Colonialism In Purple Hibiscus

“Sometimes you will never know the true value of a moment until it becomes a memory.” Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was born september 15, 1977 in Enugu, Nigeria. She is a novelist, short story writer, and nonfiction writer who has published more than 15 novels. The novelist has also a myriad of awards such as Reader's Digest Author of the Year Award, MacArthur Foundation Genius Grant, and the National Book Critics Circle Award. In this short story, “To My One Love”, the reader is given a setting on Nigeria in the 1990s where there has been an abundance of “Operations”, or robberies. At this time Chimamanda is in university and has taken a fancy to a young man named Nnamdi- unfortunately, he died because of these operations. Chimamanda wrote

This change and maturity in Kambili is later shown when she starts to defy papa. This is shown when she steals the picture of papa Nnukwu and keeps it in her room and when she describes Papa as a “tall stranger”! However Kambili still remains loyal to her father and obeys him still, she does not go to the extent and rebel totally against him, unlike Jaja. This also shows that she isn’t mature enough and therefore obeys her father and Jaja to an extent.

Imagine living in dramatic fear, someone who loves you, puts you through abuse, depression, and demolishing your self-esteem. How does a person grow from such a traumatic experience and become brave? Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was born on September 15, 1977 in Enugu, Nigeria. During her senior year at Eastern, she started working on her first novel, Purple Hibiscus, which was released in October 2003. Adichie demonstrates bravery and growth in humanity. Kambili and her family’s lives are followed throughout Purple Hibiscus. Kambili and her family live through fear of Papa, they are silent and are afraid to stand up for themselves. Fear suppresses our individuality and confidence- thus; it controls humanity and hinders us from bravery and growth.

My room-mate had a single story of Africa; a single story of catastrophe”. Adichie also tells how growing up in Nigeria reading only American and English children’s books made her deaf to her authentic voice. As a child, she wrote about such things as blue-eyed white children easting apples, thinking brown skin and mangos had no place in Literature. That changed as she discovered African writers.

Chimamanda Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus is a story set in Nigeria told from the perspective of Kambili and her journey towards independence; along the way, she looks to the female role models in her life, each which aid her path to liberation. Mama and Aunty Ifeoma are two vital female characters to the development of the story but with stark contrasts; Mama’s submissive and reserved demeanor provides a perfect foil to Aunty’s outgoing and independent personality. They both influence Adichie’s bildungsroman, but how they aid Kambili’s endeavor is strikingly different. Mama and Aunty Ifeoma represent the female figures in Kambili’s life; Mama shows Kambili to submit to the men in her life, while Aunty Ifeoma opens up the idea of being independent and free thinking. Mama stresses submission and dependency as a sacrifice to tradition while Aunty Ifeoma emphasizes independent thought to embrace oneself and progress over all others. The way that these two women uphold themselves throughout the novel, demonstrates how these patriarchal societies, like the one in Nigeria, restrict women like Mama, while women like Aunty are deemed rebellious to society.

Father Amadi teaches Kambili to smile. He teaches her that it’s okay to be happy and to express it. He helps break her silence which contributes to her moving away form her father. He helps her through a lot and helps her understand her thoughts and feelings. He also shows her a different side to her religion. A side not only based on the rules but a side based on love and

An important relationship in the novel Purple Hibiscus by Chimimanda Ngozi Adichie is the relationship between Kambili and her Aunty Ifeoma, and her family. It introduces Kambili into a less sheltered environment where she is not only free to speak her mind, she is encouraged to question things, and form her own opinions. She also looks up to and admires her cousin, Amaka, who influences Kambili to be more confident and free thinking, like she is. The relationship between Kambili and Aunt Ifeoma’s family also opens Kambili up to new relationships, such as her relationship with Papa-Nnukwu. She begins to

The novel Purple Hibiscus, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, is a story of a young girl , who tries to find her own voice and speak out against her violent oppressive father. The novel is set in post-post-colonial Nigeria, in a time in which the government was run by a military dictatorship. There are a number of symbols used to help develop ideas in the text; the three most important ones being purple and red hibiscuses and Mama’s figurines. The red hibiscuses are symbolic of the violence in Kambili’s life while the purple hibiscuses symbolise freedom, defiance and the freedom to speak out. The figurines are symbolic of Mama’s quiet character and of the violence in her home. These symbols are there to show the

Nigeria, a barren wasteland, now an uprising land of civilization enters an era of ferocity, dominance, depravity. From the ashes of Nigeria, emerges Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, the author of Purple Hibiscus. She intertwines Purple Hibiscus with her personal memories; she wrote her tale based on her experience-religion, history, and politics. Purple Hibiscus is a novel expressing the complexity of the human nature. From tragedies to happiness, life is a pendulum of occasions. Life consists of abrupt changes; these changes are caused by external factors such as government. However, when a government is corrupt, two primary courses are presented: to submit or rebel. The corruption within government vastly expands towards major concepts-politics, economy, religion-that influences people’s lives. Therefore, Adichie exposes the detrimental transformation of a tyrannical government through her portrayal of the economic, religious, and political strife throughout Nigeria.

