Purple Hibiscus Research Articles

Transliteration in Selected Nigerian Novels and The Discourse in Traditional Ceremonies in Urhobo And Ukwani

The study investigates the use and importance of transliteration in selected Nigerian novels as well as the discourse in traditional ceremonies such as marriage and funeral in Urhobo and Ukwuani in Delta State. Unlike in literary works where some works have been done in transliteration, none has been carried out on the English used in traditional ceremonies. Even in literary works, studies on transliteration are mostly aimed at how English is "domesticated" to reflect African culture. None of the studies has actually specified what aspects of African culture each transliterated expression reflects. Owing to this gap in literature, this work aims at providing a socio-linguistic explanations for the special linguistic choices made in Achebe's Arrow of God, Anthills of the Savannah, Chimamanda Ngozi, Adichie's Purple Hibiscus and in traditional ceremonies. The theoritical framework adopted for the study is the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis of communication accomodation, which attempts to explain the relationship between language and the interpretation of social reality. Data were sourced from the novels and the speeches of spokesmen in marriage and funeral ceremonies of heterogeneous nature and were analysed through descriptive method. The following research questions guided the analysis: i. Are there defining characteristics that determine the English used in the novels and the traditional ceremonies? ii. Are there similarities between the language used in the novels and the ones used in the traditional ceremonies? iii. Is the variety of English used relevant to African culture? iv. What specific aspects of African culture do the linguistic choices made reflect? The findings from the study show that the expressions identified reflect and promote African culture. The findings also show that there are similarities between the language of the novels and that of traditional ceremonies.

OLD WINE IN A NEW WINESKIN: ACHEBE’S OKONWO A CHARACTER ARCHETYPE OF ADICHIE’S EUGENE ACHIKE

The investigation and establishment of character types in literary texts is a cardinal thrust of archetypal criticism as a critical tool. Achebe’s Okonkwo in Things Fall Apart (1958) and Adichie’s Eugene otherwise referred to as Papa in Purple Hibiscus (2003) are character types in two canonical African fictions not only because both are male protagonists but also due to a number of other remarkable characterizations which they share in common. In fact, Eugene can he said to be a modern Okonkwo in various ways. Utilizing the vital tools and tenets of archetypal criticism, a critical juxtaposition of the two major characters in the two novels unveils that both characters are caring but cruel, and indeed unleashed multidimensional phallocentric violence in monumental proportions to their immediate family members, particularly to their women. Both characters are unsympathetic to their wives and possess similar volcanic temperaments. Also, both men have “no patience” with their biological fathers and maintain frosty relationships with them on account of certain grievances and grudges borne in their hearts against them over a protracted period of time. Indeed, both men can be said to be ashamed of their own fathers. But their disgusts for their fathers transform them into men of actions rather than of words and leisure, even as both characters become diligent creators and managers of wealth by their personal determination, courage and hardworking attitude as opposed to the indigent backgrounds they germinated from. Unfortunately, both characters encounter tragic ends in their seemingly unguarded pursuit for preservation and perfection.

Sacredness and Religious Fanaticism

Abstract The authors examine how Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s novel Purple Hibiscus portrays the conflicts between Igbo indigenous culture, Roman Catholic missionary culture, and inculturated Catholicism, and how these conflicts lead to religious fanaticism. This article focuses on the characters’ interactions with their respective cultures and religions, and juxtaposes the extreme devotion of Eugene Achike’s abusive Catholicism with the flexible understanding of the oneness of God in Papa Nnukwu’s traditional religious practices. The authors underscore the value of cultural diversity and the importance of tolerance and understanding while cautioning against the dangers of strict adherence to religious dogma.

Unravelling Insecurity: Exploring Psychological and Societal Dimensions in Nigerian Novels

This comprehensive study navigates the intricate terrain of insecurity within the human condition, examining its multifaceted dimensions through the lens of psychological and societal factors. Utilizing selected Nigerian novels as a backdrop, the research aims to unveil the complex biological and psychological processes that drive characters' actions, ultimately leading to societal unrest. By dissecting fear as a fundamental biological process, the study explores how intrinsic insecurities manifest and contribute to both individual and collective challenges. Through nuanced analyses of characters such as Okonkwo in Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart" and Beatrice and Eugene in Chimamanda Adichie's "Purple Hibiscus," the research sheds light on the profound transformations from intrinsic insecurity to physical manifestations, offering insights into the intricate interplay between emotional, psychological, and societal factors. Keywords: Insecurity, Psychological Struggles, Societal Unrest, Nigerian Literature, Fear and Anxiety, Emotional Turmoil and Transformation in Characters.

