Similes In Purple Hibiscus

“But my memories did not start at Nsukka. They started before, when all the hibiscuses in our front yard were a startling red” (Adichie 16). Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie uses the purple hibiscus as a symbol to show the development of the characters and they begin to gain more freedom from their controlling father. The author uses literary techniques to show the internal conflict the characters face within the story and how they learn they can be who they want to be. The memoir Purple Hibiscus show the oppression their father causes and how other people come and help guide their way towards freedom to express themselves. The author uses the purple hibiscus to represent how the main characters Kambili and Jaja, achieve freedom by the use of similes,
It also reveals how the characters aren't use to freedom, because they are used to Papa’s oppression. Kambili’s flashback to when Jaja, Mama and her spoke more with spirits than with their mouth, reveals how Papa has caused them to rebel against his oppression. As time progresses, it occurs to her that Jaja’s defiance was different, and that “[it] seemed to [her] like Aunty Ifeoma’s experimental purple hibiscus: rare, fragrant with undertones of freedom, a different kind of freedom. [...] A freedom to be, to do” (Adichie 16). The comparison between Jaja’s defiance and the purple hibiscus reveals how they achieve freedom (purple hibiscus) , by defying Papa and the oppression he has over the family. The simile between those two reveals how Aunty Ifeoma showed them that their was freedom outside of Papa’s control, unlike Papa who only controlled them. Aunty Ifeoma informed them of an idea that they would never think of ever doing, and that one idea was to defy Papa.While she was talking to Chima, Obiora, and Jaja; she told them that “‘Defiance is like marijuana-it is not a bad thing when it is used right’’(Adichie 144) . Aunty Ifeoma helped them experiment and try new things that Papa wouldn’t allow, and one of those things was to stand up for themselves. As they start standing up to their oppressor, the characters slowly begin to lose Papa’s grip over them
Due to Papa’s control over them, it limits any chances of them getting freedom. Kambili and Jaja talk about the purple hibiscus, and it awakens the feeling of how the characters want to gain freedom but Papa's oppression controls them to the point where what they do is based on what Papa want them to do. As Jaja pulls out the purple hibiscus from the refrigerator to show Kambili, he explains the wonders of the purple hibiscus. As Kambili talks to Jaja, she notices that “Jaja’s eyes shone as he talked about the hibiscuses, as he held them out [...] [and that] He had told Papa about them, yet he quickly put them back into the fridge when we heard Papa coming” (Adichie 197). The conversation between Kambili and Jaja reveals how much he becomes fond of the purple hibiscus, and that he to discover more about it. The use of the motif reveals how the characters are slowly gaining independence, until they finally achieve it. As the story goes on, the purple hibiscus begins to occur frequently throughout the story; and each time it appears, the characters become closer to freedom . After Jaja points out that “‘the purple hibiscus [is] about to bloom’”(Adichie 253), the characters begin to do whatever it takes to gain more freedom. Jaja begin to defy Papa and blocking Papa from controlling him, and Mama ends it all by poisoning Papa. The reappearance of the purple hibiscus shows how the