1

The third chapter Gender and Race Matters: Struggle and Survival,
Violence and Victimization in the Select Novels of Chimamanda Ngozi
Adichie emphasises the sufferings of women and men who undergo trauma
due to various factors in the novels Purple Hibiscus (2003) Half of a
Yellow Sun (2006) and Americanah (2013). The chapter probes into the
internal and external sufferings faced by the male and female characters.

Chapter – III
Gender and Race: Struggle and Survival, Violence and Victimization
Adichie focuses on difficulties and the various internal and external
conflicts encountered by both the genders. She attaches equal importance
and emotions to both female and male characters in her novels and
approaches gender issues from a very novel perspective. She defines
feminism in her famous TED talk “We should all be Feminist” “My own
definition of a feminist is a man or a woman who says, ‘Yes, there’s a
problem with gender as it is today and we must fix it, we must do better.’
(Adichie 14). In spite of being a woman she sympathises with men as they
are vulnerable and compelled to be strong. Both the genders undergo
positive feelings like happiness, love, satisfaction, hope, joy and motivation
and negative feelings like sorrows, traumas, imbalance and are even prone
to commit suicide. She further goes on to emphasise the fact that the
society is responsible for branding men as cowards when they reach out for
help during negative situations.
Gender conflict is an ensemble of many factors like society, culture,
economic crisis, unemployment, matrimony, ethnic restrictions, religious
differences, personal conflict and National disasters like wars or civil wars.
The division of gender and the national patriarchy system practiced in Igbo
has brought about double jeopardy in women. Violence both physical and
phycological is embedded in gender conflict. Adichie’s in her speech ‘We
Should All Be Feminists’ of gender opines “it prescribes how we should be
rather than recognizing how we are” (We Should All Be Feminists).
Gender and conflict are primarily dynamic in nature. To understand
Gender- conflict, it must be analysed as a separate entity. Gender is
determined biologically by the society and each gender is allotted roles
accordingly. Culture plays a key factor in that, it brings about social
division by assigning different roles for men and women in different class,
castes, societies, or countries. In The Second Sex, Simone de Beauvoir
voices out against the arguments that reiterated the fact that women are
inherently inferior to men because of their biological make up. Beauvoir
hence emphasizes the social nature of identity and therefore argues
emphatically that any apparent ‘nature’ of women is culturally based rather
than biologically given.
Nigeria before colonialism remained gender neutral to an extent
which is very evident from Chinua Achebe’s famous novel Things Fall
Apart. The novel elaborates the importance of the female goddess who
plays an important role by restoring Okonkwo’s daughter’s life. Okonkwo
plays a strong male chauvinistic role in the novel and yet bows to the
female goddesses viz. Igbo Ala, Anyanwu, Njoku Ji, Idemmili. One cannot
say that the Igbos are completely gender neutral because in the same novel
Okonkwo who bows to the female oracle beats his wife and even wants to
kill her. Male and female writers differ in their gender outlook even in their
 2

writings. When women Nigerian writers came into vogue a different

perspective of both the genders sufferings of both the gender were
highlighted.
Nigerian women writers like Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Sefi
Atta explicitly bring to light the trauma of both men and women. Even men
face difficulties but most times they chose to remain silent about their
sufferings. Adichie breaks the stereotyping of female and male characters
and gives a new dimension to both genders. She captures the strength,
weaknesses and the dynamic role of both men and women. Apart from
Adichie, other female writers who have depicted the Biafra war in their
novels are Phanuel Egejuru’s The Seed Yams Have Been Eaten, Flora
Nwapa’s Never Again, Rose Adaure Njoku’s Withstand the Storm: War
Memoirs of a Housewife and Buchi Emecheta’s Destination Biafra. “Igbo
women writers have contributed a great deal in addressing the silences, the
unsaid of Nigerian war literature fighting on all fore fronts” (Nnaemeka
28).
Adichie’s prominent novel Purple Hibisucs overtly focuses on the
women who have become voiceless due to Papa Eugene - the patriarch of
the family. It features domestic violence which is brought out through
fifteen-year-old Kambili and her Mother Beatrice who experience harsh
treatment under the patriarch, Papa Eugene. Although the novel supports
the female characters to a certain extent, towards the end of the novel
Adichie has constructed her male characters also as vulnerable therefore
compelling the readers to shift their sympathy from the female to the male.
It is plausible to argue that the author casts her female characters weak
initially who gradually grow stronger.
In Half of a Yellow Sun, women and men undergo equally bitter
experiences and trauma due to war. Women play dual roles in the novel as
they take up the role of a woman as well as a man. The war has made the
women function autonomously in handling their family responsibilities.
Men are juxtaposed along with women, as they are unable to move in life
due to war, unemployment and economic crisis which takes a toll on them.
The author gives an in- depth account of men battling in the war and within
themselves while women act as the head of the family.
The novel Americanah expatiates on the black immigrant women’s
humiliating experience in America. The novel is a story of relationships
and love thus capturing the essence of happiness, understandings,
disappointment, betrayal, hurt, rejection etc. Odenigbo the lover of the
protagonist undergoes a lot of ordeal and humiliation in a foreign society.
His inner conflict, being his inability to contact Ifemelu and its further
implication, sets the tone for the novel.
In Purple Hibiscus, Adichie’s male character Papa Eugene, a
colonial product and an extreme religious fanatic is one of the most striking
characters in the novel. Adichie captures power relations and his indelible
faith in Catholicism and Western culture which destroys many lives in the
novel. Papa Eugene undergoes trauma as he believes staunchly in
Catholicism and forces his family members to participate in the rituals
religiously. His potential suffering comes from him fanatically following
the church rituals rather than its teachings. He carves out strict rules for his
family and expects his family members to carry out his religious beliefs and
practices without question. His religious fanaticism turns him into a
 3

