27th Annual Student Research Conference
Adichie's Purple Hibiscus: Postcolonial Individuals in the Postmodern World
Audrey A. Lane
Dr. Hena Ahmad, Faculty Mentor
In her 2003 novel Purple Hibiscus, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie portrays the coming of age of fifteen year old Igbo girl Kambili Achike. In this paper, I will apply a dual lens of postmodern and postcolonial theories to analyse Kambili's creation of self-identity, specifically in regard to Adiche's representation of voice and communication. Kambili, who begins her journey as an empty reflection of her fathers strict Christian upbringing, finds agency by creating her own mix of traditionalist and British postcolonial views. In this paper I will argue that Kambili's journey echoes the struggle of the Nigerian third generation to which Adiche herself belongs: a postmodern generation attempting to create individual and national identities in postcolonial Nigeria.
Keywords: postcolonial, postmodern, Nigeria
Topic(s):English
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 410-1
Location: VH 1320
Time: 2:30