Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie grew up in Nigeria, where she attended
medical school for two years at the University of Nigeria before
coming to the United States. A 2003 O. Henry Prize winner, Adichie
was shortlisted for the 2002 Caine Prize for African Writing. Her
work has been selected by the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association
and the BBC Short Story Awards, and has appeared in various
literary publications, including
Zoetrope and the
Iowa
Review. She now divides her time between the U.S. and
Nigeria.
1. What is the emotional atmosphere in Kambili's home? What
effect does this have on Kambili and Jaja? Why is their father so
strict?
2. When Kambili visits Aunty Ifeoma, she is immediately struck
by how much laughter fills the house. Why is it so surprising to
her to hear people speak, laugh, and argue so freely? How does she
manage to regain her own ability to speak, and, most importantly,
to laugh?
3. When Kambili hears Amaka weeping after her grandfather's
death, Kambili thinks: "She had not learned the art of silent
crying. She had not needed to" [p. 185]. What does this passage
suggest about the differences between Amaka and Kambili? In what
other ways are Aunty Ifeoma's children-Amaka, Obiora, and
Chima-different from Kambili and Jaja?
4. Amaka says, "Uncle Eugene is not a bad man,
really. . . . People have problems, people make mistakes" [p. 251].
Is he in fact a "bad man"? Why does he violently abuse his wife and
children? What good deeds does he perform? How can his generosity
and political integrity coexist with his religious intolerance?
5. In what ways are Aunty Ifeoma and Eugene different from one
another? How does each character approach life? How do they differ
in their religious views? Why is Ifeoma so much happier even though
she is poor and her brother is rich?
6. Eugene boasts that his Kambili and Jaja are "not like those
loud children people are raising these days, with no home training
and no fear of God"; to which Ade Coker replies: "Imagine what the
Standard would be if we were all quiet" [p. 58]. Why is quiet
obedience a questionable virtue in a country where the truth needs
to be spoken? In what ways is the refusal to be quiet
dangerous?
7. What kind of man is Papa-Nnukwu? What are his most appealing
qualities? What do the things he prays for say about his character?
Why has his son disowned him so completely?
8. What are the ironies involved in Eugene loving God the Father
and Jesus the Son, but despising his own father and abusing his own
son?
9. Why does Kambili's mother keep returning to her husband, even
after he beats her so badly that he causes a miscarriage, and even
after he nearly kills Kambili? How does she justify her husband's
behavior? How should she be judged for poisoning her husband?
10. How does Father Amadi bring Kambili to life? Why is her
relationship with him so important to her sense of herself?
11. Jaja questions why Jesus had to be sacrificed, "Why did He
have to murder his own son so we would be saved? Why didn't He just
go ahead and save us?" [p. 289] And yet, Jaja sacrifices himself to
save his mother from prison. Why does he do this? Should this be
understood as a Christian sacrifice or a simple act of compassion
and bravery?
12. After Aunty Ifeoma moves her family to the United States,
Amaka writes, "there has never been a power outage and hot water
runs from a tap, but we don't laugh anymore . . . because we no
longer have the time to laugh, because we don't even see one
another" [p. 301]. What does this passage suggest about the
essential difference between American culture and African
culture?
13. What does the novel as a whole say about the nature of
religion? About the relationship between belief and behavior?
14. What does Purple Hibiscus reveal about life
in Nigeria? How are Nigerians similar to Americans? In what
significant ways are they different? How do Americans regard
Nigerians in the novel?
15. Why does Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie end the novel with an
image of rain clouds? What are the implications of Kambili feeling
that the clouds hung so low she "could reach out and squeeze the
moisture from them"? What is the meaning of the novel's very simple
final sentence: "The new rains will come down soon"?