopolitan poet, Okeoma could not fathom that a white man could be be sincerely interested in Nigerian culture or in the well-being of the Nigerian people. Because of these preconceptions, a tension arises between Richard and Okeoma, even though the two men are united as members of Odenigbo's social circle and as devotees of the craft of writing.
Olanna did not want Baby to touch those children in their torn clothes, milky mucus trailing from their noses, but she didn't say so; it shamed her that she felt that way.
Olanna's visits to Kano are a source of strong yet conflicting feelings - affection for Arize and the rest of the family, distaste for the earthier side of the household, and "shame" that she cannot disregard her own instinctive revulsion. Here, Olanna has chosen to bring Baby into a neighborhood that does not have Nsukka's character of modern privilege. The experience, in this pre-war stage, could be important in accustoming Baby to the realities of her country, but the war will make the prospect of unappealing "children" take on a new meaning. As Olanna and the other members of Odenigbo's household are repeatedly displaced, Baby will be forced into contact with other children who are dirty and disadvantaged; Olanna's own reactions will evolve from the kind of revulsion evident here to an acceptance of unappealing surroundings.
“You must never behave as if your life belongs to a man. Do you hear me?”
Despite their education, Nigerian women were still treated as commodities to be traded in exchange for certain favors. Olanna was raised in a wealthy Nigerian family; despite being sent abroad to receive a college education, when she returned home, her father expected her to sleep with one of his clients in order to help secure a business deal. The 1960s were not just an important era for the country or for the male population that dominated its politics, but for the females as well. As represented here by the forward-thinking Olanna and Kainene, some women found their voice and stopped letting themselves be treated as objects - as bound for life with a husband or confined to the vicinity of a small village.
Olanna leaned back on the seat. Kainene's approval, something she had never felt before, was like a sweetness on her tongue, a surge of ability, a good omen. Suddenly her decision became final; she would bring the baby home.
The relationship between Olanna and Kainene has often been marked by emotional distance, despite the possibility that their status as twins could symbolize a stronger bond. With this quotation, it becomes clear that the lapses in communication between the two sisters should not necessarily be understood as coldness or disregard, since Kainene's approval is the deciding factor in Olanna's plan to adopt Baby. Adhichie's narration is marked here by images of rapid and blissful impressions to underscore the importance of the moment. However, these images - of a quick taste, a fast surge - also imply that there is something fleeting to what Olanna feels, and that sweetness will disappear when Kainene finds out about Olanna's affair with Richard.
“Of course I asked because you are white. They will take what you write more seriously because you are white.“
In urging Richard to write about the Biafran cause "because [Richard is] white," Madu is not offering a recommendation for how the international response to Biafra should work. He is instead acknowledging the unfortunate reality that Richard's whiteness imparts an unearned credibility to Richard's words - a credibility that is better put to practical use in dire circumstances than quibbled over as wartime catastrophe looms. In fact, Madu's entire appeal to Richard can be understood as an appeal to practical necessity. Richard has never liked Madu and has relatively little renown as a writer, but the Englishman should see the need of compromising and deploying his largely ethnic advantages for the sake of Biafra.
"Sometimes I hate them," Kainene said.
"The vandals."
"No, them." Kainene pointed back at the room. "I hate them for dying."
Here, Olanna and Kainene are reflecting on the situation at the refugee center that Kainene has set up as Biafra's humanitarian crisis worsens. Kainene's remarks should not be read as a sign of disloyalty to her fellow Biafrans. Instead, the expression of "hate" that is to be found here can best be understood as an expression of weariness and futility; Kainene's job, after all, is to alleviate or counteract the sufferings that here seem simply overwhelming. While Kainene would have good reason to hate the belligerent "vandals," the daily experience of the war places Kainene in contact with the those who are fleeing the suffering that the Northern Nigerian forces inflict - making the refugees the most immediate symbol of a war that Kainene would be justified in hating.
Richard reached out and grasped his arm. Come back, he wanted to say, come back here and tell me if you ever laid your filthy black hand on her.
Throughout the novel, Richard has been depicted as a white man who admires African culture and despises gestures of racial superiority. This depiction, in the context of what has gone before, is in some ways shocking. When Richard reflects on Madu, he contemplates the other man's "filthy black hand" in a way that disconcertingly equates filth and blackness - a departure from Richard's frequent sense that there is something dignified and intriguing about Nigeria and Nigerians. Richard is of course suffering from Kainene's disappearance and has never liked Madu in the first place. Still, his thoughts could be read as an emergence of an unconscious strain of racial contempt, or as an unfortunate conflation of personal and racial antipathy.
