What if one were in a never ending nightmare of fear for the majority of their life caused by someone who had the same blood connection? What if every blink of an eye parallel to every turn of a page of someone’s life consisted of secrecy, violence, or double standards? But what would one do if the kindred who caused the nightmare tried to reform and claimed they could remove the skeletons that resided in the house? Would one think for themselves or remain naïve and fall under the hypnosis of their relative all over again? Due to Post-Colonialism a financially-equipped Nigerian family encountered many hardships since the head of the household Papa Eugene became a product of colonialism. In 1945 Britain colonized Nigeria and the after math aided in the development of the novel Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. This novel gives the reader a vicarious insight that Kambili, the main character, lived in a house that is the microcosm of the chaotic world, Nigeria. Nigeria was being governed by the hands of the British and now Kambili’s family is being dominated by the heartless hands of Papa Eugene. Domination is prevalent throughout the pages filled with lines pursued by manipulative behavior. Furthermore, this dominance resulted in family secrets. In addition red hibiscuses are planted outside of Kambili’s home symbolizing a gravitational force dividing Kambili’s residence of confinement from liberation. Due to the fact that Papa Eugene is the aftermath of colonialism his impulse of control and contradictory religious beliefs has a negative toll on his family forcing fear upon them, impeding their self-thinking abilities, and causing them to have secrets.
Each character in this novel Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie had their own vantage point in how they were affected by dictatorship in a multitude of cases. The post-colonialism school can be used to display the constant impulse of authority. This authority brought a disconnection not only apparent in Nigeria but one can get a vicarious insight of Nigeria through the persona’s ambience of her own home. Due to post colonialism the Nigerian culture is on the verge of being eradicated by those who become victims of other cultures. Eugene is the epitome of proof that Britain was successful in their process of colonizing Nigeria. In the article “Truth and Reality” Carl Jung states “Man is not an isolated figure, but lives in a world that has many facets. Being constantly immersed in a specific culture and environment is bound to affect any field of study in which one is engaged” (Section 3 “Carl Jung Undiscovered Self Quotes”). In the article “Frantz Fanon,” Frantz Fanon states “to speak… means above all to assume a culture, to support the weight of a civilization” (Fanon 3). Papa Eugene embraced the British culture therefore he thought he had to participate in disseminating his beliefs to his family thus supporting the ideas of both philosophers Fanon and Jung. Kambili states “He hardly spoke Igbo. He did not like us to speak it in public. Aunty Ifeoma, said once that Papa was too much of a colonial product” (Adichie 13). Eugene became a conformist and he tried to distant himself away from Igbo. In doing so he became a dictator in his household by spreading the English language in his house parallel to Britain spreading their English language over Nigeria. Eugene suffers from other post colonial effects which breed life into multiple personalities that he pursues. He claims he is a very religious man but respects Beatrice’s father more than Papa Nnukwu because he has become a conformist and his own father has not. Kambili states “It was so different from the way Papa had treated my maternal grandfather. He determinedly spoke English and he knew Latin and he had insisted that we call him Grandfather, in English. Papa still talked about him often, his eyes proud” (Adichie 67). Eugene only allowed Kambili and Jaja to see their fraternal grandfather on certain occasions and only for a timed fifteen minutes, but when it came to their maternal grandfather the circumstances were different. Fanon defines a reason in which Papa Eugene pursues certain acts by stating that “cultural values are internalized into consciousness, creating a fundamental disjuncture between the black man’s consciousness and his body. Under these conditions, the black man is necessarily alienated from himself” (Fanon 3). Eugene is lost in himself he is trying to portray the perfect man by speaking English and being religious, but he is holding chaos and confusion by the hand. He brings disconnection into his house, the reason in which Jaja does not want to go to mass, Kambili’s immaturity, and Beatrice’s numbness and/or high tolerance for abuse in this novel.