Patriarchy, Religion and Women’s Subjugation in Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus

This paper explores the intricate portrayal and symbolic nuances of patriarchy and religion as fervent sources of intolerance within Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Purple Hibiscus (2003). The study transcends the binary view of these forces, scrutinizing their dynamic interplay and discerning their nuanced expressions within the depicted characters and broader societal constructs. The examination traverses beyond the surface-level manifestations, rummaging into the intricate fabric of power dynamics, gender roles and cultural norms to unravel their profound impact on individual conduct and the structural foundations of society. Drawing on theoretical frameworks, this study invokes John Locke's Two Treatises of Government and A Letter Concerning Toleration (2003) and Michel Foucault's Discipline and Punish (1995) to dissect patriarchy and religious practices as intricate manifestations of intolerance. By situating the analysis within these theoretical underpinnings, the study unveils the multifaceted layers of control, discipline and ideological enforcement inherent in these forces. The culmination of this exploration propels beyond a mere diagnosis of the issues at hand. It advocates for a transformative shift, contending that the perpetuation of patriarchy and religious fanaticism must be dismantled for the collective well-being of families and society at large. This call for cessation transcends mere condemnation, urging a profound reevaluation of ingrained societal structures and norms. Beyond its contribution to literary discourse, this study seeks to offer a deeper comprehension of the pervasive influence of intolerance, shedding light on its contemporary relevance. By pushing the boundaries of traditional analyses, this paper aspires to be a catalyst for transformative discussions on the dismantling of oppressive forces, paving the way for a more enlightened and inclusive future.

From Bildungsroman to Bildungsromance: Physical and Affective War in Chinelo Okparanta’s Under the Udala Trees

The bildungsroman has dominated the Nigerian literary landscape since the 1990s with novels such as Chimamanda N. Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus (2004), Unoma Azuah’s Sky-High Flames (2005), Chika Unigwe’s Night Dancer (2012), and Chinelo Okparanta’s Under the Udala Trees (2015). These coming-of-age stories place a special emphasis on the national evolution of Nigeria. Thus, by delving into such interrelation of the national and personal domains, I propose to theorize Under the Udala Trees as a “bildungsromance,” or novel of affective and romantic development. I use the term “bildungsromance” to describe the growth of Okparanta’s protagonist, Ijeoma, as intrinsically associated with the experiences gathered from her affective attachments both in the public and the private spheres. I will analyze Ijeoma’s sentimental relationships as she discovers and naturalizes her queer identity. For this, I will delve into the negative affects − in the form of fear, shame and guilt (Braidotti 2009, 50) − that influence Ijeoma’s experience as a result of her non-conforming to the dictums of Nigerian customary laws. Ironically, such negative affects will be introduced as tightly associated with “the promise of happiness” (Ahmed 2010, 14). In turn, I shall underline the role of Ijeoma’s intimate and romantic relationships in prompting positive forms of affect such as self-love and pride. These affective experiences allow Ijeoma to acquire a critical perspective towards Nigerian customary laws and their impact on identity formation and on what has been referred to as the “democratisation of the private sphere” (Giddens 1992, 184). Ultimately, I will hinge upon Ijeoma’s awareness of her own affective advancements as a key element in her bildungsromance.

Liberation of Women in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus and Half of a Yellow Sun

This study focuses on the liberation of Afro-American women through women empowerment. It examines the basic rights of women, gender issues and domestic violence . it also examines the oppression towards women. Narrative technique is used to describe the status of women in a patriarchal society. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s novel “Purple Hibiscus” describes the struggle for liberation from oppression. The title of the novel “Purple Hibiscus” may refer to a particular type of flower but it develops the hope for liberation in the major character Kambili. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s novel “Half Of a Yellow Sun” describes the struggle for liberation from sexuality and to liberate Biafran from the Nigerian soldiers.

