In the acclaimed novel 'Purple Hibiscus' composed by Nigerian feminist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, the narrative is dominated by themes of silence and systematic abuse. The Achike family unit, consisting of father Eugene, mother Beatrice, daughter Kambili and child Jaja, is constantly overflowing with calm pressure. The family is a wealthy and favored Nigerian family, headed by Eugene, a fertile specialist and faithful convert to Catholicism. Eugene is a caring and liberal father and spouse, however, he has a rough and repulsive side; he regularly throws a tantrum at the slightest hint of religious tact, lashing out with uncontrollable rage and harsh punishments. Beatrice, Kambili and Jaja all endured his wrath. His behavior and attitude force the family into an almost militant obedience towards him. Eugene's fierce, male-centered power stole the voices of other family members, causing a deep established silence instilled in each parent. Her upheavals are violent and frequent, but the family does not transparently address any of these tensions. They ignore it, imagining it isn't happening, and quickly continue their exercises. The silence is peculiar and thick, and Kambili feels “suffocated”. In “Purple Hibiscus”, Eugene plays a powerful manipulator, who assumes the role of colonizer within his own family. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay The monstrous wickedness depicted in Eugene is reflected in an incredibly relaxed state of mind. Ogaga Okuyade clarifies this in his article “Changing Boundaries and Creating Voices: Silence as a Character in Chimamanda Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus”; “When Kambili portrays the issues of domestic violence, she does so with a sense of conventionality and vagueness that can barely be described as Eugene's. house as a residential combat zone. From his account, it seems that beating one's life partner is an ordinary marvel. After an episode of Beatrice being beaten mercilessly by Eugene, the children simply watch as he throws her limp body behind him, spilling blood into the hall and down the stairs, to which Jaja comments, "There's blood on the floor . I'm going to get the brush from the toilet. At that point, the children sit and clean their mother's blood off the household floor, and Kambili imagines that it is essentially painted from an "overturned pot of red watercolor"). They have become desensitized to malice and hostility and remain silent, complacent, numbed. Another example of this thoughtless behavior comes in the form of Eugene destroying possessions that were very dear to Beatrice's heart. “…Dad threw his important missal across the room and broke the figurines.” Adichie suddenly throws a situation at the reader, allowing them to choose what kind of character Papa is and how he reacts to his condition. It can also give the reader a chance to understand what a dynamic character may be like at the beginning and what they may transform into throughout the story. Jaja and Kambili's tortured family life is not easy to deal with. They talk about it through a homemade language called “the dialect of the eyes” (Adichie 305) or through discreet comments that require no elaboration. While talking about their mother's pregnancy, Jaja tells Kambili, "We will protect him," and Kambili thinks inwardly, "I realized Jaja was implying from Papa, but I didn't say anything concerning the safety of the baby. Jaja does not need to expressly name the risk against which he must protect the unborn child; theremeaning of his words is implied. As a result of this abuse and family control, Kambili has proven to be so mentally asleep that she has difficulty trying to talk about the most mundane things. These mysteries weigh most heavily on Kambili herself, whose continued helplessness shows how stunted her mental capacity has been. When she visits her aunt in Nsukka, Kambili often ends up stammering muffled answers to anyone who dares to ask her a question. When Father Amadi mentions the fact that he hasn't seen her smile all day, she turns away and doesn't respond. She reflected: “I looked at my corn. I wanted to say that I was sad that I hadn't smiled or laughed, but the words wouldn't come. Ifeoma, a close relative, intervenes by simply brushing off the matter and saying, “She is modest.” Clearly, Kambili is more than shy; she is petrified, she wants to be able to converse but she continues to fear that her words will get stuck in her throat, an unfortunate insecurity deeply transmitted in her by her dad. Her silence is an image of her fragility and her struggle to discover her inner and outer voice. Despite this mental oppression, children still love their father and their home, with its rigid rules and norms. When they move away from it in the story, they long to return to its broken familiarity. An example of this is when Kambili returns from Nsukka and enters the compound of her house in Enugu. “The walls held the smell of ripening cashews, mangoes and avocados. This disgusted me. Kambili knew that her home was what she missed and what hurt her. Regardless, upon returning from Nsukka, her home suddenly feels stifled and unwelcoming. The poisonous environment of her house is so uncomfortable that it becomes comfortable for Kambili and she misses it when she is away. The dysfunction and abuse brainwash Kambili and make her feel like she needs them to survive. Fortunately, the more time Kambili spends away from home and Dad, the more she sees the danger he poses and begins to appreciate life outside of their family. composed and released under the control of dad. Nsukka begins as a remote place, but then becomes Kambili's home. After both Kambili and the reader explain that Nsukka is a position of comfort, Aunt Ifeoma leaves Nsukka and Nsukka turns into a memory. “…the long grass stands tall like green bolts. The carved lion statue never shines again. With the loss of Aunt Ifeoma, Nsukka is no longer what it used to be. This represents yet another broken home and misguided family unit that Kambili must now heal from. It is no longer a second home, nor a place of comfort. It has become a memory, lost of all fervor and relaxation. Next to Nsukka, Kambili must discover a difference in the area when her family visits Abba every year, the place where they grew up. “Our house has always amazed me, its four-story white glory.” Kambili depicts this house as if it were the house she would like to live in for eternity. She has completely neglected what her real home looks like. The home she cherishes so much has recently been revealed to be another place. This shows that places we once considered home change over time, and even if something is mundane, it has the ability to feel distant in a short period of time. The same can be said of the individuals and characters. An individual may appear a certain way, but then be completely different after a period of change. This method of changing and adapting, and becoming new, affects relatively every character in the story. Kambili, who is.