Looking for approval in Purple Hibiscus

In Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Aidchie One of the main things I find problematic about Kambili is that she constantly looks for approval from her father. She seems to back track in her thoughts alot as well and on several occasions she can be seen saying "I wish I had thought to say that before" When she comes second she has a bit of a physical breakdown, this to me demonstrates the amounts of pressure she experiences in her home. It is interesting that her grandfather is "godless" but was still able to find a way to somehow educate her father. The imagery of her fathers room is also interesting because while there is so much white in his room, it seems safe but also smothering and overwhelming.
I feel that her looking for approval from her father is more about trying to get back to her place of safety and regain the same relationship she once had with her father. I also feel like the way that his room is fashioned can be compared to his extremest views about religion. Everything is white and according to Kambili "all that cream blended and made the room seem wider, as if it never ended, as if you could not run if you wanted to because there was nowhere to run to."(pg 41) In contrast to her wanting to please her father there is also the element of extreme acts of violence, I feel as though these represent the idea of extreme punishments in contrast with religious views. Eugene wants his children to do well and to be perfect, however because they are just human beings. Human beings are subject to failure as they are subject to sin. When momma says "Thank God Ade is safe" and Papa says that he had cigarettes put out on his back, I feel this also returns us to the idea of physical punishment in order to elavate the soul. This was an extrimest view christians heild during the crusades.

Father Tyrant

There is significance in the fact that our narrator is Kambili, a 15-year old child. The first reason that seems to stand out to me is that fact that it echoes the ideas of colonialism and imperialism that we've been talking about in class. The fact that our narrator is a young girl, living in her house with her parents who run her life ( as most children should), relates very much to the presence of the white man, almost as a parent, in Africa throughout the book. This relationship with the other characters in the book just highlights the ongoing situation in the background, obviously done on purpose.

It's interesting to note how Kambili will sometimes justify her father's actions or almost agree with him, even if they have negative conotations for her. On pages 41 to 42 we see this. Kambili's father tells her that she had the second highest grades in the class because she "chose to" and didn't put in enough work. This is suppossed to make Kambili feel bad. A normal parent would be happy with his daughter's stellar performance, but Kambili's father has to nit-pick. The fact that Kambili feels bad, or even worse, guilty, shows her relation with her tyranic father. It's so weird, but happens so often, that people will see their tyrant as a good thing and a positive person, because they simply don't know any better. This relationship exists to compare and contrast with Africa's situation, which we will probably learn more about during the following week.