Purple Hibiscus by Adichie

Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Section 2 “Speaking with Our Spirits: Before Palm Sunday”

The following is based on my reflections on the sections read in class today. Please read.

The author does a clever thing in setting the family situation against the background of civil unrest in the country. While the people are protesting the loss of democracy and the rise of a dictator, chanting “freedom” in the streets, the family is itself locked into its own dictatorship. The heavy hand of Papa (pun intended) is felt by all. It is especially ironic that Papa is a man that advocates for freedom and democracy for his country, however his household is ruled by oppression, violence and abuse of power.

The strongest evidence of this can be seen in the episodes read in class today when Mama was so brutally beaten that she miscarried the child they have been trying to have for six long years. The children sit in silence and try to pretend that nothing is happening and when faced with the bloody evidence they silently clean it up. The motif of silence is most pronounced here. So too is the repeated images (motif) of red which, in this novel, represent violence and anger and other negative emotions.

All the best to you

MGN