Purple Hibiscus Essay

756 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Discuss the theme of change in literature

Within the novel Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Adichie portrays the development of the protagonists Jaja and Kambili as well as numerous other secondary characters that influence these individuals. One is demonstrated how Kambili, Jaja, and Eugene, the father of Kambili and Jaja, are exposed to diverse environments throughout the novel. These individuals all respond to certain changes brought upon their lives differently contingent to whether they accept it in a positive manner or whether they identify it as an obstacle that is conflicting with their initial beliefs. Though, initially the protagonists Jaja and Kambili struggle to become open-minded to new aspects and truly express themselves, their surroundings cause them to …show more content…

Eugene, on the other hand, conflicts with himself as he resists the changes his environment is attempting to place on him, as he considers what he individually values to be the most essential. Nonetheless, the characters throughout the novel reveal how they react when confronted with new aspects and how they apply that to their individual development. The novel is essential for portraying how one ultimately develops from the changes within their environment. The protagonist Kambili initially possesses many situations where she could have interacted with her environment and the individuals who surrounded her. One is able to identify this in the scene where Kambili and Ezinne have a conversation. For example, “Maybe you should try and talk to her. Maybe after school you should stop running off like that and walk with us to the gate. Why do you always run away? I just like running…wondered if I would count that as lie…” (Adichie 51). Though, Kambili was aware that she was deceitful to Ezinne, her father, Eugene, instills Kambili fear within her, as she desires in avoiding physical pain brought upon by him if she were to delay after school. Although, during Kambili’s visit to Nsukka, within her Aunt Ifeoma’s home, the individuals who surround her enable her to

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of Jennifer Egan's Safari

    1240 Words  | 3 Pages

    The influence family members can have on the development of a child is enormous; they can either mold a healthy mind or drive a child toward darkness. Jennifer Egan’s Safari is a short story that highlights the different relationships in a family with a complicated background. Rolph and Charlie come from a divorced household and join their father, Lou, and his new girlfriend, Mindy, on an African safari. As the events of the trip unfold, Lou’s children experience a coming of age in which they lose the innocence they once possessed. The significant impact of family dynamic on children’s transition into adulthood is presented in Safari. Jennifer Egan uses Mindy’s structural classifications of Charlie and Rolph to demonstrate how Lou and Mindy’s relationship hinders the maturation of the two kids.

    Read More

  • Purple Hibiscus: The Hero's Journey

    729 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Purple Hibiscus written by Chimamanda Adichie, the story of Kambili and her experiences throughout Nsukka and Enugu fit with the Hero’s Journey, a model of narrative that describes “the hero,” an archetype that ultimately reaches a great achievement through the stages of the Hero’s Journey. Although played in a realistic setting, unlike many of the examples portrayed in magical worlds such as Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings, Kambili experiences the same stages of the journey and by definition, is considered a hero. The stages that contribute the most significantly to modeling the Hero’s Journey of Kambili is The Ordinary World, Crossing the Threshold, and The Ordeal.

    Read More

  • Why I Live At The Po Summary

    741 Words  | 2 Pages

    Often when children are spoiled, they develop a sense of superiority to those around them. However, after leaving the closed environment of a household, the need for authority and supremacy can create unintended consequences imbedded with sorrow. The fallout from this misfortune is seen in “Why I Live at the P.O.” in the family quarrel that ensues due to the return of Stella-Rondo. Throughout the narration, the author asserts that because, the world is apathetic to one’s dilemmas, a shielded and pampered upbringing can only hamper personal development. Through the denial of truth that the family exhibits in attempts to improve relations and through the jealousy that Sister experiences as inferior to Stella-Rondo, the source of hindered maturity is exemplified.

    Read More

  • Perspectives on Childhood in The Glass Castle and The Kite Runner

    1727 Words  | 4 Pages

    In John Connolly’s novel, The Book of Lost Things, he writes, “for in every adult there dwells the child that was, and in every child there lies the adult that will be”. Does one’s childhood truly have an effect on the person one someday becomes? In Jeannette Walls’ memoir The Glass Castle and Khaled Hosseini’s novel The Kite Runner, this question is tackled through the recounting of Jeannette and Amir’s childhoods from the perspectives of their older, more developed selves. In the novels, an emphasis is placed on the dynamics of the relationships Jeannette and Amir have with their fathers while growing up, and the effects that these relations have on the people they each become. The environment to which they are both exposed as children is also described, and proves to have an influence on the characteristics of Jeannette and Amir’s adult personalities. Finally, through the journeys of other people in Jeannette and Amir’s lives, it is demonstrated that the sustainment of traumatic experiences as a child also has a large influence on the development of one’s character while become an adult. Therefore, through the analysis of the effects of these factors on various characters’ development, it is proven that the experiences and realities that one endures as a child ultimately shape one’s identity in the future.

