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Role of adolescence in family
A “Coming of Age” Separate
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Everyone that have ever lived to adulthood, understand that difficulty of the transition to it from childhood. As of right now, I am in the prime of the “coming of age “transition. The overwhelming pressure of our society that forces the adolescence to assimilate the social norms is felt by many. Just as in our first steps, our first words or anything that is expected in our human milestones, coming of age is one of them. It may variety from different societies, religious responsibility or modern legal convention; everyone had to reach this point eventually. The progressive of everyone's coming of age is different. When we're able to read upon someone else’s transition it could help us reflect on our transition. Throughout Purple Hibiscus, we can see Kambili and Jaja story of coming of age. When one can analyze another story we can adopt it to our influences and personas. In the beginning of the story, Kambili is a fifteen year old girl who is painfully shy, her brother, Jaja, is a seventeen year old whom is beginning to rebel against his devout, abusive and perfectionist father. The first sentence of the story is the beginning of the coming of age. " Things started to fall apart at home when my brother, Jaja, did not go to communion and papa flung his heaven missal across the room and broke the figurines in etagere"(PAGE 3) The commencement of the their coming of age story is followed by an eruption of violence in the opening paragraph. 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... ... middle of paper ... ...eruption of violence. Though we do not see any abuse in this first chapter, Kambili’s fear is palpable. Her concern for the well-being of her brother signifies not only the punishments they have received in the past, but also that Jaja’s behavior is new. This is a coming of age story for Jaja as well. Kambili is characterized by her lack of voice. She stutters and coughs and can barely rise above a whisper. Both she and Jaja are sheltered and intimidated by her father. Both children, as they mature into adults, must overcome their father. While Jaja’s rebellions are more overt – missing communion, asking for his room key, taking the blame for his mother’s crime – Kambili’s are more personal. She does not reject her faith and compassion, but rather adapts them to fit her new, more complex, worldview. Through all of their hardships, Jaja remains Kambili’s hero.
Directly after Kambili acquiring top in her class she is somehow lulled into a version to stockholm syndrome and she describes to herself the image of her proud father after seeing her grades,”That night, I fell asleep hugging close the image of papa’s face lit up...how proud of me he was”(Adichie 53). She becomes isolated and Eugene's actions causes Kambili to only have the purpose of making her father feel happy, Throughout the novel then, she must find a way to break out of Eugene's influence and live her life from herself. Eugenes cruelty leaves Kambili an underlying goal to break free from his grasp, thus giving the story a
With the conflict of complete opposite parent-child dynamics, Kambili compares and contrasts these two relationships and learns from each one of them to mature into a young woman. “Imagine what the Standard would be if we were all quiet.’ It was a joke. Ade Coker was laughing; so was his wife, Yewande. But Papa did not laugh. Jaja and I turned and went back upstairs, silently.” Although Papa and Ade Coker seek to reveal the truth about the Nigerian government through the Standard, the Achike children are urged not to tell the truth about their own lives. In Papa’s perspective, being a good Nigerian entails two things - exposing corruption and strict adherence to faith. Papa believes that it is his duty to deliver his country and children to heaven. He holds up both to extremely high standards. Even though he is considered a hero for fighting corruption, his actions inside his own home make him a monster as Mama, Jaja and Kambili come to realize. On the other hand, Aunt Ifeoma is very liberal towards her own children. As a result, Aunt Ifeoma’s children are confident, able to speak their own mind and inquisitive. “Morality, as well as the sense of taste, is relative.” Obiora, as the son of a university professor in African studies, is encouraged to question authority. This statement opposes what Kambili and Jaja are taught. They are only offered one path to success. This discourse is at the heart of the book. There are no moral absolutes in Purple Hibiscus. Kambili loves her father even though he abuses her and her faith remains strong even when it is used as a tool for repression. Kambili learns this on her journey. Therefore, Kambili and Jaja both mature into adults, after gaining two different perspectives on faith, religion and
Therefore, Jaja and Kambili are able to look deep within themselves and become independent individuals, whereas Eugene is isolated by antiquated mortalities, which leads to his demise. Throughout the novel, Adichie suggests that the nature of change and growth are a part of growing up and building your own identity by choosing which paths to follow. Before they visited Nsukka the only path Kambili and Jaja are allowed to follow is their father’s. He writes out schedules and severely punishes them when they stray. However, when Kambili and Jaja visit their Aunty Ifeoma in Nsukka, they are astonished by the freedom her house offers, and as they stayed there, they discovered their true selves and evolved into independent and cunning individuals. From each character within the novel many individuals can acknowledge that it is important to accept change because change is the only thig that can make us better and allow us to survive in out constant transforming environment. Though some people try to evade change, they are only escaping the inevitable because change can make an individual into a better person or lead and individual to their demise, if not accepted. Either way change will eventually cause something to
Another example of coming of age is responsibility which is important. It makes people have obligations to do something as they grow
In To Kill a Mockingbird there are characters who go through new perspectives like Jem.The main character has a big brother that coming-to-age in chapter 12.He experiences change both from the outside and the inside. The change also affects his relationship with Scout, “It’s time you started bein‘ a girl and acting right!”,(Lee 153).Here shows how Jem is coming-of-age
As a continuation of the last paragraph, you'll also have to support your family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, and anybody or anything else that surrounds you. Therefore, a person will have to act mature and look past themselves in order to see how their work and actions affect those who are centered around them. If you're not capable of performing acts those your age should be able to perform, you are in no condition to say that you've come of age; unless, of course, you've grown into one of these other coming of age
