Purple Hibiscus

Revision lesson 1: 27/12/22

Assessment Objectives
Why is it important to know what the
assessment objectives are?

What do we need to include in an answer

based on the assessment objectives?
Step 1: Revising Plot and Characters
The first step to revising Purple Hibiscus is understanding the plot clearly and the
individual charactersʼ roles within the story.
Summarise each chapter in the novel into 3 concise bullet points.
For example,
Breaking Gods: Palm Sunday
● Kabiliʼs father is praised for his donations to the church but Jaja didnʼt go up to the
altar.
● Papa throws a book at Jaja but it hits Mamaʼs ceramics collection.
● Jaja excuses himself from dinner before prayer and Kambili likens his defiance to a
purple hibiscus.
Your Turn!
See document entitled plot revision in your folder.
The Ending
In the penultimate chapter, everything changes…
1. What does Aunty Ifeoma decide to do?
2. What happens to Papa?
3. What surprising thing does Mama confess to?
In the final chapter, we learn about the family in the present day. Summarise the
following relationships.
1. Kambili and Mama.
2. Kambili and Jaja.
3. Kambili and Amaka/Aunty Ifeoma.
Purple hibiscus and symbolism

•Hibiscus is a flowering shrub in the same family as hollyhocks

and cotton. It grows throughout the world in warm to temperate
sub-tropical regions. The whole of Nigeria lies between the
Tropic of Cancer and the Equator, which makes it an entirely
tropical country. Hibiscus are common there.

•The plant has large, showy flowers that are usually red,
although some varieties come in white, pink, yellow and
reddish orange. A purple Hibiscus is unusual and is in fact a
new strain developed by botanists (people who study plants).
Step 2: The Plot and the Characters
Once you have revised the plot, it is important to understand the characters roles within
this.
It is time to create character profiles.
1. List all of the key characters that are central to the text.
2. Using our plot summary, write down 3-4 of the most important events for each
character.
3. Find key quotes
4. Link to context.
5. Answer the questions.
Character Focus: Kambili
Independent
and happy 1. Draw a line on the graph that
represents Kambiliʼs
journey/change throughout the
course of the novel.
2. For each step in her journey,
annotate a key plot point onto the
line and explain how that event is
influential in terms of her
character development.
3. For each of these events, find a
quote from the novel to support
this.
Dependent and
naive
What do these terms mean?
Socio-political Corruption

Social hierarchy

Tyranny
Patriarchy
Microcosm
Step 3: Recapping Context
Post-colonial fiction

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's fiction, including Purple Hibiscus, is classified as postcolonial literature. The term
postcolonial literature generally applies to literature produced in certain nations that once were colonies ruled by
European countries, such as Britain and Spain. Postcolonial literature often explores the complex issues of
identity and culture through the eyes of characters who exist at the soft boundaries of colonial and indigenous
culture. Characters often struggle to find the right balance between these disparate elements as they forge their
own identities. Nigeria was a British colony from 1914 to 1960. The means and effects of the colonial project, the
anti-colonial reaction, and the blending of cultures in a postcolonial society are all prominent features of Purple
Hibiscus. Adichie was influenced and inspired by an early post-colonial Nigerian text, Things Fall Apart, by Chinua
Achebe (1958). The novel is set in the 1890s and chronicles the life of Okonkwo, the leader of an Igbo community,
and his downfall following the arrival of white missionaries and colonial government into Igbo society. Tired of
reading white menʼs accounts of ʻprimitiveʼ Africa, Achebe sought to convey a fuller understanding of one type of
African culture and give voice to an underrepresented and exploited colonial subject. The opening line of Purple
Hibiscus pays homage to this novel.
Adichie
Adichie was born and raised in Nsukka, Nigeria. Her father was a professor at the
University of Nigeria and her mother was the universityʼs first female registrar. Adichie
studied medicine at the university and then moved to the United States at age 19, where
she received masterʼs degrees. These experiences are echoed in the characters of Aunty
Ifeoma and Amaka. In addition to her fiction, Adichie has written non-fiction including a
talk which was published as a text, We Should All Be Feminists, in which Adichie argues
that people do a great disservice to both men and women by teaching them to adhere
to strict gender roles. Adichie discusses the injustice of societal expectations for women,
both in African culture and in the world at large. She suggests that in raising children,
we focus more on their innate abilities and less on their gender characteristics: “What if
we focus on interest instead of gender?”. Again, these issues are explored through the
experiences of the female characters in Purple Hibiscus.
Igbo culture

