Purple Hibiscus & Perfection

In “Purple Hibiscus,” author Chinamanda Ngogi Adichio paints a tale about one nigerian family and their hardships when the Nigerian government is overthrown by the military. Although to members of the congregation and every one else outside of the family, Papa seems to be the ideal man, generous and thoughtful, but with his family he is anything but. He is extremely strict and won’t except anything short of perfection. For example, his daughter Kambili received her report card from school and was second in her class. Any parent would be proud of that fact, but he was disappointed that she couldn’t do better. This is a fifteen year old girl and he expects her to be perfect, but that is something that is impossible.
Perfection. That is what I would like to discuss. Papa got mad at Kambili one time for being a few minutes late to get to the car after school and he slapped her in the face because of it. A man who punishes his kids for not being perfect certainly is not perfect himself. If he was perfect then her wouldn’t hit them or get angry over something as silly as being a few minutes late. Because of his strict, demanding ways, his children don’t seem to be able to have a normal adolecence. They do not have time to socialize with their peers because they are so afraid to make him mad. Their schedules are so strict that they don’t have any real time to do anything for themselves. How are they supposed to grow and develop to their full potential (perfection) if they can never just experience life in a less controlled environment. I feel that Papa is just way to strict. And I know that I’m reprating myself, however I really feel that that is the case. I don’t see how Kambili and Jaja are able to tolerate him. Actually,we don’t learn much about Mama, except for the fact that she has had many miscarriges and has another one during the early aprt of the novel. But I wonder what all of that banging was right before she was carried out to go to the hospital. I wonder if Papa was beating her. I mean he does seem like he could be the type and that would make sense why he hasn’t left her despite the fact that she can’t seem to havve any more children.

Shame & Change in "This Earth of Mankind"

At this point, the book seems to take a turn. It seems that Minke is not from as "poor" a family as we were let on to believe. His father is actually a bupati, which basically means that his father is in charge of a certain region of Java, like a king. I think it is interesting how this sort of changes things. Up until now, we as the reader are led to believe that he comes from just another common family among the natives, though the novel never went into detail about it before. He actually has siblings, a brother and sisters. His mother seems to be a strong figure, but strong in a different way then Nyai. Nyai seems to have more of an open mind about change, modernity and the future, where as Minke's real mother, despite the fact that their family is changing in more ways then one, still seems stuck in the past. She was the one that wanted to educate Minke and it is that education that she has allowed him to have that has changed him.

In class we were discussing different themes that take place throughout the novel and one that I think is vary important is the theme of chame. It comes up again and aain in the novel. Even the most prideful character has moments of shame when faced with someone in the novel whom they feel inferior to ans I think that that is interesting. Minke seems himself to have more shame then anyone. It seems that everyone that he encounters he feel inferior to. Even when he is in his hometown, after being arrested by the police and taken before the bupati, his father, hs is ashamed. His shame then though is a different kind then just him feeling inferior. It almost seems as if he feels that his family is inferior to him becasue their minds haven't evolved into the kind of thinking that he has been taught while away at school. His parents are proud and ashamed of hi at the same time. They are proud becasue he has been educated as they had wantedl, but at the same time they are ashamed because they feel that he has forgotten his roots, where he came from; forgotten them.

The question that I want to ask is, is chang bad? Minke is walking around wearing European clothes, speaking in a foreign tongue and learning about things that are relatively unknown to the natives, but at the same time, is still thought of by most as nothing more then a native. In the letter that he receives from Miriam, she talks abouthow she hopes that he will become this great leader and be an inspiration to all of the Javanese that there does exist a different way of thinking and a better life. Do you think that Mink has hay it takes to be that inspiration? Is colonialism and imperialism so bad when they bring forth a product like Minke?