Purple Hibiscus Sparknotes

“When we reject the single story, when we realize that there is never a single story about anyone, we regain a kind of paradise.” This quotation from the author of Purple Hibiscus, Chimamanda Adichie, explains how only observing one side of a person’s life can lead to stereotyping and not being able to fully understand their actions and motives. In her novel, siblings Kambili and Jaja begin to understand the status of their crumbling country while also attempting to escape from their religious father’s abusive grip. Although their father, Eugene, is seen as a villain, his multiple identities shape the way he sees the world and affects his actions. At home he’s a devout Catholic, almost to a fault, who shows his wife and children love through violent means. In his professional life, he’s a businessman and newspaper writer dealing with Nigeria’s crumbling government. All of these dynamic sides cause him to see the world as corrupt and full of sinful non-believers.
As a faithful Catholic, Eugene made sure to
As a factory owner and writer, he and his editor, Ade Coker, used their newspaper, The Standard, to expose their country’s governments’ damages ideals. Together they wrote “many stories about the cabinet ministers who stashed money in foreign bank accounts, money meant for paying teacher salaries and building roads.” and “ what they needed was a renewed democracy.” The unethical choices of Nigeria’s government officials aided in Eugene’s view on the world and made him think that if the government was making dishonorable choices and weren’t christian, than the rest of the world was just as corrupt.
In short, Eugene Adichie is a multifaceted, unique character with many abstract identities. His faulty, yet active faith and resulting violent familial love, and contempt towards his government all shape and mold his vision of a sinful and corrupt