Degree Name
MA (Master of Arts)
Program
English
Date of Award
12-2010
Committee Chair or Co-Chairs
Phyllis Thompson
Committee Members
Karen L. Cajka, Shawna T. Lichtenwalner
Abstract
Purple Hibiscus, a novel by third-generation Nigerian author Chimamanda Adichie, appears at first glance to be a simple work of adolescent fiction, a bildungsroman in which a pair of siblings navigate the typical challenges of incipient adulthood: social ostracism, an abusive parent, emerging desire. However, the novel's setting-a revolutionary-era Nigeria-is clearly intended to evoke post-Biafra Nigeria, itself the setting of Adichie's other major work, Half of a Yellow Sun. This setting takes Purple Hibiscus beyond the scope of most modern adolescent fiction, creating a complex allegory in which the emergence of self and struggle for identity of the Achike siblings represent Nigeria's own struggle for identity. Adichie achieves this allegory by allowing the father figures of the novel to represent the different political paths Nigeria could have followed in its post-colonial period. The Achike siblings' identities develop through interactions with each of these patriarchs.
Document Type
Thesis - unrestricted
Recommended Citation
Peters, Audrey D., "Fatherhood and Fatherland in Chimamanda Adichie's "Purple Hibiscus"." (2010). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 1769. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1769
Copyright
Copyright by the authors.