In his book, How to Read Literature Like a Professor, Thomas Foster introduces key concepts that are applied in the widespread world of literature; furthermore, Foster does express that “‘Always’ and ‘never’ are not words that have much meaning in literary study...”(19) due to numerous authors creating pieces that do not follow the general trend, thus his teachings should be taken as a general rule of thumb. In order to get a better grasp of his teachings, the novel Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie should be analyzed with Foster’s claims in mind. Foster begins his book by explaining the structural setup of a quest which includes the quester, destination, initial reason for going, challenges, and the “real” reason to go
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This leads to a shift in cause and a different (or “real”) reason for the quest emerges (19). For example, in the novel Purple Hibiscus, a pair of Christian raised Nigerian siblings, Kambili and Jaja, initially go to Aokpe for a pilgrimage, but in order to get there, the siblings must stay with their Aunt Ifeoma in Nsukka (Adichie 107). Throughout their …show more content…
Denying someone else’s right to live in the face of our overwhelming demands. Placing our desires, particularly our uglier ones, above the needs of another”(Foster 28). These characteristics do not need to outrightly manifest into these fictional characters; however, in order for the author to have the essentials for a vampire story it must include “an older figure representing corrupt, outworn values; a young, preferably virginal female; a stripping away of her youth, energy, virtue; a continuance of the life force of the old male; the death or destruction of the young woman”(Foster 27). This is clearly shown in the relationship that Kambili and her father share. Her father represents the older figure with outworn values, very conservative catholic ideals , who impose his values on Kambili, the young female virgin, through violence. An example of this is when scorching hot water was poured on Kambili’s feet for sleeping in the same household as her grandfather (who is considered a heathen by her father) in Nsukka (Adichie
This leads to a shift in cause and a different (or “real”) reason for the quest emerges (19). For example, in the novel Purple Hibiscus, a pair of Christian raised Nigerian siblings, Kambili and Jaja, initially go to Aokpe for a pilgrimage, but in order to get there, the siblings must stay with their Aunt Ifeoma in Nsukka (Adichie 107). Throughout their …show more content…
Denying someone else’s right to live in the face of our overwhelming demands. Placing our desires, particularly our uglier ones, above the needs of another”(Foster 28). These characteristics do not need to outrightly manifest into these fictional characters; however, in order for the author to have the essentials for a vampire story it must include “an older figure representing corrupt, outworn values; a young, preferably virginal female; a stripping away of her youth, energy, virtue; a continuance of the life force of the old male; the death or destruction of the young woman”(Foster 27). This is clearly shown in the relationship that Kambili and her father share. Her father represents the older figure with outworn values, very conservative catholic ideals , who impose his values on Kambili, the young female virgin, through violence. An example of this is when scorching hot water was poured on Kambili’s feet for sleeping in the same household as her grandfather (who is considered a heathen by her father) in Nsukka (Adichie