Purple Hibiscus Father Quotes

During the novel, “Purple Hibiscus” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, the main character Kambili, struggles through child abuse from her father. Her father, Eugene, is a very holy man and is very strict with his children. Eugene is loving and caring except for his punishments, which are not discipline but torture. When Eugene finds Kambili and Jaja observing a painting of their grandfather (who is not catholic) Eugene kicks Kambili until she has to be put in the hospital. After Kambili is released from the hospital, her and Jaja go to stay with their Aunt Ifeoma and they then receive the news that Eugene is dead. Kambili's mother poisons Eugene but Jaja takes the blame and is sent to jail for three years. After Jaja is released from prison, they …show more content…
Kambili and Jaja’s father is very wealthy, so they live in huge home that has huge rooms and open space. They each have their own room and the family has a girl who cooks their meals for them and cleans their home constantly. The feel of their home is like a hotel with the “high ceilings that give the room an airy stillness” (113). The home is quiet and everyone has their schedule to follow that allows about 20 minutes of family time each day. At their Aunt Ifeoma’s the setting around Kambili and Jaja totally changes. Ifeoma’s house is small and the four children share two rooms that have beds pushed close together to “create space for more than two people” (115). There is clutter everywhere and the home is loud with laughter and the insects buzz outside the door. Every person pitches in with the meals and the cleaning, they function like an actual family. The change of setting impacts the novel in the way that when the setting changes, so do the characters. When Kambili and Jaja are at their own home they are quiet and submissive to their father’s wrath. Kambili and Jaja mind their own business and do not speak unless spoken to. When they are at their Aunt Ifeoma’s home their personalities are in bloom. Kambili and Jaja laugh and play with their cousins and enjoy the chores and work that they have to …show more content…
Kambili does not voice her opinion out loud so she never sparks any external conflicts with the other characters. Internally, Kambili searches for strategies to cope with her father. On one hand she loves him and misses him, she wants to follow his schedules that he sketches up for her and Jaja and she wants to talk to him on the phone while they are at their aunts. On the other hand though she is afraid of him and is glad she does not have the chance to speak to him. Kambili also struggles with her cousin Amaka and her overall social skills. Kambili’s father has always made her so pristine and taught her everything except how to make friends, so Kambili just does not know how to do that and the reader witnesses her learn throughout the story. Kambili’s struggles make the plot more interesting and it gives the reader a reason to read the