Mr.Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Papa reminds me of Jekyll and Hyde. He shows the world that he is civilized and very passionate about speaking up about things that are wrong, like the government, yet when he goes home he becomes this abusive monster. The fact that he keeps his family on a short leash is showing that he can’t trust them at all. He doesn’t take well to rebellion. He feels that if they rebel in anyway it’s due to them being swayed by sin.
When we meet his sister Aunt Ifeoma, who was born and raised the same way as him, has a different approach to keeping her kids in line and it’s not by abuse. You can’t even blame papa’s upbringing because the book shows the two siblings in contrast with each other. The fact that he is a product of colonization is answer enough. He has adopted everything that the British have taught him. Religion is the biggest factor.
I feel that papa is portrayed in this light because it’s to show the reader that you should never judge a book by its cover. No one would believe that he lifts his hand to his wife and children because he gives money to charities, he goes to mass everyday and he’s loaded. Why would he need to beat his family? You can’t help but see him as a bad person throughout the novel. I want to see him as a somewhat good character but just because you give money to a charity does not make you a good person. If he was a good person at all, why would his wife kill him? Why would Jaja have animosity towards him? For Kimbali the loss of papa is a big deal because at the end of the day it was still her father. He raised her to be who she is and yes he did abuse her yet she didn’t despise him for it otherwise she would not feel the loss so much.

Is the trip to Nsukka therapeutic or what?

The visit to auntie Ifeoma’s is not only therapeutic; it is also an eye opener, for

Jaja and his sister Kambili. It is most therapeutic for Kambili who lives in her own small

world of fear and misery to see how much laughter, freedom and joy other children

experience in their homes even though they are poor. They come to a quick realization

that money is not everything. It is true that with money you derive material satisfaction,

but not of the soul. Happiness is not something money can buy. Money has limitations in

its power obviously, it cannot buy health, peace love, true friendship about all, it can not

buy happiness, if it can, Papa will have plenty of bliss and it will radiate so much so

even his most remote relatives will feel the impact. I bet you, they know that papa would

have bought for everyone in his immediate family some happiness, because he loves

them and want them to be perfect unblemished beings before men and God. Unfortunate,

what you do not have you cannot give. He totally lacks a sense of humor, togetherness,

unity, affection, can not compromise for anything not even at his father death, he bluntly

refuses to be a part of the burial just because he is not a Christian. He is stiff neck and

has know clue of what Christianity is all about.

For the first time in Purple Hibiscus Kimbili and Jaja are actively involved in

outdoor activities, play football, gardening and chasing after others, all sought of fun

things that children normally do and enjoy. Also, they have the opportunity to stay in the same house with Papa- Nnukwu their grandfather who told them tales of old and jokes that they makes the laugh. Although the stay together is brief, they see how funny, playful and kind their Papa-Nukwu is. That he even includes his son Eugene who calls him a pagan and has forsaking him in his prayers is remarkable. He impart Kembili and Jaja in a positive way. As for Kembili, after spending the afternoon with Father Amadi, Kimbili actually declares “I had smiled, run, laugh. My chest was filled with something like bath foam. Light. The lightless was so sweet I tasted it on my tongue, the sweetness of an overripe bright yellow cashew fruit” (Page 180). She was able to hold a conversation with Father Amadi and she is happy about it.

The experience in Nsukka was the beginning of a new dawn for these two. A seed is planted awaiting germination in due cause.

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.

An Outsider

In the novel, "Purple Hibiscus", the author is trying to explore the feeling that Kambili is experiencing when she and Jaja go to their aunt Ifeoma's house. When Kambili goes to her aunt's house, she experiences a sense of awkwardness amongst her own cousins. Amaka knew that Kambili was very close to her father and did everything to please him. She tells Kambili that there was no place in Nsukka that was upto a level that Kambili was used to. It was almost that she was mocking Kambili beacuse of the fact that she belonged to a rich family. Kambili was experiencing a world that was totally different from Amaka's in every aspect. She was humiliated by Amaka at every instance when she is unable to perform a certain activity. Kambili is flabbergasted by the idea that there was always laughter in her aunt's house in contrast to her house where there was silence and people spoke only when they were spoken to. I want to raise a point about how Amaka constantly mocks and taunts Kambili about how she is living this luxurious life and dosen't know any chores. Was it more about how Amaka was living and content with whatever her mother provided to her or was it more about why she didn't have the same life as Kambili ?

Also, Kambili experiences the instance when her brother's name is questioned and how her aunt tells the story about why her brother's nickname was given as Jaja. Aunt Ifeoma tells the story about the king Jaja of Opobo and how he rebelled against the British. Kambili is almost taken by surprise when his brother Jaja says that "The British won the war, but they lost many battles". She had not experienced a male character other than her father to speak in an angry tone. She had always kept her voice back and this is shown in the book many times when she says that " I wish I had said that".

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.

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.

Religion as a Motif

In Purple Hibiscus, religion as a motif plays a crucial role in the lives of the characters. The strict, confining rules of the Catholic Church are echoed in the walls of the household, where every minute detail of life is outlined with duties and responsibilities. Religion, which creates a restricting and suffocating environment is contrasted with the purple hibiscus, which Adichie uses to symbolize “freedom to be, to do” (16).

The novel is told through the eyes of Kambili, a 15-year old girl who narrates how Father Benedict usually refers to the “pope, Papa, and Jesus—in that order.” It is in this line that Adichie makes reference to the Holy Trinity—the father, the son, and the Holy Spirit, indicating that Papa is perceived to be more than a mere man, not only in the eyes of Kambili, but in the eyes of church, and therefore, the community at large. Father Benedict uses Papa’s actions of making generous donations to Peter’s pence and paying for cartons of communion wine as “illustration[s] of the gospels” (4). This seems to parallel the abuse of indulgences, a major point of contention for Martin Luther, the leader of the Reformation during the sixteenth century in Europe. Back then, the church would grant remission of punishment for sins upon receiving monetary gifts. In the same light, Papa seems to be “buying his way into heaven,” even though he ironically places himself above mortal sin.

Interestingly enough, the importance of religion is reflected in how Adichie presents the novel to her readers. She divides the novel into 3 sections: Palm Sunday, Before Palm Sunday, and After Palm Sunday. Palm Sunday is a Christian holiday which celebrates the entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem, a week before his death and resurrection. Because it is apparent that Kambili’s life is centered on her father, Adichie seems to be foreshadowing the death of Papa, and hinting at how the lives of her characters will change as a result of their newfound “freedom to be.”