Reading Response: Purple Hibiscus

In the novel Purple Hibiscus, Adichie writes about a girl going through life as the daughter of a strong, christian father. At this point in the novel, Kambili has been to Aunty Ifeoma's house and has experienced many different encounters and a whole different lifestyle. I really enjoy how Adichie shows the contrasts between Kambili's life at Papa's house and her life at Aunty's house. This can emphasize how bad Jaja and Kambili's life is at Papa's house; the children deserve a more relaxed life like at Aunty's house.

Also, Adichie makes Kambili like Father Amadi. This is interesting because it can go both ways. On one hand, Kambili likes Father Amadi, and he is very nice to her and about the whole situation; also, everything else he does makes him seem as a good person because he is a priest figure. On the other hand, he should know better than to be involved with someone who is 7 years younger than him. He can sense that Kambili likes him, but he seems to go along with it, when instead, as a priest, he should tell her to stop for her own good. I feel as he should stop and tell her to forget the whole thing because it just isn't right. Even though Kambili can't stop thinking about him, it would be fro her own good. The implementation of this in the novel is a very nice way for readers to ponder the subject and to pick a side.