Identical Situations in Purple Hibiscus aby Adichie and Hamlet by William Shakespeare

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Kambili and Ophelia In novel and the play Purple Hibiscus and Hamlet, Adichie and Shakespeare both depict similar characters that are put in identical situations. In the beginning of Purple Hibiscus, Kambili is in an environment that is similar to Ophelia’s—one that is repressive and strict. In both the palace and Enugu, both girls are under male dominated influence, which is the cause of their subordinate personality. Although Kambili and Ophelia seem identical by their personalities and the situations they are it, there is one prominent difference. Ophelia ends up taking her own life whereas Kambili seems to have improved as a character. The main reasons for this is that when Kambili moved to Nsukka with Aunty Ifeoma and her cousins, she was exposed to a completely different environment in which she is introduced to freedom and forced to mature. In Nsukka, Kambili has an abundance of female support, a long with fraternal support and an encouraging lover. Whereas Ophelia lacks a substantial amount of these factors during the majority of her life. Through the relationships with their respective support systems, the difference in outcomes between Kambili and Ophelia reveals the effect of the environment and surroundings on their characters and how guidance is vital to ones coming of age. The amount of female support Kambili receives in Nsukka from Aunty Ifeoma and Amaka ultimately help her gain confidence and show her the meaning of what it feels like to be free from male dominance. Aunty Ifeoma illustrates that she is not afraid to speak her mind in any situation especially when you have done no wrong. When Papa abused Kambili after she dove after the ripped painting of Papa-Nnukwu, Aunty Ifeoma immediately spoke and sai... ... middle of paper ... ...is will be the last time Ophelia ever hears from Laertes until the end of the play, when he comes back after the death of his father. The absence of Laertes caused his bond with Ophelia to weaken, because he was simply never there for her when she needed it most. After Ophelia kills herself, Laertes still doesn’t seem to appreciate his sister. He jumps into her grave saying “Till I have caught her once more in mine arms” (5.1 197), implying the literal meaning that this is the last time he will ever be able to hold her. Ophelia has finally been freed after died, and by saying “caught” her once more in his arms, Laertes is insinuating that he has to get one last hold of his sister before he has to let her go, just like Jaja did to Kambili, however this time to heaven. Yet it is disrespectable to Ophelia that she can’t even be placed in her grave peacefully.

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