Jaja and Kambili first discover freedom and joy there, and they don’t want to leave, finally seeing how different their family is from Ifeoma’s, realizing how unhealthy their own family is. Kambili is brought out of her silence shell, entering a new life in which she can be free to say what she want’s without being judged or abused. When she got to Nsukka, Aunty Ifeoma told Father Amadi that she “was worried about [Kambili], that she could not hold a conversation with even the children upstairs. But she didn’t ask me to take you [to the soccer field]” implying that it was purely Father Amadi’s choice to help her, he knew what was right and what needed to be done (280). Because of his influence Kambili “smiled, [ran] and laughed. [Her] chest was filled with something like bath foam. Light.” that being said, she finally overcame her fears showing that she can be strong and confident on her own (180). By the end of the book right before Father Amadi leaves for Germany, Kambili went up to him and said, “I love you” implying that over the course of the time at Aunty Ifeoma's, it transformed her into a person where she could express her feelings, making her feel more free and open (276). Kambili is finally finding value in herself from being with Father Amadi. I think the moment when she tells Father Amadi she loves him is important because he doesn't say I love you back directly, but in his letters later talks about her self-worth, maybe encouraging her to love herself first. He wanted to persuade Kambili into believing in herself and making sure she has her own opinion in life. By the end of the book, Kambili is freed by the combination of Amadi’s influence and Ifeoma's house in “Nsukka [which] could free something deep inside your belly that would rise up to your throat and come out as a freedom song. As laughter” (299). She loved the sensational feeling and “wanted to leave with Father
Kamosa fabricates these two worlds to work, and intertwine with each other in order to create a comparison between the opportunities one has to express themselves in an artificial world where anyone can be anything, versus being forced into a corner by the cruel and biased norms set by society. Dominik finds himself struggling to crawl out of this perfect universe and back into reality where every step he takes will be judged and every cry for help is ignored. During his initial interaction with Sylwia, she writes that she is “bleeding, quietly living”, Dominik responds to that with “I’m living, quietly bleeding”. This indicates that although Dominik has what is seen as “a good life” in society, he is simply going through the motions that are deemed acceptable by society, in order to mask the pain that eating away at him from the inside out. During this 10 day ordeal, Dominik’s parents fail to check on him, until he has already attempted suicide. You would think this would lead any right minded person to at least begin paying attention to their child. But even after Dominik’s cry for help, they simply put him on medication, and take away his only tether to a normal sense of reality as well as his singular method of true
When they fall short of his expectations Papa goes above and beyond to make sure his children know that what they had just done was not okay. Papa has very high expectations of his kids, and expects them to be nothing less than the better than everyone. After not coming first in her class Kambili says, “I was stained by failure” (39). Papa made his children believe that if they lacked perfection, they might as well be considered a failure. Instead of praising his children, and making them have confidence in themselves, he sets extreme expectations so when his children fall short of them, they believe that their father now looks at them with the eye of failure. Kambili has a great amount of fear towards her father, and wants nothing more than to make him proud. She says, “I carried a bigger load- the worry of making sure I came first in the term” (52). Kambili helps demonstrate the amount of pressure Papa puts on his kids, along with the fear factor of letting their father down, often resulting in physical abuse. Not only did Papa use emotions to bring his children and wife down, he would even use physical abuse. Scolding his kids daily, preserved the kids fear. (gerund) After his wife had disobeyed his wishes he beat her so badly that she lost the child she had in her stomach (34). Later, his wife yet again disobeyed him and this time he beat her so badly that “Mama was slung over his shoulders like the jute sacks of rice” as he carried her out of their bedroom leaving a trail of blood behind (33). He would punish whoever disobeyed him or his wishes (noun clause). Although to the community Papa might be viewed as a “family man”, all the emotional and physical abuse at home helps contradict that theory, proving that sometimes people act differently behind closed doors than they do
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
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
Negotiating transitions can create added stresses in young people’s lives. As you get older your responsibilities and what is expected of you will change.
Kambili and Jaja are victims to many different emotions in Enugu, Such as experiencing guilt, angry and the loss of innocents. They are flipped when they arrive at Nssuku, and experience such feelings as happiness, joy, laughter and the ability to express themselves and from this they gain a voice and
His expectations for her are abusive as they are unrealistic and rob her of any sort of freedom. Papa issues them a strict schedule which outlines what they are to do with each hour of the day. If the schedule or a rule is broken Kambili and her family are physically beat by Papa (102). Kambili and her brother Jaja are expected to come first in their class each semester at school (39). Papa twists religious references to justify his expectations and emotionally manipulate Kambili. Upset with Kambili for placing second in her class, Papa says, “Why do you think I work so hard to give you and Jaja the best? You have to do something with all these privileges. Because God has given you much, he expects much from you. He expects perfection” (47). Kambili’s words must be well thought out, not to reflect her opinions, but to please her father
Many people believe that eighteen is when a child turns into an adult. I believe that a child turns into an adult after a significant event. An event that marks the transition from childhood to adulthood. This event for me, was my first job. It was summer going into my junior year and I finally got a job. The job was working at the Orange County fair. I realized that being a carnival worker is not the most glorious job, but my parents were starting to get on my case about not having a job. First day of work, I took off in my blue 1990 Volvo station wagon and headed south on the freeway. I parked in the employee parking lot, a solid mile away from where I needed to be. I showed up, fifteen minutes early because it was the first day, and was taken away by the other people working here. These were