Examples Of Aunty Ifeoma In Purple Hibiscus

“{Ikemefuna} had become wholly absorbed into his new family. He was like an elder brother to Nwoye, and from the very first seemed to have kindled a new fire in the younger boy. He made him feel grown-up, and they no longer spent the evenings in his mother's hut while she cooked, but now sat with Okonkwo in his obi, or watched him as he tapped his palm tree for the evening wine. Nothing pleased Nwoye now more than to be sent for by his mother or another of his father's wives to do one of those difficult and masculine tasks in the home, like splitting wood, or pounding food. On receiving such a message through a younger brother or sister, Nwoye would feign annoyance and grumble aloud about women and their troubles.” [38] Before Ikemefuna came into their lives, Nwoye didn’t talk to his father very much, while he usually spent most of his time helping his mother in the kitchens. He was also a very emotional and ‘weak’ little boy. “Later in the day {Okonkwo} called Ikemefuna and told him that he was to be taken home the next day. Nwoye overheard it and burst into tears, whereupon his father beat him heavily.” [41] “...Okonkwo drew his machete and cut him down… As soon as his father walked in, that night, Nwoye knew that Ikemefuna had been killed, and something seemed to give way inside him, like the snapping of a tightened bow. He did

The evangelists are very accepting, as they take in the osu, outcasts from the clan. They offer salvation along with freedom, which Nwoye has been searching for for a long time. However, because of Nwoye’s action, Okonkwo disowns him. Later, when Obierika goes to visit Okonkwo, he finds that “Okonkwo [does] not wish to speak about Nwoye.” Moreover, Okonkwo tells his other children that “if any one of [them] prefers to be a woman, let him follow Nwoye” (Achebe, 172). Okonkwo then asks himself how he could have “begotten a woman for a son” (Achebe, 153). According to Okonkwo, Nwoye has become weak because he has joined another religion. Since Okonkwo believes he is the most masculine man in Umuofia, it is unbearable that his child turned out to be such a failure. This unbearable change in his family creates a ripple effect of events that become worse and worse for Okonkwo.

-After Nwoye is lured into the Christian religion and abandons his culture and family, Okonkwo is ashamed and states, "you have all see the great abomination of your brother. Now he is no longer my son or your brother. I will only have a son who is a man, who will hold his head up among my people" (172). Nwoye's father disowns him only because he chooses a path untraditional to his culture. The serious, frustrated, and unhappy mood that is created in Okonkwo's statement gives the reader an idea of how much the Ibo culture values tradition, choice, and family.

Okonkwo treated his son and daughter very differently. The child-father relationship between Okonkwo and Nwoye was a distant and strained one while Okonkwo exhibited another type of feeling towards Ezinma which is filled with care and concern. This was due to the fact that Nwoye “was already causing his father great anxiety for his incipient laziness” whereas Ezinma was thought to have the “right spirit” and “alone understood [Okonkwo’s] every mood”.

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.

The relationship between Kambili and Aunt Ifeoma and her family, also develops her relationship with Papa Nnukwu – Eugene’s non-Catholic father. All her life, she has been taught by her

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

Okonkwo considers Nwoke to be weak, lazy and is more feminine than masculine. He feared that Nwoke will turn out to be like Unoka so, “he sought to correct him by constant nagging and beating” (11). Achebe shows that Okonkwo wants his son to be strong and fierce like him, but when this was not the case he feels that harming Nwoke will teach him. Though instead of the punishment helping Nwoke become manly, it had a negative effect on Nwoke leading him to fear and resents his father. In addition, the small relationship they had was completely broken when Nwoke finds an interest for the Christian religion. When Okonkwo hears that Nwoke is among the Christians, he gets furious and disowns his son because he does not want Nwoke to join the church . Likewise, when Obierika ask Nwoke how his father is he answers saying, “I don’t know. He is not my father” (124). This shows that instead of working out their different opinions they fought and in the end tore their relationship apart. One can not miss the reality that if Okonkwo was kind and not hurtful towards Nwoke tun he would have stayed with the Ibo culture. If this was the cause then the father and son would have had a better relationship. In the end the reader can conclude that Nwoke and Okonkwo’s relationship failed because of the actions and feelings they had for each

In Nigeria, Aunty Uju is Ifemelu’s role model and influences her regard towards America. In this time period before America is involved in Ifemelu’s life in any capacity, Adichie’s characterization of Aunty Uju is indicative of life in Nigeria and how happy and hopeful it is for both women. There are issues, regarding Ifemelu’s family life and Uju’s financial security through The General, but ultimately they are happy with their lives and their relationship is

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.

You burn your feet”(Adichie 194). Eugene punishes Kambili and Jaja for living the way Ifeoma encourages. Ifeoma is a joyful soul with a colorful personality. She is a strong and confident woman

Ikemefuna is very well-liked by Okonkwo and his family, and becomes a mentor and best friend to Nwoye. Okonkwo feels dismay that Nwoye is taking on the torpid characteristics of his grandfather, Unoka, and is quite pleased that Nwoye is thriving and maturing under Ikemefuna’s guidance. “Okonkwo was inwardly pleased at his son’s development, and he knew it was due to Ikemefuna” (Achebe, 1958, p. 52, para. 2). Okonkwo’s pride, and fear of demonstrating any perceived sign of weakness, does not allow him to show any favorable emotion to Ikemefuna; he treats him with the same severity he does the rest of his family. “Even Okonkwo himself

Purple Hibiscus takes place in Enugu, a city of political conflict in post Colonial Nigeria. The story is narrated by the protagonist Kambili Achike, a teenager and lives with her elder brother Jaja, who excels in academics like his sister but is withdrawn and sullen. Kambili’s father papa is a delightful but a harsh authoritarian whose faithfulness to

Throughout the clan Okonkwo was respected for his strength, his success, and his skills. Okonkwo had killed five enemies in clan wars and thrown the cat in a wrestling match showing his strength to the clan. His success was defined by Okonkwo having three wives and a plentiful amount of yams. After the clan settles a dispute with another clan, Okonkwo is given the important job of caring for the child that was part of the exchange, “The elders of the clan had decided that Ikemefuna should be in Okonkwo’s care for a while.” (Page 27) This displays the trust and respect the elders feel toward Okonkwo. Furthermore, Achebe makes it clear that Okonkwo carried enough titles and created an identity that gave him the chance to take on this immense honor of caring for Ikemefuna. Okonkwo had also gained enough of a presence to be like one of the elders for the clan, “The elders and grandees of the village sat on their own stools brought there by their young sons or slaves. Okonkwo was among them.” (Page 46) Okonkwo is like the elders, because he is able to sit with them during clan events. This illustrates Okonkwo’s identity throughout the clan, being viewed by people of lower rank in the clan, while beside the most respected of the clan. In addition Okonkwo viewed himself as one of the high members of the clan, by challenging himself to be unlike his father and gain titles to contradict his father.

In my own life, I feel that sometimes I must abandon friendships, or projects that I put a lot of time and effort into maintaining; When these things just don’t work out, It can be devastating. This pales in comparison to the situation that Mama is faced with in Purple HIbiscus, and how she has to decide whether or not to leave the man that she loves the most her husband, or to stay with him at the risk of more violence towards her and her children. This relates to when Aunty Ifeoma says, “’This cannot go on, nwunye m,’ Aunty Ifeoma said. ‘When a house is on fire, you run out before the roof collapses on your head.’”(Aunt Ifeoma 213). Aunty Ifeoma cannot bring herself to understand why Mama would want to return to the house that has been “burning”