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Scope and concerns of postcolonial literature
Characteristics of postcolonial literature
Characteristics of postcolonial literature
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Recommended: Scope and concerns of postcolonial literature
The book Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie takes place in postcolonial Nigeria. Kambili, the main character comes of age after spending time away from home with her aunt and cousins. Kambili represents postcolonial Nigeria because she thinks the thing her abusive father is doing to her is for her own good. She later realizes that they are not, like the Nigerians when the British started taking over Nigeria.
Kambili’s aunt Ifeoma convinces her brother Eugene who is Kambili’s father to let Kambili and her older brother JaJa stay at her place Nsukka. This was Kambili first experience away from her home in Enugu even though she is fifteen years old. Kambili’s father is a very wealthy and religious man that abuses his children and wife on a regular basis, and even though
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In the story Eugene who is Kambili’s father represents the British and Kambili represents Nigeria. When Eugene abuses his children or wife which he does very regularly, he tells his children as he is doing it that he is doing it for their own good. At the beginning of the story Kambili believes this one hundred present. This relates to the British colonizing the Nigerians because at first the Nigerians thought that the British were colonizing them for their own good and that it would help them. After Kambili goes to Nsukka she comes back with a newfound respect for her grandfather and has a painting of her grandfather. Eugene disowned his father because he was a heathen and no heathen was to be associated with him. When he sees Kambili with it he rips it up and beats Kambili continuously with a shoe and a belt until she passes out and this is when she realizes it is not for her own good. Similar to when the Nigerians find out that the British just want to make profit off of their land and are not doing it to help them as they stated in the beginning of the
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.
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...
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
Papa abuses everybody in his family at some point during this book for religious reasons. One of the most brutal ones being when he found out Kambili brought the painting of Papa Nnukwu. Kambili thought to herself “The stinging was raw now, even more like bites, because the metal landed on open skin on my side, my back, my legs. Kicking. Kicking. Kicking. Perhaps it was a belt now because the metal buckle seemed too heavy. Because I could hear the swoosh in the air.” (Adichie 211.) This quote shows how far papa goes in his beatings. He beats Kambili so badly she ends up in the hospital. This act of violence by papa sends Jaja and Kambili to live with aunt Ifeoma for a little while to give papa some alone time.
This is a gripping novel about the problem of European colonialism in Africa. The story relates the cultural collision that occurs when Christian English missionaries arrive among the Ibos of Nigeria, bringing along their European ways of life and religion.
Before British Colonization Nwoye was dedicated to his father Okonkwo until he killed Ikemefuna. Nwoye did everything Okonkwo asked of him because he was scared of the consequences he would suffer if he did not listen or respect Okonkwo. Once Okonkwo murdered Ikemefuna, Nwoye became afraid of him. Ikemefuna was the closest thing Nwoye had as a brother, taking that away from Nwoye made him lose respect for Okonkwo. “Then something had given way inside him. It descended on him again, this feeling, when his father
Chinua Achebe was an influential Nigerian author during the 1900’s who was credited with his three essays which have been fused together into the book “Home and Exile”. In his stories he discusses things such as his own Igbo people, the problems with colonialization, the strength that stories can have and many more topics. A big part of his essays are on his thoughts of colonialism, the impact it has had on his home of Nigeria, and how stories written by others either helped justify colonialism or rejected it. Chinua argues that stories have their own power to fight, and while stories themselves do not have the ability to directly fight colonialism; they do, however with their power of words, stories can motivate and encourage people to stand up against colonialism. In proving this thesis to be a true statement, I will be providing evidence of the how, why and the extent to which stories can fight colonialism.
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.
When the Europeans arrived in Africa during the late eighteenth century the culture and the lives of the people of Africa are altered. Colonialism and Imperialism in Africa has adversely changed the way of life of the African people, and changed their culture, that had developed for so many years, unscathed by any distraction from the outside world. This dominant European influence has led to poverty in the African continent for the next 100 years, because of the institutions that were put into place by Europeans. In Things Fall Apart, it becomes clear that the Ibo culture responds in a distinct way to the European colonization; when compared to other villages and ethnic groups in Africa. These foreigners had such an enormous effect on the Ibo tribe that many of the clansmen decided to abandon the traditional ways or were too afraid to rise against the takeover of their tribe by the Europeans since the natives lacked the adequate technology to fight off the Europeans. The culture collision between Europe’s culture and the Ibo culture causes Nwoye’s sense of identity to be challenged and causes him to distance himself from his family and his tribe because of the introduction of Christianity and western ideals.
When Kambilli got caught eating cereal on her period by Papa, the entire family took their share of punishment for encouraging her sin. However, Kambilli says “it’s mine”, as a result of this act of defiance Papa sways because he was completely caught off guard and was not able to control them. In addition, Kambilli throws herself on the scraps, and in doing so, she protects her family. She is on Papa Nnukwu’s side and she expresses this by laying the painting.
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).
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...
In the book purple hibiscus, mixed relationships materialized and developed between Kambili and Papa Eugene, which caused conflicts and distrusts from Kambili to her dad throughout the story. At the beginning of the book, Kambili gave all of her respect and understanding of her dad and she wouldn’t judge his action of beating and punishing her or the family members so that they can be good human. Eugene was really strict and always enforced his family with regulations and schedules, there weren’t freedom or privacy for the family members. Conflict is being used in the book through Kambil attitude toward Eugene at the beginning and at the end, the change in her attitude, reaction and behavior with papa after being abused and injured badly. She also changed her attitude towards Papa because of her trip to stay with Aunty Ifeoma and also his unfilial and hatred towards Papa Nnukwu, a person who Kambili loved and respect.
Their father’s teachings do not seem to apply in their house. Jaja and Kambili admit to feeling out of place, for they have been raised in an extremely strict household and now feel liberated. Kambili then comes home to her upset father, Eugene, who awaits her in the bathtub. Kambili is filled with fear as she sees the kettle they use to boil water. Eugene pours the boiling hot water on Kambili’s feet. Eugene explains, “That is what you do to yourself when you walk into sin. You burn your feet.” (194). Catholics believe that sin will lead to hell. Without reconciliation, it is believed one is in great danger (“Roman Catholicism”) . The power religion has in Eugene’s life is tremendous as he has no sympathy in harming his children for the sake of his religious
These two texts are connected through the idea of the profound effects of violence and abuse and. In “Purple Hibiscus” Adichie creates Kambili as a young passive girl, who constantly strives to please her father in order to save herself from punishment if she makes a mistake. However, as the novel progresses and she starts to question her father’s tyrannical ways, she is inflicted with more and more abuse. Not only does the idea apply to the narrator Kambili, but also to her mother who