monster. He violently punishes the family when they do not obey his orders
and his own wife remains a voiceless entity in the house. A schedule is
drawn out for his children which should be monotonously followed without
argument. “Delicately framed, the character of Papa is evil and loving”
(Ndula 37), on several occasions Papa Eugene displays bipolar
phenomenon. He executes cruel punishments on his children and later he
sincerely apologizes as if nothing had taken place. His violence leaves the
family both physically and mentally damaged. His gaslighting effect
disturbs the entire happiness of the family.
His tyrannical and dictatorial nature and his over reactions over
trivial things in the house, arises from his internal conflict as he wants to
please God by being flawless in his rituals. Eugene has been holding the
family too rigidly by being a typical patriarchal product that has led to his
own wife poisoning him. Beatrice being oppressed, fights silently by
poisoning him as she is unable to bear the ill-treatment meted out to the
children in the cruellest manner. Mama Beatrice herself undergoes long
term physical and mental abuse in the hands of Eugene. Beatrice is very
submissive, and her reactions remain subdued towards her husband as she
is once again a societal product.
Women are ever ready to give their daughters in marriage to Eugene
as he has a good job and good flow of money. Igbo women give
importance to Papa Eugene because of his money as they know their
daughters won’t die of starvation, even if they must be beaten to death by
the husbands as it is a masculine trait. However, Papa Eugene does not
agree for another marriage and remains loyal to his wife. Beatrice remains
grateful to her husband for remaining monogamous in spite of her health as
she had difficulties in conceiving.
Mama always remembers Umunna urging Eugene to marry another
girl as it is an accepted custom in Igbo. A man of Papa Eugene’s stature
should marry another girl in order to extend his progeny. Even this seems
to be erroneous as it is seen that Beatrice loses her babies twice due to the
physical ill-treatment meted out by her husband. But Papa Eugene has been
magnanimous and never thought about second marriage. Eugene Achike is
loyal to his wife and he does not remarry another woman who would have
undergone the same treatment from him. Beatrice always believes that a
husband crowns a woman’s life and she venerates her husband which
forces her to remain silent.
Her life has been miserable from the day she married Eugene
Achike. His religiosity has always brought in adverse effects in the house.
Mama loses a couple of pregnancies due to his irrational behaviour. When
Beatrice fails initially to accompany Papa to wish the Parish Priest, Eugene
becomes furious and as a result, he beats pregnant mama resulting in a
miscarriage. Kambili recalls the horrifying scene where her mother is being
swung on her father’s shoulder with blood dripping all over the floor. The
children get emotionally affected as they witness their mother constantly
being abused by their father. It has a negative impact on the children who
always live in fear. Jaja declares to Kambili that together they will save the
baby from their father’s ill-treatment. The statement implies the measure of
fear and anxiety that is stored in the children’s heart.
In the beginning of the novel Purple Hibiscus Papa Eugene is angry
with Jaja and flings the Missal at him. But accidently it hits Mama
 4