    Read More

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

    1137 Words  | 3 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Cruelty In C. Adichie's Purple Hibiscus

    660 Words  | 2 Pages

    Eugene seems very self centered and given his description of the book he seems to care much about his appearance and his place in society. While in Aunt Ifeoma's home Kambili thinks about an event in Jaja’s past after the Aunt asks Jaja what had happened to his small finger as it was devastated,”When he was ten, he had missed two questions on his catechism test...papa took him upstairs...came out supporting his left hand with his right”(Adichie 145). Here it is apparent just how much he cares for his self image. Jaja did not manage to get to the top spot in his class, thus would directly affect Eugene as his kids would not be just as revered as himself leading to his self image being lowered. He hates this, this feeling of second best. He feels

    Read More

  • Experience In Sherman Alexie's The Absolutely True Diary Of A Part-Time Indian?

    1039 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, the main character Arnold, also known as Junior, has many health issues, and notably stands out in the crowd. It does not help that he is a poor Indian boy that lives on a reservation, and that he decides to go to an all-white high school. Many of his experiences at school, and on the Reservation, impact his identity. Experience is the most influential factor in shaping a person’s identity because it helps gain confidence, it teaches new things, and it changes one’s outlook on the world.

    Read More

  • The Chrysanthemums Essay

    1128 Words  | 3 Pages

    “It has always seemed strange to me... the things we admire in men, kindness and generosity, openness, honesty, understanding and feeling, are the concomitants of failure in our system. And those traits we detest, sharpness, greed, acquisitiveness, meanness, egotism and self-interest, are the traits of success. And while men admire the quality of the first they love the produce of the second.” This quote was once said by an amazing author, who described the world’s society today so perfectly that one may forget that he had was describing his society in the early and mid-nineteenth hundreds. John Steinbeck is considered one of America’s greatest author of literature. Many of his work is still read today as required reading in most high schools and college literature classes throughout the United States. His most famous story that had outlived him was the Grapes of Wrath, which led to him receive the Nobel Prize in Literature and the Pulitzer Prize in 1940. Many of John Steinbeck told in a realistic view of life and how men lived in them. Steinbeck grew up in California's Salinas Valley, a diverse area with a rich history. His upbringing help shape his writing, which gave many of his works a sense of place. The Chrysanthemums is a short story a part of John Steinbeck collection of The Long Valley. In his short story, The Chrysanthemums, it deal with different problems in society; however, some problems stand out more than others. Many people have interpret the story into many different ways, but my interpretation of the story depicts the inequality of gender in society, the analysis of the character Elisa , and the symbolic meaning of the Chrysanthemums.

    Read More

  • Alice Munro's Boys and Girls

    1200 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout the story there are several aspects of the Protagonist’s character that play a major role in the shaping of her future. During her childhood she often demonstrates a sense of fear when she is sent to her bedroom. “We were afraid of the inside, the room were we slept (pg. 549).” She is intimidated by her personal space because she does not have control over it. Later, she gains control by adding lace to her side of the room; symbolically adding personality to herself and slipping into womanhood. When she felt uncomfortable she exercised her imagination, to psychologically regain control over the confusion in her life. Her subconscious effort to control confusing times were carried on to her later years as she was constantly put in difficult situations, which helped her to adjust quickly to change during adulthood. The dreams she created changed when she began to place emphasis on her appearance-that which she could control, other than past dreams of heroism that seemed so distant from reality. The Protagonist filled her childhood with much pride and maintained a consistent focused upon the activities that filled her childhood. She relished working at the side of her father, taking immense pride in every aspect of her assigned duties. She proclaimed, “I worked willingly under his eyes, and with a feeling of pride (pg. 551)” Once after her father introduced her to a feed sales man as “my new hired man (pg. 551),” the Protagonist was flooded with pride as she “turned away and raked furiously, red in the face with pleasure (pg. 551).” In her later years her pride helped her to assemble strong self-confidence she used in her years of growing. Passion and depth were characteristics that impacted her future as a woman. Her passion and depth was revealed early on in the story ...

