Purple Hibiscus Literary Analysis

In this passage from Purple Hibiscus, Adichie employs juxtaposition and purposeful
diction in order to show Kambilis pressure to assimilate into two different lifestyles. In Purple
Hibiscus, the main character, Kambili lives in a grandiose home controlled by her father, Papa
Eugene. Eugenes presence dictates Kambilis entire lifestyle, whether in the form of an explicit
schedule, verbal and physical reprimanding, or through the tremendous expectations he forces
upon her. In the beginning of the book, Kambili focuses all of her efforts into doing what she
believes will please her father. Then Kambili and her brother Jaja visit their Aunty Ifeoma in the
city of Nsukka. Here in Nsukka, the two are introduced to a world without constant regulation by
their father . Kambili was especially overwhelmed and felt herself slowly embracing the relaxed
lifestyle she experienced in Nsukka.
When Kambili initially sees Nsukka she regresses to the familiar environment of her
home of Enugu. She recoils at the informal nature of life in Nsukka. However as her stay
progressed she began to understand the ways of Aunty Ifeoma and her hometown. This
gradual transition in Kambilis thinking is alluded to her acknowledgement that the homes of
junior University of Nigeria staff have no pretense at the hedges here, no pretense at
separation or privacy The repetition of the word pretense emphasizes the feigned
mannerisms that have become a part of her life. In Enugu, her family always tried to keep up
appearances, Eugene especially. Papa Eugene strived to have a respected outward
appearance by showing public acts of faith and encouraged his family to do the same. In a
sense, Eugenes outward actions are a pretense to his abusive nature at home. By showing
compassion to his community, he feels that it compensates for the ruthlessness he can show to
his own family. In Nsukka there is less societal focus on appearances and wealth, less pretense
of superiority, which contrasts to the way Eugene lives his life.When Kambili first arrives in
Nsukka, she immediately notices the differences in priorities of the people and environment.

Despite acknowledging Nsukkas differences from Enugu, Kambili still clings to the lifestyle
prescribed by Papa Eugene as shown by her reasoning.
Papa Eugene has changed Kambilis reasoning by molding her mind into his
misconstrued interpretation of religion. Eugenes influence is shown in the fact that when
Kambili observed the hills of Nsukka she thought of, God laying out the hills of Nsukka with his
wide white hands Here the diction relating skin color to godliness reflects that Kambili is
clinging to Enugus teachings of morality. Whereas the lack of pretense in Nsukka drew her
away from Eugenes ideals, the image of these hills drew her back to Eugenes beliefs. Eugene
taught her to uphold and respect the white man; It was white missionaries that allowed Eugene
to know God. For Eugene, white and godliness are one in the same. Eugenes pressure has
internalized these beliefs into Kambili thus she cannot help but see God as a white man.
Adichie then continues the story of these conflicting worlds by juxtaposing the worndown homes of the low level university staff who live without pretense, with the opulent homes
of the other side of Marguerite Cartwright Avenue, where the seasoned professors lived, with
the duplexes hemmed in by gravely driveways. The layout of Marguerite Cartwright Avenue
parallels with the life that Kambili lives. In the case of the street, one side consists of simple
homes that have the essentials and nothing more, while the other side of the street has
ostentatious homes with manicured lawns. These two sides of the street represent the two
different lifestyles that Kambili feels pressured to assimilate to. The homes of the seasoned
professors are structured and orderly, just like Eugenes life plan for Kambili. On the other hand,
the housing of the low level staff is plain and only has basic amenities. The juxtaposition of the
modest homes and the spacious duplexes shows a world of contrasting ideas that parallels
Kambilis constant internal struggle of where she belongs in the world. Kambili feels compelled
to stay in her beautiful home in Enugu with her overbearing father, while at the same time the
simple life in Nsukka, a life of free will without the facades she faces in Enugu entice Kambili.

This episode that Kambili has at the University of Nigeria follows Kambili through homes
without pretense, hills made by God himself, and duplexes with manicured lawns which all
reflect the conflicting messages that Kambili receives from Papa Eugene and Aunty Ifeoma.
These two people represent two profoundly different ways of life.Her trip to the University of
Nigeria in this passage is one of the first points in the book where this conflict emerges. The
multitude of intricate subtleties of laced throughout this passage introduce the idea of how
Kambili reacts to a life outside of Papa Eugenes influence.