In this novel Purple Hibiscus Papa’s thirst for control caused fear to creep around each corner in the house which was lucid throughout the passages. After Kambili charged at the picture that Papa ripped up, he told her to get up but she ignored him and he kicked her thus continuing his dictatorship role. Kambili ended up in the hospital and did not tell the doctor that her father beat her out of fear. The doctor constantly checked up on Kambili to see her progress but Kambili lied and stated “Even the hot pain in my side had become lukewarm I told the doctor it was as bad as before and I screamed when he tried to feel my side. I did not want to leave the hospital. I did not want to go home” (Adichie 215). In chapter 13 Mama Beatrice arrived to Aunt Ifeoma’s house and said that she was in the hospital. Mama Beatrice looked at Jaja and Kambili and stated “you know that small table where we keep the family Bible, your father broke it on my belly. My blood finished on that floor even before he took me to St. Agnes. My doctor said there was nothing he could do to save it. I was six weeks gone” (Adichie 248). The family was stuck in awe and Papa Eugene called that evening. Aunt Ifeoma answered the phone and told him that Beatrice would not be coming home. Beatrice became frantic crying “Why, Why” when she found out what Aunt Ifeoma did (Adichie 249). Beatrice then proceeded to call Papa Eugene and afterward told Aunt Ifeoma “We are leaving tomorrow. The children and I. Eugene is coming himself to pick us up” (Adichie 249). Beatrice was fearful of what would happen if she did not return Eugene’s call therefore she ignored Aunt Ifeoma’s attempt to save her from Eugene’s continuous terrorizing. In “Frantz Fanon” biography Fanon states “Violence is a cleansing force. It frees the native from his inferiority complex and from his despair and inaction it makes him fearless and restores his self-respect” (Fanon 7-8). Therefore Papa Eugene beat Beatrice and Kambili because it made him feel superior and he received the respect that he desired.
In this novel Purple Hibiscus, secrecy is one of the many ostensible themes pursued throughout the pages captured with lines of hidden circumstances. Secrecy fills the atmosphere and breeds throughout the house causing a long term effect of mental destruction. In chapter six Aunty Ifeoma says to Eugene “I was saying that Jaja and Kambili should spend some time with me and the children tomorrow” (Adichie 77). Papa Eugene says, “okay. They can go with you, but you know I do not want my children near anything ungodly” (Adichie 78). Aunty Ifeoma held two secrets from her brother Eugene, after Jaja and Kambili were in her car they were now on a dark ride of stealth. The first crime that was committed was picking up Papa-Nnukwu a heathen according to Papa and then secondly proceeding to Ezi Icheke which is a “ritual of pagan masquerades” (Adichie 85). Secrecy prevails in chapter seven, the persona states “There was a red stain on my bed, wide as an open notebook” (Adichie 100). It was Sunday and Kambili’s menstrual cycle had begun. She was having cramps the persona states “I imagined someone with buckteeth rhythmically biting deep into my stomach” (Adichie 100). Mama gave Kambili some Panadol and told her to eat some corn flakes to hold the medicine down but it was a sin to eat an hour before going to mass according to Papa Eugene. At this moment Papa Eugene was not around so she decided to eat the corn flakes and out of thin air he appears and is highly upset when he sees that a sin is taking place. In chapter eight Aunty Ifeoma convinced Papa to allow Jaja and Kambili to vacation at her house for a week with her, Amaka, Chima, and Obiora. Papa Eugene gave both Jaja and Kambili a schedule to follow for the week but when Aunty Ifeoma found out that her brother had given them a schedule she laughed and mocked the idea. The persona states Aunt Ifeoma says “Eugene gave you a schedule to follow when you’re here? I will keep them for you until you leave” (Adichie 124). So now Kambili and Jaja are infuriated because they are not following the rules created by Papa, furthermore he is unenlightened on what is occurring while they are under Aunt Ifeoma’s care.
In the article “Frantz Fanon on National Culture” Fanon states “he decides to remember what he is. Past happenings of the bygone days of his childhood will be brought up out of the depths of his memory; old legends will be reinterpreted” (Fanon 1). Papa Eugene analyzed his childhood and how his father exposed him to pagan rituals. He did not want his children to know that he was exposed to that because they might think he is weak and contradicting his beliefs. In Chapter 6 the persona states “Papa had talked about ima mmuo to say that the Christians who let their sons do it were confused, that they would end up in hellfire” (Adichie 87). Papa Eugene was talking about his father Papa-Nnukwu that he would go to hell for taking him to ima mmuo but Jaja and Kambili just thought that Papa Eugene had never been. Ostensibly Papa Eugene was holding a secret from his children. In Chapter 10 after Jaja and Kambili returned home Jaja says to Papa “Papa, may I have the key to my room, please. I would like to have it because I would like some privacy” (Adichie 191). Papa Eugene asked do you want to commit a sin against yourself by masturbating? Jaja was disgusted with the fact that his father thought that. Later on Kambili found out that Papa Eugene sinned against himself when he was younger. Papa Eugene says “I never sinned against my own body again. Father asked me to boil water for tea. He poured the water in a bowl and soaked my hands in it. The good father did that for my own good” (Adichie 197). Papa Eugene snapped when Jaja asked for privacy because he knew about his sinful past and was dwelling on it.