    Read More

  • Purple Hibiscus

    908 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout the novel, Kambili embarks on a profound change from a girl who always remained in fear of her father, held back by his heavy restrictions on her, to an expressive and vibrant girl who fights for what she believes in. Her trip to Nssuka and encounter with characters like Amaka and Father Amadi intiated it, yet it was also an independent journey, with her longing to go against her father for what she believes finally shining through towards the end of the novel. As a result, she will continue to grow and defy her father’s restrictions, creating a conflict in the rest of the novel.

    Read More

  • The Color Purple Analysis

    2090 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Color Purple depicts the struggle within the life of the female protagonist, Celie. Celie, a clear victim of abuse, narrates the story through a collection of writings that starts with her confession of “Dear God.” Celie’s story encompasses around her life and the characters that breaks the common gender depiction. The story heavily addresses the subject of social and behavioral standards for either men and women. It raises an issues on traditional marital subjects, family patriarchy, and social topics. In a traditional take of the family structure, the man often exhibits the dominant male figure head with the final say. The father provides the money and security for the wife and children as well as claim authority over the family. He becomes very work oriented and cares for the children only in times of need. On the other hand, the woman acts to be passive and pleases her husband. She plays a major role in raising and educating the children in every way possible. Often times, the woman takes a small part in maintaining a profession; although, she holds responsibility for all house work. The societal perspective of the patriarchal family system relies so heavily on gender roles that it becomes an expectation and the regulated norm. The Color Purple disrupts this gender norm by introducing characters that faces marital issues due to being the opposite of the typical gender role. Because they embody the opposite gender’s likely attributes, it becomes a questioning issue that leads to striving to live up to social norms or dealing with society disapproval. Within the progression of the novel, the women possess a sense of empowerment while as the men accept how things are in the world. The introducti...

    Read More

  • Domestic Violence In Purple Hibiscus By Chimamanda Agozi Adichie

    1362 Words  | 3 Pages

    It talks briefly about how the children are affected by the constant abuse. Kambili in the novel had a stutter and spoke in a very low voice as a result of the fear of communicating her true feelings and thoughts. They were all fearful of what the consequences might have been if they had a heart-to-heart conversation with Eugene. In the addition, she had an obsession of always trying to please her father, so he would have some act of acknowledgment towards her. In the novel she stated that she “wanted to make Papa proud” for doing what was asked of her (Adichie 94).

    Read More

  • The Transition from Childhood to Adulthood

    1600 Words  | 4 Pages

    Some may say that Kambili’s coming of age journey started with her Aunt Ifeoma subtle influence but I believe that her transition began with the visit to her grandfather.(65) Throughout the story we haven’t seen her once thought of going against her father’s word. Both of the kids was o...

    Read More

  • Purple Hibiscus

    1103 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the beginning of the story, Kambili always support, believe, and follow Papa’s religion closely and didn’t mind if Papa acted violently because of the religion. She has never asked or questioned her father about anything in life as her father stated that questioning wasagainst the religion. Due to the totalitarian structure of the family and strict scheduling that her father created, she was shy, quiet and an obeying person. She had little to no interactions with classmates and the society as a whole

    Read More

  • Overview of Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Adichie

    1318 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout the centuries, the roles of Nigerian women have continuously evolved. During the pre- colonial era, women in Nigerian tribes were not only child bearers and wives, but also free adults. They played critical roles in food preparation, weaving, pottery, and the economy. However, the impact of British rule in Nigeria made a significant shift from the pre-colonial to the post- colonial era. The influence of the Catholic Church, Western style education, patriarchal government and modern ways of making money took a major toll in a woman’s role in society. In Chimamanda Adichie’s novel, Purple Hibiscus, Mama Beatrice and Aunty Ifeoma are dynamic female foils who represent opposite sides of spectrum in post- colonial feminism. Mama epitomizes the product of colonialism, while Aunty Ifeoma challenges the British influence and growing power of men.

    Read More

More about Purple Hibiscus Essay

Open Document