Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a well-written novel that has won many awards and was nominated for many other awards. According to Adichie’s website, Purple Hibiscus won awards such as Best First Book and Best Debut Fiction Category (The Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Website, n.d., p. 1). These awards show the quality of Adichie’s writing and the novel itself. Adichie proves to people that her works are worthy of awards. Purple Hibiscus is a good portrayal of teen angst, because it reveals the struggles of a teenager who deals with a strict, religious father, silence in fear of punishment, and a journey of self-identification. Purple Hibiscus takes place in Enugu, Nigeria, during the colonial period. During this time, many missionaries were teaching Nigerians about Christ and were converting many over to Catholicism, like …show more content…
For example, in one scene, Kambili is rushed to the hospital after she is beaten by Eugene. Beatrice covers up what happens and just tells the doctors that Kambili is seriously ill. In her head, Kambili says, “I was not seriously ill. She knew that. Why was she saying I was seriously ill” (Adichie, 2003, p. 212)? Readers can see that Beatrice is so scared of Eugene to the point where she lies about what happens to her daughter. This is a good example of teen angst, because Adichie shows that Kambili is also fearful of what would happen if she were to tell the truth. Kambili questions her mother, however, readers can see that she is full of fear herself, because she too does not reveal what happens. If Kambili were to tell the truth, she imagines she would get another beating by Eugene. This causes a lot of stress on Kambili, because she wants to reveal the truth, but she is too scared. This again, is also in many other teen angst novels and films. Many of them do not reveal the truth, because they are too scared of what would happen to