Purple Hibiscus Analytical Paragraph
In the book Purple Hibiscus written by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichi Kambili, a young girl, her brother Jaja and their mother must endure abuse by their father. Their father, Papa, is immune of accusations made against him because of his high religious and financial influence in the community. Fortunately, Kambili and Jaja visit their independent aunt whose household is very different from their own. This visit helps them fight against Papa’s control, a very prominent theme that is expressed throughout Kambili and her family’s journey. Papa is one of the most powerful and controlling character. Papa gains control over his family by instilling fear into them. The amount of abuse Papa inflicts on his children instills fear in them, and it is through this fear that Papa manipulates them into achieving his desired goals. An example of this is when Kambili is trying to make her mother feel better because her figurines broke, but she is unable to do so because of how afraid she is of Papa. The fact that she thinks “I meant to say that I am sorry that Papa broke your figurines”(10), but does not say it shows that she is unable to do what she desires. This fear is developed through the torture Papa puts his children through as seen in the second quotation when Kambili arrives slightly late and wastes some of Kevin’s time. However, this does not justify what Papa does to punish her. The fact that she says “his huge palms left parallel marks on my face and ringing in my ears for days”(51) shows how much abuse Kambili is put through for small “mistakes.” Papa uses so much abuse to control his children that they unable to stand up for themselves and their beliefs. This causes them to live an isolated life because everything they do must first be “approved” by Papa. Kambili’s constant fear of her father causes her to miss out on the luxuries of childhood. In this quotation Kambili is at aunty Ifeoma’s house and she has just taken away their schedules which causes Kambili to feel much discomfort. The fact that Kambili thinks, “My mouth felt dry, my tongue clinging to the roof”(124) shows that her nervousness combined with the mental torture is so immense that it is causing physical effects. To think something as brutal as “...my tongue clinging to the roof” shows the
