A Plot Summary of the Novel Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
The novel Purple Hibiscus begins with the quote, "things began to fall apart at home when my brother, Jaja, did not go to communion and Papa flung his heavy missal across the room and broke the figurines on the étagère". This foreshadows what is going to happen as the novel progresses. Purple Hibiscus takes place in Enugu, a city in present day Nigeria. The novel is told through Kambili Achike's eyes, a fifteen year old girl who is the daughter of Eugene Achike, and sister of Jaja Achike.
The father of the family, Eugene, is a fanatically religious man who conforms to the Western culture and expects nothing less than perfection from his children. As a result, Kambili and Jaja have grown up under their fathers' extreme behavior and cannot tell the truth from lies. Throughout the novel, Eugene enforces many strict religious practices and behaviors, such as no eating before communion, and no singing in Igbo, their native language. Failure to comply results beatings either by Eugene's fists, or his belt.
Within the Achike household, everything that Eugene says is perceived as the truth, and as such, Kambili believes that Eugene truly loves her and Jaja and everything that he does is for their good. On one occasion, Kambili was not feeling well and needed to eat something, but it was ten minutes before communion, which means that they were not allowed to eat. Kambili's mother convinced Kambili to eat a bowl of cereal, but Eugene eventually found out proceeded to whip both Kambili and her mother with his belt.
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During the abuse at the Achike household, a military coup takes power within Nigeria, and corruption occurs all through the country. As a result, Ade Coker, the writer of The Standard, a newspaper company that Eugene owns, is arrested for writing about the truth behind many issues that the government does not want revealed to the public. Eugene is forced to bribe government officials to rescue Coker, and is protecting Coker from further prosecution and apprehensions.
When Kambili and Jaja go to visit their aunty Ifeoma, whom Eugene is not very fond of because she is not willing to conform to Eugene's religious expectations, there is a heavy development in the plot. Kambili and Jaja start to experience the lives of Aunty Ifeoma and her two children, their laughter, lifestyle, and most importantly, their freedom. During their visit, Kambili and Jaja slowly start to adapt to the lifestyle and amount of freedom present in Aunty Ifeoma's house, and begin to enjoy it more than their own home. When Aunty Ifeoma received a phone call from Eugene saying that Kambili and Jaja have to stay longer because he has some business to take care of, Jaja showed signs of joy, while Kambili still had some mixed feelings. And Jaja have grown up under their fathers' extreme behavior and cannot tell the truth from lies. But Eugene enforces many strict religious practices and behaviors, such as no eating before communion and no singing in Igbo, their native language.
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A Plot Summary of the Novel Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. (2023, Feb 24). Retrieved from https://phdessay.com/a-plot-summary-of-the-novel-purple-hibiscus-by-chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/
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