Purple Hibiscus

Abuse can manifest in many different ways. For some, it comes in the form of physical violence. For others, it comes daily in the form of verbal abuse, where a person is degraded and cursed consistently. A third group experiences abuse as a removal of freedom, where the individual is oppressed to the point where he or she is obliged to "obey" the will of the abuser without being allowed to do anything beyond what the abuser wants. This is the case for Kambili and Jaja, two children in Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. The children grow up in Nigeria, under the oppressive and restrictive hand of their father, Eugene, who was a businessman and very wealthy. However, once they come of age and are exposed to an unfamiliar lifestyle, this provides the catalyst they need to fulfill the purpose of the novel, which is to suggest...
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