Domestic Abuse In Purple Hibiscus

About 400 women die due to domestic abuse from their partners every year (http://domesticabuseshelter.org/). One of those women could have easily been Beatrice, the mother in Purple Hibiscus, but she acted in time before she became just another name on the list of women who’ve experienced domestic abuse. The story of a christian family from Nigeria is a very powerful one. Anyone who has or still is experiencing abuse should take the time to read it. The book Purple Hibiscus focuses on a 14 year old girl named Kambili who has a very abusive father named Eugene. Though he punishes Kambili, her brother, Jaja, and her mother, Beatrice in the most gruesome ways, she still has the utmost respect for him. Over the course of 2 years, Kambili watches her father kill her mom’s unborn babies, punish and smother their family, and then tell them he did what he did for a good

She was very afraid to tell her father and was sure she’d get punished. “I wanted to say I came second so that he would know immediately, so that I would acknowledge my failure.” This doesn’t elicit a new ability from Kambili, but reveals how afraid she is of disappointing her father. Kambili also disproves Horace’s statement in the beginning of the novel when she believes everything Eugene tells her. Kambili cannot bond with her grandfather, Papa Nnukwu, because Eugene has been telling her that he is a heathen. “Because Papa Nnukwu is a pagan. Papa would be proud that I had said that.” Kambili is a very timid person who doesn’t speak up for herself and believes everything her father puts in her head. This shows adversities don’t bring out new abilities in people because it only pushes Kambili to be more vulnerable and less able to tell how she really feels. Deep down inside, she does not truly believe her grandfather is a