Papa Eugene’s need for control has brainwashed his family into thinking similar to his colonial and religious views. In chapter 10 Kambili says “I took my time putting on the shorts but I did not stand in front of the mirror for too long, as Amaka did, because guilt would nibble at me. Vanity was a sin. Jaja and I looked in the mirror just long enough to make sure our buttons were done right” (Adichie 174). Kambili thought that looking in the mirror at her reflection for too long would mean that she were vain therefore committing a sin. But to Amaka, a non conformist, thought for herself and knew that she was looking in the mirror to make sure her appearance was proper. Also in chapter 10 Father Amadi took Kambili to see him coach young boys on soccer and before practice begun he asked Kambili “do you love Jesus? Show me, try to catch me and show me you love Jesus” (Adichie 176). After Kambili’s attempt to catch Father Amadi failed they stopped running and flopped to the ground. Father Amadi states “you have good legs for running. You should practice more” (Adichie 176). The persona states “I looked away. I had never heard anything like that before. It seemed to close, too intimate, to have his eyes on my legs” (Adichie 176). Papa Eugene brainwashed Kambili into thinking that she cannot be complemented on something as innocent as that. In addition to Papa Eugene brainwashing Kambili he pursued the same act with Mama Beatrice. In chapter 13 Jaja and Kambili returned to Aunt Ifeoma’s home so that Kambili could recover after being severely beaten by Papa Eugene after seeking medical attention from doctors. Several days later Mama Beatrice arrived at Aunt Ifeoma’s home after being beaten by Papa Eugene and ending up in the hospital. She asked Kevin to drive her to the park; from there she hired a taxi which drove her to Aunt Ifeoma’s home. Everyone at Aunt Ifeoma’s home saw that Mama Beatrice was beat badly. Aunty Ifeoma said to Mama Beatrice “stay a few days, don’t go back so soon” (Adichie 250). Mama Beatrice refutes Aunt Ifeoma stating “where would I go if I leave Eugene’s house? Do you know how many mothers pushed their daughters at him? Do you know how many asked him to impregnate them, and not to bother paying a bride price? You have come again with your university talk” (Adichie 250-251). Mama Beatrice allowed Papa Eugene to beat her because she feared that he would leave her and no one else would want her.
Papa Eugene is the result of post-colonialism which begins his obsession with his dictatorship role in the household. He uses violence as a way to receive respect and maintain dominance over his family members. Frantz Fanon states “Violence is man re-creating himself.” Also, he succeeds in manipulating Kambili and Beatrice impeding their thinking abilities. Furthermore he forces them to constantly live a life parallel to the image in which he believes they should pursue. Contrary Papa Nnukwu and Aunt Ifeoma failed to be controlled by Papa Eugene because they are not mentally, socially, or intellectually inadequate like Kambili and Beatrice. Papa Eugene is the aftermath of colonialism which has given him an impulse of control and contradictory religious beliefs pursued through the persona’s view. This has taken a negative load on his family forcing fear upon them, impeding their self-thinking abilities, and causing the embracing of secrets. Therefore Papa Eugene will remain a dictator until Kambili or Mama Beatrice make a change to become more intellectually aware that they are in control of their lives. Dale Carnegie states “Do the thing you fear to do and keep on doing it, that is the quickest and surest way ever yet discovered to conquer fear.” Since Kambili and Beatrice fear their right of free speech, if they take back control of their mouths and mental intellect they can conquer their fear, Papa Eugene. Until then Papa Eugene will continue to assume the dictatorship role in having the upper hand.