Domestic violence in african society: A study of chimamanda adichie's purple hibiscus

In the 21st century, one of the major roles of the English language in building a corporate youth image for sustainable development, peace, and security in Nigeria is in the area of creative writing. Many scholars are concerned about domestic violence in African society, particularly in Nigeria, especially in Igbo society, where domestic violence is a serious subject matter. Women are subjected to lots of maltreatment, suppression, and relegation to the background as a result of man's chauvinism. The aim of this study is to examine forms of domestic violence in African society by using the work of Chimamanda Adichie's "Purple Hibiscus." The study adopts a brand of snail sense feminism propounded by Akaihi Adimura Ezeigbo as its theoretical framework, while thematic analysis is employed to analyze Adichie's "Purple Hibiscus," which captures many issues of domestic violence and provides insight into the world of domestic violence in African society. Another perspective advocates that African women can overcome domestic violence through education, maturity, and dialogue.

Sociological and Psychological Traits of Human Bonding to Reflected in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus

Man is a social animal and depends on others to fulfil his needs. Hence it becomes imperative that he maintains a proper relationship with others. It is indeed true that relationships cannot be created overnight. For building a relationship, one should have qualities like kindness, adaptability, understanding, tolerance, patience, and the like. Maintaining the relationship that is built is yet another challenging task. Since literature is a reflection of human life, many literary works focus on human bonding and the need and importance of maintaining a relationship through the portrayal of various characters. Purple Hibiscus is one such novel written by the African American writer, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, considered one of the 100 ‘Most Influential People.’ The novel brings out various aspects of human bonding and relationship through the incidents that occur in day-to-day lives. The present paper intends to analyse the struggles faced by the characters involved in different kinds of relationship and their realising the need of connectedness in the novel, Purple Hibiscus.

Feminist Matters: The Politics of Eating in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus

Abstract Using food as a narrative device in her critically acclaimed debut novel Purple Hibiscus (2003), Adichie offers a markedly feminist critique of the legacies of neocolonialism on Africa’s ability to choose its own destiny. Indeed, Adichie’s exploration of food as the locus of hospitality and hostility and the dining table as a fraught and shifting site of power and its contestation yields a commentary on the domestic arena as a metaphor for the national sociopolitical and economic situation. More specifically, Adichie links notions of food control and tyrannical power to prevailing patriarchal systems that expose women and children to violent injustices and to material and spiritual want. She depicts colonial and fundamentalist religious institutions as inimical to women’s participation in political and economic processes.

Maturation in Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus: A Romanticism Glide

In the romantic view of the subject of “Maturation” which is the journey from childhood or adolescence to adulthood, that journey Geoffrey Hartman calls a “Dangerous passageway” with the central feature of self-consciousness which is occasioned by knowledge of self and plagued by “maladies”; or “strong disease”, and “an endemic” which is central in romantic thoughts is projected by Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus and is the hunt of this research. Adichie can discuss the journey from childhood to maturation; in that, she expresses the perils of childhood; which is embodied by the deep self-consciousness that covered her heroine who had to endure the perils of childhood and later the maladies of the mind, in undergoing the dangerous passageways to the place of freedom, a freedom to be, to create her destiny. Adichie destroys all impediments that would have prevented her heroine from reaching the goal of absolute freedom which can only be achieved by the romantic mind.

Poetics of Self in Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus: A Postcolonial Bildungsroman Study

This study situates itself in the literary representations of the interplay of gender, class, color, race, postcoloniality, power politics, violence, identity, and the African self in a Bildungsroman. It focuses on Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus as a Bildungsroman of woman, written from a postcolonial outlook. The narrative centers on the growth, development, and experiences of the female Bildungsheld, Kambili, who eventually attains epiphany, and explores her true self and identity. In other words, the study follows an eclectic approach, which further focuses on Kambili’s odyssey of encountering freedom by tearing out the different challenges, and insecurities during the process of subjectivization, objectification, and interpellation towards her journey of becoming in a political context of a military coup in Nigeria. As a result, the article emphasizes the confluence of history and literature, as well as Africans’ experiences in the postcolonial world in general, and accounts for Kambili’s becoming in particular.

