Kambili In Exile By Elie Wiesel

Because of Papa's judgement, Kambili has become silent and is afraid to speak up; scared to speak up to authority. Throughout the book you can tell that most of the plot is Kambili’s thoughts and that she barely speaks. I think that Kambili is confused coming from a house where if you speak up you get knocked down, silence has protected her somewhat. Therefore, she doesn’t know how to deal with living with Aunty Ifeoma, living in a house full of talk and laughter. Aunty Ifeoma notices Papas harsh expectations causes Kambili to keep silent, believing that one wrong word could lead her in the wrong direction. Instead of letting Kambili remain locked in her silence when Amaka makes a comment about her privilege and wealth, Aunty Ifeoma encourages her to speak up and fight back saying, “‘O ginidi, Kambili, have you no mouth? Talk back to her!’” (Adichie 170) Kambili, not knowing how to yell back, blurts out, “‘You don’t have to shout, Amaka. I don’t know how to do the orah leaves, but you can show me.’” (170) Even though it was a nice way of fighting back, it's a start. It was not only Aunty Ifeoma who noticed her silence, it was Father Amadi as well.
Because Father Amadi likes Kambili as a person, he pushes her out of her bubble by

It seems that she has a little crush on Father Amadi and by having his presence and guidance she realizes that she shouldn’t be scared to speak up and that she is able to laugh and smile and get away with it, maybe even enjoy it. Treating her as a friend and an equal, Father Amadi gradually creates a relationship that makes her more open and helps her discover her inner voice. Just spending a couple of days with him she has learned so much, “I had smiled, run and laughed. My chest was filled with something like bath foam. Light.” (180). This was only the beginning of her noticing that life doesn’t always have to be so