Colonization, Thenceforth
Colonization has played an enormous role in shaping a multitude of societies and cultures around the world. While it may be argued that the colonization of less advanced countries is ultimately helpful for their people and economy in the long run, what does it cost their cultures? Moreover, how does it affect the people living in these countries, and what roles do they play within the process of colonization and their societies? In Chimamanda Adichie's novel, Purple Hibiscus, she accurately portrays not only the initial effects of colonization in Nigeria, but also the aftermath thereof on a more comprehensive scale, through the experiences and life choices of the characters Kambili, Mama, and Papa.
In her novel, Adichie uses Papa as a metaphor for the colonizers of Nigeria and their enormously different ways of life, thinking, and culture from the native people. Papa has all of the control in his household, and seemingly over all the people he comes in contact with throughout the novel. Papa has such power over others that even the gateman feels the need to explain to Kambili and Jaja that their father is “...the best Big Man he had ever seen” (Adichie 103). Adichie adds this insight in the text to show how highly regarded he his by people in every and all social and economic classes. In this manner and instance, he is much like the Catholic missionaries whose primary and …show more content…
Through this she is able to tell two stories at once, encasing the essence of Nigerian culture - both modern and traditional - beautifully, while showing both the positive and negative effects of colonization as a whole. The question remains: is the process of modelling developing countries after those in the western world more beneficial or harmful to both the citizens and their culture? That’s for you to
Colonization has played an enormous role in shaping a multitude of societies and cultures around the world. While it may be argued that the colonization of less advanced countries is ultimately helpful for their people and economy in the long run, what does it cost their cultures? Moreover, how does it affect the people living in these countries, and what roles do they play within the process of colonization and their societies? In Chimamanda Adichie's novel, Purple Hibiscus, she accurately portrays not only the initial effects of colonization in Nigeria, but also the aftermath thereof on a more comprehensive scale, through the experiences and life choices of the characters Kambili, Mama, and Papa.
In her novel, Adichie uses Papa as a metaphor for the colonizers of Nigeria and their enormously different ways of life, thinking, and culture from the native people. Papa has all of the control in his household, and seemingly over all the people he comes in contact with throughout the novel. Papa has such power over others that even the gateman feels the need to explain to Kambili and Jaja that their father is “...the best Big Man he had ever seen” (Adichie 103). Adichie adds this insight in the text to show how highly regarded he his by people in every and all social and economic classes. In this manner and instance, he is much like the Catholic missionaries whose primary and …show more content…
Through this she is able to tell two stories at once, encasing the essence of Nigerian culture - both modern and traditional - beautifully, while showing both the positive and negative effects of colonization as a whole. The question remains: is the process of modelling developing countries after those in the western world more beneficial or harmful to both the citizens and their culture? That’s for you to