FAMILY AND SOCIETAL EFFECTS OF RELIGIOUS FANATICISM IN CHIMAMANDA AD1CHE’ S PURPLE HIBISCUS

SUMMARY

Purple Hibiscus is a novel set in a post colonial Nigeria, a country beset by political instability and economic difficulties. The central character is Kambili Achike, a fifteen year old for much of the period covered by the book, a member of a wealthy Igbo family dominated by her devoutly Catholic father, I:ugenc Achike. Eugene is both a religious zealot, and a violent figure in the Achike household, subjecting his wife. Beatrice. Kambili herself and her seventeen year old brother, Jaja to beatings and psychological cruelty. The story is told through Kambili’s eyes and it is essentially about the disintegration of her family unit and the struggle to grow into maturity. The key period is the time Kambili and Jaja spend at the house of their father’s sister. Aunty Ifeoma and her three children. Amaka, Obiora and Chima. Aunty Ifeoma’s household offers a marked contrast to what Kambili and Jaja are used to. Though Catholic, they practice a completely different form of Catholicism making for a happy liberal place that encourages its members to speak their minds. In this nurturing environment, both Kambili and Jaja become more open, more able to voice out their opinions.