“An abuser can seem emotionally needy. You can get caught in a trap of catering to him,trying to fill a bottomless pit. He will just keep coming up with more demands because he believes his needs are your responsibility, until you feel drained down to nothing.’’ -Goodreads.com In Purple Hibiscus, Papa couldn’t love him himself , so he seeked loved from his family in the wrong ways. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie wrote about Kambili and her family experiencing life changing events and physical as well as emotionally abuse.

In the beginning of Purple Hibiscus, Kambili’s adversities do not elicit talents talents she never knew she had, which disproves Horaces’ argument that adversity leads to positive change. Once such an example , would be when papa beat mama. Kambili felt pain and tried to imagine something better. After, church papa and the family would visit father benedict. While, pregnant mama would feel sick at times. She didn’t wanna go inside with them into father’s benedicts house. This upset papa. On page 32 Kambili said, “ I imagined the door had gotten stuck and papa was trying to open it. If I imagined it hard enough, then it would be true.” At this point, Kambili was use to mama losing the baby. She knew papa played a role in losing the baby. When the beatings happens Kambili tries to imagine something positive hoping it would come true. Another example of how Kambili’s adversities does not elicit talents she never knew she had is when the girls talk about her at