Defiance In Adichie's Purple Hibiscus

In the novel Purple Hibiscus, Adichie shows that defiance is what helps people, specifically the children in the story, grow. By showing the contrast between the way that Kambili’s father, Eugene, and Aunty Ifeoma run their homes, Adichie effectively allows the reader to notice how different environments effect those who grow up in them. Through the children, how they react to the world, and how others react to them, Adichie is able to show the importance of freedom with limits.

Aunty Ifeoma is a clear supporter of defiance. There are many times through the novel that she is shown to find speaking up incredibly important. A major time is after Kambili had been staying in Nsukka for a while. After her aunt had taken up for Kambili many times against her cousin Amaka, she finally urges her niece to speak up for herself telling her to “talk back to her” (170). Finally speaking up, it is the start of not only the blossoming relationship with her cousin, but also allows Kambili to begin to work through the anxiety that comes to her when someone speaks to her.

Unlike Kambili’s father Aunty Ifeoma does understand limits are important. Where Eugene is strict to the point of being abusive towards the entire family, she does not allow endless freedom. It is noticed by how well behaved her children are, but when she is

As he’s encouraging the kids to jump higher and push themselves, and noticing they did to show that he was right, she takes notice that is “what Aunty Ifeoma did with [her] cousins.” She wanted them to be the best that they could be, and with her nurturing, they were able to grow. Kambili then goes on to say it was “different for Jaja and [her].” They did not improve on themselves to make their father proud, or because they really believed in themselves but because they “were terrified that [they] couldn’t” (226), and what would happen to them if they did