The Igbo people are one of the main ethnic groups in Nigeria. Before colonization they lived in small
communities, each with its own leadership, though the pressures of colonization and the Biafran Civil War served
as unifying forces. Traditionally, villages were made up of compounds, which in turn were made up of several
separate households. Each village was typically populated by one umunna, or patrilineal group—family
relationships through the male line. The wealthy men of the village formed a council that oversaw governance of
the village. Traditional Igbo religion involves worship of a variety of deities, spirits, and ancestors that can
influence human affairs and provide protection. Above the other deities is a creator god, Chukwu, with a number
of lesser deities below Chukwu in rank, such as an earth goddess, Ala, and the water god Idemili. Shrines honor
various deities and spirits, and many contain small wooden figures representing these beings. A personal god or
guardian spirit, called chi, is given to a person by Chukwu and guides that individual's destiny. Adichie presents
these beliefs through the character of Papa-Nnukwu. As a result of colonisation, many Igbo converted to
Christianity, as Christian missionaries set up schools teaching Christian beliefs and customs. There was initial
conflict between Christian beliefs and traditional Igbo beliefs. However, over time many Igbo began to practice a
combination of Christian and traditional Igbo faiths. Adichie explores this through the contrast between Papaʼs
very strict Catholicisim, Papa-Nnukwuʼs traditional beliefs, and Aunty Ifeomaʼs Catholic faith which also respects
and recognizes Papa-Nnukwuʼs traditional beliefs.
Colonisation

Nigeria is home to a number of different ethnic groups, including the Hausa-Fulani, the
Yoruba, and the Igbo. In the late 19th century, the British arrived, and the long process
of colonising the country by force began, despite ongoing resistance. Under British rule,
European schools teaching Western culture and values spread, as did the use of English
and the practice of Christianity, especially in the south. In order to help conversion,
traditional religions were demonized and stamped out. This led to what is described as
a "colonial mentality" - when a person prefers the culture of the colonising force, to
their own native culture. This is seen in the character of Papa, who rarely speaks Igbo
and constantly seeks the approval of white religious people; Aunty Ifeoma comments on
his colonial mindset.
After independence

Colonisation was fundamentally a violent process, involving military suppression as well as cultural colonization, and this led to continued
violence after independence. The British stayed in power until October 1, 1960, when the country was granted independence. Under the
Nigerian constitution established at that time, the government was led by a prime minister, chosen by election. The constitution also created
a ceremonial head of state position. However, tensions between ethnic groups caused continuing problems, which eventually led to a coup
in January 1966. During the coup, Prime Minister Balewa was murdered, and a military regime was established under Major General Johnson
Aguiyi-Ironsi. A predominantly Igbo region declared itself the independent Republic of Biafra, and civil war soon followed. The conflict,
known as the Biafran Civil War, lasted until January 1970, when the Biafran forces surrendered. Attempts to reconcile the warring groups and
return the country to civilian rule were mostly unsuccessful, and coups and assassinations continued. In November 1993 General Sani
Abacha took power in another coup; he was a brutal ruler whose administration violently suppressed critics. Abacha was eventually arrested
and imprisoned; he died in jail in June 1998 and was replaced by General Abdulsalam Abubakar. Abubakar was less authoritarian, and his
promise to return the country to civilian rule was more sincere. Political prisoners were freed, and critics of the government were given more
latitude. In 1999 the country was finally returned to civilian rule under president Olusegun Obasanjo. Purple Hibiscus is set in the 1980s or
1990s. Although there is no one-to-one correspondence between the story's characters and events to real people and events, certainly
events from the time inform the novel. In Section 2 a coup takes place, and Papa sadly notes that coups beget coups in a vicious cycle. He
tells his children about the "bloody coups of the sixties, which ended up in civil war." Like many of the coups during these decades, and
particularly reminiscent of Abacha's rise to power, the new government begins with promises of peace and then shows itself to be just as
violent and corrupt as the previous one. The character of Ade Coker, the journalist killed by a package bomb delivered to his home, is likely
based on Dele Giwa (1947–86), cofounder of the Nigerian publication Newswatch, who was killed by a package bomb stamped with the
Nigerian coat of arms and marked with the words "from the Commander-in-Chief." Nwankiti Ogechi, the prodemocracy activist featured in
the novel, is likely based on Ken Saro-Wiwa (1941–95), an activist arrested and executed for treason. In the novel, Amaka also listens to the
music of Fela Kuti: he was a real person, a musician and political activist who rose to fame in the 1970s and was imprisoned by the military
junta for being an outspoken critic. He continued to record and perform throughout the 1980s and 1990s until his death in 1997.
Importance of Context
An English essay is NOT a History essay!!! You must use context to support your
argument and further your ideas.

1. Using the information given and your own notes, make concise, bullet point
notes of the context.
2. Link! - For each bullet point, write a sentence explaining how this links to the
text.