Cultural Collision In Purple Hibiscus And Things Fall Apart

Cultural collision is the colliding of two or more very distinct cultures. It causes tension between the two groups; exhibited in Purple Hibiscus and Things Fall Apart. Kambili is the main character in Purple Hibiscus, she demonstrates cultural collision between her and her father. The cultural collision is not strictly between her father and her, it is with Papa and his side of the family preventing Kambili to get to know them. Papa does not like his side of the family because Papa-Nnukwu has an Ibo religion while Papa is Christian, which is a sign of cultural collision. In the second novel, Okonkwo is the main character that struggles the most with cultural collision. Okonkwo has cultural collision between the missionaries and the Ibo people.
Okonkwo was very strong and independent at the start of the book. But by the end of the book he was weak and did not want to face the consequences of his actions, his “body was dangling…” (Achebe 207) Okonkwo was known for being strong but he was not strong after the motherland, killing Ikemefuna, and losing his titles and son. Those actions were all from cultural differences and tension between them. The outcome of Okonkwo’s sense of self was weakness, everything he tried not to be, finally showed at the end of the books. But in Purple Hibiscus Kambili did not only grow from the cultural conflict she face but she also had a coming of age story. Kambili began as a naive, hopeful, and weak character at the beginning of the book. But over the course of the book her conflicts with her father caused her sense of identity to change. The last conflict that was presented in the book, that made Kambili realize her true sense of self , was when Papa beat her for the painting. Kambili was finished with the abuse so she lied to the nurse to get away from him. The actions Kambili’s father committed towards her caused her to become strong and fearless. The conflict also put caution in her life and to finally realize the reality of the situation with her father. Kambili is stronger by the end of the book because she is the one forced to hold her family together, “We went about crying, but not sharing, the same new peace, the same home, concrete for the first time.” (Adichie 297) While Kambili and Mama shared those qualities, Mama became weak while Kambili was strong, Kambili was the reason the family was still together. The sense of character’s identity changed over the course of the book due to cultural conflicts