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Campbell's Heroic Journey In Purple Hibiscus

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Campbell’s hero cycle is a very specific set of steps that shows is there is an epic hero. There are many components involved in this hero cycle including an ordinary world where the hero begins the story, a call to adventure, crossing into the unknown, several tests, the supreme ordeal, the road back, and more. If a story fits Campbell’s hero cycle, then the story must include most, if not all, of the steps in the cycle. I analyzed Purple Hibiscus to test if this novel followed the hero cycle or not. Purple Hibiscus follows the life of Kambili and Jaja, who both live in Enugu, Nigeria. Kambili and Jaja come from a wealthy family, and their father is highly regarded in the society. From the outside, they appear to be a perfect family; however, they fall short of that expectation. The public is not aware that Papa, Eugene, is an abusive father. He believes if you don’t follow the Christian life-style, you should be punished for your sins. Kambili’s life begins to change once Christmas time arrives. The drastic change is due to her Aunty Ifeoma arriving for the holiday with her three children Aunty Ifeoma insists on having her niece and nephew stay at her house for a week because they’ve never been to her home. It took time for Papa to warm up to the idea, but he eventually became comfortable enough with the idea of them going, as long as …show more content…

However, there are multiple instances where the threshold is crossed. The first time Kambili crossed a threshold would be the same scene as when she was called to adventure as well. There is a more important time when Kambili crossed the threshold into the unknown. Once Kambili had jumped into the car to stay at her Aunty Ifeoma’s house for a week marks the true experience of Kambili crossing the threshold. On her car ride to her aunt’s house, Kambili is finally entering a world unknown to her for a prolonged period of

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In the beginning of the book you find out that both Jaja and Kambili are controlled by strict schedules given to them by their father, and that if they break these schedules they will be abused and shamed. Papa wants his children to be “brilliant, obedient student[s]” implying they

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I no longer wonder if the checks I have been writing… are bribers to God; I just go ahead and write them.” In this moment Kambili is carefree. The Kambili you see in the end has come a long way. Kambili has gone from caring about what Papa,Amaka, and countless others say/think to not caring at all. This is good because now Kambili can live her life without caring what people say or tell her to do.

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• The hero’s journey: Harry’s narrative follows an age-old pattern found in numerous myths and stories. American mythologist Joseph Campbell analyses this storyline of the journey of an archetypical hero in his book “The Hero with a Thousand Faces” (Campbell, 1949), a work that has inspired many writers and artists. Classic examples of Campbell’s archetypical hero include ancient Greek myths such as that of the hero Odysseus, the story of Moses and Star Wars’ protagonist Luke Skywalker (cf. Colbert, 2008, 208).

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