National Sovereignty and the Postcolonial Bildungsroman

Abstract Recent scholarship on the bildungsroman highlights the ideological implications of bildung in relation to empire and human rights discourse. This essay adds to that scholarship by reading the postcolonial bildungsroman as an expression of the erosion of national sovereignty after decolonization. Bildung in post-SAP (Structural Adjustment Program) novels is contested because the development of a fully modern personality—rational, cosmopolitan, economically agentive, entrepreneurial, nonadversarial—privileged by modernization theory and global institutions symbolically undermines the political sovereignty promised by decolonization. Through an analysis of Pankaj Mishra's The Romantics, this essay argues that such contestation of bildung in post-SAP postcolonial bildungsromans generates narratives of negation in which the imagining of bildung is always deferred to imaginative and political futures. In The Romantics, bildung turns into an enduring historical trauma; Mishra juxtaposes various trajectories of individual and national growth both before and after India's adoption of SAP policies in 1991 to show how the symbolic realization of full and free personality development would paradoxically negate the claims to sovereignty that elevate such personality development as an expression of successful modernization. In The Romantics, as in Chimamanda Adichie's Purple Hibiscus and Mohsin Hamid's How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia, the negation of successful bildung—and the deferral of fully formed visions of “development”—become the only registers in which to register liberatory growth in the peripheries of the capitalist world-economy.

Tire to Cope up the Patriarchal World as Portrayed by Adichie in The Purple Hibiscus

Women worry about subordination, as well as other issues impacting the development of the Nigerian female, have been voiced from a number of different perspectives. Nonetheless, themes like as gender-based violence, religious extremism, domestic abuse, and violence are seldom addressed in post-colonial literature by first generation female writers, in contrast to the writings of the new generation of female writers such as Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. As a result of the author’s works, it has been determined that patriarchy is an ideology that attempts to demonstrate that a woman’s primary role in life is that of a mother and wife. This classification has an impact on a variety of women, regardless of their educational background. Adichie provides a multifaceted rather than a simple picture of her characters in Purple Hibiscus. She has been successful in dismantling the stereotype of African women as a homogeneous group of hard-working, helpless, and self-sacrificing victims who are complacent in their inferior positions, as she has done. Beatrice is a character in Purple Hibiscus, and through her, she portrays a picture of an African woman who is oppressed by the dual burdens of patriarchy and illiteracy. She is unable to redefine herself or speak up for her rights, and she ultimately resorts to murdering her husband Eugene in order to save herself and her children from their ordeal. Due to her failure to assert her own rights early in the novel, she suffers the tragedy of her husband’s death as well as the imprisonment of her son, as well as the start of her insanity.

The dislocation of Nigerian identities as the result of hegemony in Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus

The concept of individuality's sense of self may trigger some conflicts in an ex-colonized country. The British colonized Nigeria for sixty years, and the colonization formally ended after Nigeria declared its independence on the first of October, 1960. A new Nigerian dictatorial government performs hegemony as the remnant of colonization. This phenomenon is represented in Purple Hibiscus, which is based on the military dictatorship in Nigeria between 1980 and 1999. This study aims to find the forms of hegemony and its negative impacts on the dislocation of identity. The research method is qualitative. The data is analyzed by Gramsci's hegemony and is supported by the concept of diaspora in postcolonialism. The data is obtained based on the dominant and subordinate conflicts. Purple Hibiscus presents three forms of hegemony: restricted media, religion, and the English language. The novel shows the negative impacts of hegemony: isolation, no individual choices, oppression, and dislocation of identity. The process of identity dislocation is portrayed through emotional attachment and the realization of life-changing seen through the acceptance and interaction with American people with different backgrounds, diverse cultures, and distinct environments.

Stylistic Foregrounding of ‘Silence’ in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus

This paper explores Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s use of repetition to foreground silence, a predominant theme in her debut novel, Purple Hibiscus. Since one of the primary concerns of stylistics is to explain the underlying motive of an author’s linguistic choices, the paper discusses Adichie’s choice of the lexical item silence in varied derivative forms (noun, adverb, adjective and verb), the use of its synonym and its incorporation into sentence structures (parallelism). Applying Geoffrey N. Leech’s and Michael H. Short’s notion of foregrounding – deviance from some expected frequency, the paper examines how Adichie strategically repeats her choice of the lexical item without it sounding monotonous. It demonstrates that the choices of these diverse linguistic forms in the presentation of the theme of silence is not accidental but a purposive attempt to bring her message to the forecourt and thereby raise the consciousness of the society to its damaging effect. It also reveals the author’s skilfulness in the manipulation of language.

