Purple Hibiscus Essay

In Chimamanda Adichie’s powerful and thought provoking novel Purple Hibiscus, Kambili, the daughter of a wealthy, and heavily religious Nigerian businessman narrates a story of injustice and religious corruption from the eyes of an isolated and abused child. Through this striking and unbiased point of view, Adichie is able to highlight the many aspects of each character, none of which are two dimensional or without controversy. While furthermore addressing heavy themes made more meaningful by their relevance, such as exploitation in government or the racist undertones that missionaries can imply. However, it is with Jaja, and Papa, two very contrasting characters, that Adichie can touch on the complex theme of the impact parents have on who

Specifically the motif of silence which she uses (among other things) to represent the major absence of emotion in the relationships he has with his family. Amid the many negative outcomes of Papa’s obsessive religious mindset, is the ability he gives himself to be abusive. After going to confession with Father Benedict he appears to be in a very good mood, confidently telling his family “I am spotless now” (p.107) while Kambili observes that “he was smiling, his eyes bright” (p.107). He genuinely believes that because he went to confession he is “clean”, even after beating his whole family when Kambili broke her fast. His religion is giving him a guilt free way to abuse his family, or at least the illusion of one. This false impression he has that loyalty to the church will result in a flawless character, combined with his continual abuse gives the motif of silence a key role in his relationship with his family. When talking about life with Papa, Kambili describes “the silence of waiting [for] Papa” (p.31) giving a bleak and overly formal feel to their home life, nothing is comfortable, she can even feel “the silence of driving to church.”(p.31). Because of this silence that Papa has created between himself and his family, he has closed himself off, and the distance built from this is what allows religion to excuse his abuse, and block out