Purple hibiscus:

Extract :
(line 6)“a ball of fufu slipped” personifies fufu, implies that her hands were shaking, stress.

“colonial product” metaphor, shows that his actions were heavily affected by society.

He speaks English in public, shows his obsession with societal image and doesn’t want his image to be
tarnished.

“malaria”(line 17) simile, compares colonialism to a disease/ plague which has led to papa’s abuse and
blames his behavior on society.

“Stare at him” language of the eyes

The phrase "shadow clouding papa's eyes" (line 20) imagery conveys a sense of shock or surprise in
response to Jaja's behavior, indicating that Jaja's response was unexpected or uncommon within the
family. This highlights the prevailing pattern of constant submission to Papa, where family members are
accustomed to obeying and conforming to his authority without question.

Kambili:
Love sip motif: symbol for eugene’s violence, shows his manipulative nature, he said it showed his love,
burnt Kambili’s tongue showing how eugene’s love took the form of violence in kambili’s life.

“I laughed it seemed so easy now, laughter” catharsis, repeat laughter shows her feelings of happiness
finally escaping eugene’s chains. (ch 15)

(ch 14) “my hands trembling, yet I did not think to close my ears”. Start of confidence, modifier shows
fear, challenge authority for the first time.

“even taking a breath was agony” (ch 11) extent of torture.

“whether they would stop laughing if I went there” , The persistent questioning and self-doubt
experienced by the characters stem from the deeply ingrained self-doubt resulting from Eugene's
controlling influence. Unable to form connections.

(ch 9) “are you sure they’re not abnormal?” hyperbolic diction, shows the impact of patriarchal authority
on social skills.

Dreamed amaka drowning her (ch 8) visual imagery “submerged me in a toilet full of greenish-brown
lumps” disgust, referring to feces, shows subconscious fear of father and how she expects same
treatment from everyone.

“my throat tightened” () ch7 how control can affect their ability to get new experiences.

Boiling water on feet

Ch 10 “The pain of contact was so pure, so scalding, I felt nothing for a second. And then I screamed”.
Tactile imagery, contrast creates dramatic effect of feelings.

“I spoke more with our spirits than with our lips.” Language of eyes

Jaja:
“And the priest keeps touching my mouth and it nauseates me,” Jaja said. He knew I was looking at him,
that my shocked eyes begged him to seal his mouth, but he did not look at me. (chapter 1) language of
the eyes symbol of control, shows eugene’s control, personifies eyes convey anxiety.

Inspired by Obiora’s behaviour: (chapter 16) ““I should have taken care of Mama. Look how Obiora
balances Aunty Ifeoma’s family on his head, and I am older than he is. I should have taken care of
Mama.””, symmetrical structure, objectifies aunty ifeoma’s family, repeat I should have taken care of
mama, show guilt.

“he does mind having another man’s feces in his face” (chapter 17) ,metaphorical language, impact,
prison, shows cycle of violence started by eugene’s abuse.

(ch 12) kills the chicken, never done before, “there was a singlemindedness in jaja, that was cold,
clinical” metaphorical diction, cold clinical, associates with something medical, shows the precision of his
actions devoid of emotion, implies that he was inspired by obiora who did all the laboursome tasks in his
household.

(ch 9)“Jaja smiled so widely I saw dimples I did not even know he had” implies he had not ever smiled
like that in his own house, showing the impact of a dictatorial authority on children.

Anecdote, not named the best in his first holy communion class “gnarled finger, deformed like a dried
stick” simile, imagery, extremity of physical abuse, physically impaired for his entire life.
Beatrice:
n Chapter 16, there is a significant turning point or peripeteia when the narrator reveals their actions by
saying, "I started putting the poison in his tea." This act represents a circle of violence, an implicit symbol
of a destructive cycle within the family. It suggests that the damage inflicted on the family has escalated
to the point where one member is resorting to harmful measures such as poisoning.

Painfully bony body, blackheads the size of watermelon seeds. Ch 17. Metaphor, effect on emotional
state and stay hungry, physical state, pain.

“Do you know how many mothers pushed their daughters at him?” rhetorical question, metaphorical
language, implying how wives of abusive men have no choice but to stay and men are praised and
women are shown as the villains. (ch 13)

“thin line of tears crawled down her cheeks”, personifies tears to highlight her sorrow, modifier thin,
implies she was trying to hide her sadness, but was unsuccessful, pathos. (ch 13)

Ch 5 simile compares studying to come first to balancing a sack of gravel, exemplifies difficulty,

Auditory imagery to describe stomach sounds, show fear when came second.

Obiora:
Petrol siphon (ch 9)“his cheeks inflate like a balloon then deflate” “sputtering and coughing” imagery,
implies his pain in doing this, felt pride for fulfilling his role as the man.

Ifeoma:
“setting higher and higher jumps for them……..we scaled it because we were terrified that we couldn’t”
juxtaposition of ifeoma’s upbringing and eugene’s, shows that children achieve the same goal, one with
fear and one without.(ch12)

“with someone else, I would rub Vaseline on my face until it shone” metaphor Vaseline, someone
alluding to eugene. Shows how because of his obsession with authority his own sister is unable to share
her problems/ fake persona
“they all have the brains of guinea fowls” zoomorphism, criticizes society’s expectations of men and
women. Ifediora’s umunna

“but I will not ask my brother to bend over so that I can lick his buttocks to get these things” hyperbolic,
sexual, derogatory

Eugene:
“Papa himself would have a blank face when I looked at him, the kind of expression he had in the photo
when they did the big story on him after Amnesty World gave him a human rights award.” The use of
positive diction, and his humbleness shown by his blank face ,body language, paints him in a positive
light and shows that he is liked by society.

“we did not move more than two steps away” extent of control and authority, despite pain, stayed in
place. Fear Kambili broke the fast before mass (ch7) “I…I…” pauses stutter mental anxiety confusion

“papa did not pencil in TV time on our schedules” metaphor pencil in, highlights how he controls even
the most common activities like watching tv.

“you will stay not longer than fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes.” Repeats fifteen minutes, emphasize ,
expects complete submission.

(ch 10) “” good father boil tea “soaked my hands in it” euphemizes action

Okafor:
“Okafor beat his son’s front tooth out yesterday”, highlights the brutality of the act and violence, lead to
physical pain. (ch 13)

Father amadi:
In Chapter 8, there is a comparison between how Amaka and the other children run towards Amadi, and
how chickens run towards bread. This comparison highlights the positive impact of a good male
influence on children, showing that it can inspire happiness instead of fear.

Papa Nnukwu:
Painting

Telling the story of tortoise with the cracked shell. “I wished I had joined in chanting the Njemanze
response” regret stemming from eugene’s control

(ch 5) “your aunty ifeoma brings me medicine when she can put the money together” quotation,
criticize eugene wealthy but doesn’t pay forces his poor sister to take care of Papa Nnukwu.

Ade:
“you know they say the higher you throw them when they’re young, the more likely they are to learn
how to fly” ch5 proverb, highlights how eugene’s restrivtive behavior will affect them long term, implied.