Women Friendship and Oppression by Men in Chimamanda Adichie's Purple Hibiscus

Feminism, which has many types and waves, is an awareness of women's oppression in society and within the family through conscious actions to change this injustice condition and achieve equality for women. This study uses feminist literary criticism to analyze Chimamanda Adichie's Purple Hibiscus. The study questions the oppression of women by men in Nigerian society as well as how women's friendship with each other develops their empowerment. It also demonstrates how the novel's female characters reflect the oppression of women. therefore, as the story develops, attempts will be made in order to show how African women are seen based on the real and good women as portrayed by Ifeoma and Beatrice. Moreover, it reveals that Adichie's method for confronting male oppression implies that, despite the difficulties they face, women are able to identify themselves and achieve their goals in the male-dominant world through education and friendship.

Gender and Violence in Toni Morrison’s A Mercy, Elena Ferrante’s Tetralogy My Brilliant Friend and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus

This paper explores the portrayal of violence and gender in its relation to different historical periods, countries, cultures, and religions. The aim is to determine the role these different aspects have in forming of characters’ identities and more specifically how it is all related to gender. The research will focus on Toni Morrison’s A Mercy, Elena Ferrante’s Tetralogy My Brilliant Friend, and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus. All three novels, regardless of the different periods they fictionalize and discuss, and the literature they belong to, are connected by the captivating darkness that runs deeply through their fictional fiber and portrays the horrible conditions and struggles women have to go through because of the violence they were succumbed to, but also the violence they have to resort to to survive and even thrive in the ever-changing, but always firmly men’s world. Morrison’s novel is set in the early stages of the slave trade in America when racial, religious, and class tensions were just beginning to form, Ferrante’s tetralogy focuses on the post-WWII Italy, poverty-stricken and violent neighborhoods of the outskirts of Naples, and Purple Hibiscus is set in postcolonial Nigeria, a country struggling with political instability and economic difficulties. All three authors with their respective novels render vibrant pictures of the lives of young girls and grown women, mothers, daughters, and friends, across times, countries, but also classes, that offer plenty of space for comparative research focusing on the presence and role of violence in their lives.

Sociohistorical Derivatives of Conflict Related Thematic Foci in Chimamanda Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus

The debilitating smokes of sociopolitical conflicts re-enacted in Chimamanda Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus are unpleasant derivatives of remarkable sociohistorical fires whose embers were fanned by certain political and socioeconomic conditions. After over six decades of independence from British colonial adventure, the fires are still burning while the firefighters and householders who are duty-bound to extinguish them pretend not to discern the infernos let alone direct proportionate efforts to either ameliorate or extinguish them. Thus while the fires continue to devour the House, the supposedly householders and firefighters rather compete in the reckless pursuit of elusive rats and rodents, ignoring the hapless lamentations of the citizenry who scream out the inherent and imminent dangers to no avail. Like some other indigenous creative writers, Adichie has just done so with the instrumentality of her literary rendition in the aforementioned fiction. The study postulates that the unamusing pretenses and prevarications, even indifference of the firefighters and householders portend grave repercussions for the present and for posterity. Deploying the critical machinery of New Historicism, the research demonstrates how the Nigerian State refuses to learn from certain costly and consequential sociohistorical conflicts, thereby allowing a continuous repetition of such sour manifestations to the detriment of many.

Football as an instrument of evangelisation: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Purple Hibiscus and the Church in Africa

ABSTRACT The article shows how the Nigerian writer, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, captures the use of sports, especially, football, as an instrument of evangelisation in her award-winning novel, Purple Hibiscus (2003). This is through the character, Father Amadi, a Catholic priest, as he plays football with the poor boys in and around the University chaplaincy where he works. The paper then examines the significance of Father Amadi’s particular brand of Football evangelisation to the contemporary Church in Africa, especially, the Roman Catholic Church in Nigeria in which Adichie grew up.