Kambili and Jaja break free from their father, Eugene’s, abusive and controlling ways in the novel Purple Hibiscus. Kambili is a shy and scared girl at the beginning, but by the end she was changed into a beautiful outgoing girl who develops her voice and her laughter. Jaja is more outgoing in the beginning and becomes more protective of his family throughout the book. The change didn’t come to Kambili and Jaja naturally; it came through Aunty Ifeoma and their time away from Eugene. Ifeoma’s rejection of Eugene’s Catholic-driven control inspires Kambili and Jaja to break free.

Chinua Achebe’s novel “Things Fall Apart” chronicles the life of Okonkwo, a strong man whose existence is dominated by fear and anger, and the Ibo tribe, a people deeply rooted in cultural belief and tradition. As events unfold, Okonkwo’s carefully constructed world and the Ibo way of life collapses. The story of Okonkwo’s fall from a respected and feared leader of the Ibo tribe to an outcast who dies in disgrace dramatizes his inability to evolve beyond his personal beliefs, affecting the entire Ibo tribe beyond measure. The “things” that fall apart in Achebe’s novel are Okonkwo’s life – his ambition, dreams, family unity and material wealth – and the Ibo way of life – their beliefs, culture and values.

The child in Kambili questions the needless prohibitions from her father which deprives them of the love and knowledge they would have acquired from the sage. Aunty Ifeoma’s children enjoy so much of this sage. They live in the atmosphere of freedom. Freedom of speech. Freedom of association. Freedom of decision. Freedom of religion. Uncle Eugene allows religion to becloud his sense of fellowship with his culture and society. His children must comply with the tenets of Catholicism. They must not mingle with the ‘heathen’ society. They must not romance with non-catholic churches as they constitute the fall of man. They must comply with this ‘time table’ which almost looks like a ritual of daily living

She learns from watching Papa Nnukwu doing his morning prayer (p. 167 – 169) that his traditionalism is a very spiritual thing for him and something that made him happy; happiness her family doesn’t feel after saying their prayers. This is a breakthrough for her as she makes the conclusion for herself and understands herself that there is an important something in Papa Nnukwu regarding his beliefs that is missing in their own lives which revolves around their religion. She also understands her grandfather better and sees and experiences that her father is wrong. This matures Kambili greatly and contributes to her independence of her father.

In the beginning of the novel, Kambili is seen as extremely introverted and sheltered. Kambili lives under the wrath of her father's extremist values causing her to change and behave perfectly in Papa's eyes; Papas idea of perfection is sinless, which causes her to live a very quiet and fearful life. The idea of perfection causes Kambili to act differently than other kids. She is seen at school as a “backyard snob” (50) due to her inability to speak to others and her fear of not speaking perfectly. Her fear causes her to not be able to speak to others unless necessary. As Kambili's character progresses, she is seen as very ignorant due to her father's strict ideas. Kambili's father has a strict hold on Kambili's thoughts and ideas. Kambili has a very easily manipulated mind, due to her immense insecurity and introverted self. When visiting her grandfather, Papa Nnukwu, her father prays, “Papa Nnukwu would be saved from hell” (61) later on, she is seen calling him a heathen and asking for forgiveness after enjoying spending time with him (106). Her guilt shows her embarrassment and how she judges her Grandfather due to her father's influence. Kambili’s fathers influences causes her to shift beliefs and portray herself in a way her father seems correct.

The novel Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was published by Anchor Books in 2004, a first person narrative of life in the political turmoil of post-colonial Nigeria. Purple Hibiscus, exemplifies how the western feminist theory has greatly failed to address the needs and wants of the african women and their children. This essay focuses primary on the forms of patriarchy presented in the novel and how each utilizes violence, religious oppression and silence as forms of control over the mother and the children of the Achike family. The family's patriarch Eugene, the patriarchal religious leaders and the corruption of the patriarchal government attempt to control homes, parishes, and nations through silence and violence.The use of