Summary Of Chimamanda Adichie

Chimamanda Adichie’s Ideas on the Emancipation of the African Mind
Published in 2003 Purple Hibiscus, written by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, is the story of a young girl named Kambili Achike who lives in Nigeria with her parents and brother. Kambili struggled with the oppressive nature of her fundamentalist father to eventually find her own voice and path in life. Her father is a essentially a “colonial product” (13) as he embodies post-colonial ideals and practices in post-colonial Nigeria. Adichie’s critique of postcolonial theory suggests that the independence of the African mind and tradition lies in the separation and flout from the colonial mindset. Adiche focuses on a lot of themes ranging from religion to the use of violence to

The book has two major religious figures that shape the way Kambili approaches religion: Father Benedict and Father Amandi. There is a clear contrast between the two. Father Benedict is a white English priest that conducts everything in his church according to European tradition, so much so that he does not even allow sermons in the Igbo language. While Father Amadi incorporates his Nigerian background and tradition into his faith thus leaves room for a more liberal approach to practices in the church. Both priests have a big influence on the way religion is interpreted and accepted by the characters in this book, especially Papa Eugene and Kambili. By following and supporting only the practices of Father Benedict, Papa Eugene is representing the faiths and beliefs attributed to the african society by white colonisation of Africa. As the story unfolds, we discover the complex mind of Eugene and his principles. He is a wealthy Nigerian businessman that is a a very strict Catholic who accepted the ideals of the white God that “the white missionaries brought” (231). He imposed a harsh religious regime in his home and controlled almost every aspect of the lives of his family members to the point where they had daily schedules to follow. Like the colonial administrators, Eugene has

Eventually, all things that lack a center fall apart. Once Kambili and Jaja began questioning their fundamentals and influences, “things started to fall apart” (1). Within her story, Adichie explored how the structure of the Achike family fell which led to them becoming exposed to the vastness of the nature of all that surrounded them. The structure set by the white man crumbled, exposing the roots of the African man, and those that were able to see were liberated into a world of their own