Beatrice’s figurines smashing them into pieces. Ironically the broken

figurines symbolize Beatrice’s own life smashed into pieces by her
husband. It can even imply Beatrice’s miscarriages where her stomach hits
on the teapoy and she loses her baby. Mama Beatrice patiently tolerates
every beastly act of Eugene as the society demands a woman to be
submissive and loyal to her partner.
Papa Eugene’s foolishness ends up once again with Mama Beatrice
losing her baby for the second time. Soon after her discharge from the
hospital Beatrice goes to Aunty Ifeoma’s house instead of going to her own
house. The fact that she does not want to go to her house indicates her inner
fury, helplessness, and tiredness of the continuous torment from her
husbands. “There was an accident, the baby is gone” (PH 34), this line
indicates the cruellest act of papa killing the baby but she does not allow
herself to give up on her husband and accompanies him back home.
Beatrice is unable to bear the loss of a baby again and is so frustrated that
she breaks out crying. She cries for a very long time and becomes
exhausted. Kambili recalls her mother crying:
She cried for a long time. She cried until my hand, clasped
in hers, felt stiff. She cried until Aunty Ifeoma finished
cooking the rotting meat in a spicy stew. She cried until she
fell asleep, her head against the seat of the chair. Jaja laid
her on a mattress on the living room floor. (PH 249)
Papa has been responsible for two miscarriages but never
acknowledges the fact that he is responsible for the accident. He is a
staunch Catholic yet bears blood on his hands as he has killed his babies
twice. He never acknowledges his mistakes as he is a man and therefore his
actions are justified and go unnoticed and unpunished. In Buchi Emecheta’s
novel, Joys of Motherhood during a quarrel the protagonist Nnaife orders
Nnu Ego not to question his manhood. Similarly, in Purple Hibiscus
women are not supposed to raise their voices against the man of the house
Aunty Ifeoma reminds Beatrice “When a house is on fire, you run
out before the roof collapses on your head” (PH 213). Despite Aunty
Ifeoma’s plea to Beatrice to leave Papa Eugene, Beatrice refutes Aunty
Ifeoma’s idea. She does not heed to Ifeoma’s warnings as she is a
traditional Nigerian woman who believes that a woman’s life revolves
around a man. The responsibility of being a loyal wife is internalized in the
females and is the only reason Mama Beatrice goes back to her husband
after the miscarriage. She uses the excuse that Eugene has been unwell due
to the pressure created by the government and hence she must go back to
him. Mama Beatrice places Eugene on a pedestal as his health is more
important to her than her own. Once again, a woman’s health is not given
attention while a man needs a woman to nurture him when he is sick both
physically and mentally. Mama goes back to her husband like his guardian
angel to protect him.
“Sometimes life begins when marriage ends” (PH 75) says Aunty
Ifeoma. Aunty Ifeoma although educated and suffers from economic
hardship is happier compared to the upper – class Beatrice. Mama Beatrice,
a submissive wife, leads a stressful life and even though she is rich there is
no peace of mind or happiness. She is always enclosed in unhappiness and
domestic abuse. Mama Beatrice rarely speaks while Aunty Ifeoma is full of
enthusiasm and free – spirited. The freedom of Aunty Ifeoma can be sensed
 5

from the fact that she does not have a man dictating to her as she is a
widow. Mama Beatrice represents the sad plight of all the uneducated
women in Nigeria who are solely dependent on men to sustain their lives.
Aunty Ifeoma is the educated, assertive, practical sister of Papa
Eugene who is a widow and the only person who speaks her mind to
Eugene. Aunty Ifeoma undergoes external conflict as she battles out trying
to make both ends meet with a single income. With all the ordeals that she
undergoes, she faces them with courage and strength and on no occasion is
found submissive. As a widow she independently handles her family
problems. Even though she struggles to raise her three children, she handles
life with determination. She gives the required freedom to her children and
corrects them at the most necessary time with love. Kambili watches her
cousins growing up in a pleasant atmosphere with awe. She has never had
the freedom to talk to her parents like her cousins cheerfully and whole
heartedly. Kambili is dumbstruck when she is seated at Aunty Ifeoma’s
dining table where life is fullest to the brim. Her cousins laughing, joking
and sharing ideas and opinions are much appreciated by her and serves as a
feast to her eyes.
Aunty Ifeoma faces insults and yet remains brave and courageous.
She remains calm when one of her neighbours accuses her of killing her
own husband. She also faces ill-treatment in the University as they falsely
accuse her of stealing question papers. Hence, she decides to migrate to
America in search of better opportunities. Aunty Ifeoma undergoes internal
struggle when she applies for an American Visa. She has to make several
visits to the embassy, standing in long queues in the scorching heat unsure
of receiving the visa which makes her tensed and confused. Likewise in
Purple Hibisucs, Amaka explains to Kambili the ill-treatment meted out to
the Nigerians by the American embassy. Amaka says “They insult you and
call you a liar and on top of it, eh, refuse to give you a visa” (PH 263).
Her education has made her independent and free-spirited while
Beatrice echoes the typical Nigerian woman, silent and submissive. It can
be understood that Beatrice’s marriage to Papa Eugene has given her an
economically secured life while Aunty Ifeoma, a widow struggles
financially to run her family. A gentle reminder is projected by the author
that men who earned are virtuous in protecting their family while an
educated woman working is found battling with life as her opportunities
available in world is less because she belongs to the weaker sex.
Kambili, the 15-year-old teenager, daughter of Eugene and Beatrice
keenly observes all the events happening to her and the others. Kambili
notices that the house reverberates in silence as the family seldom spoke. If
anyone spoke it is Papa Eugene who spoke always during breakfast, lunch
and dinner. There is an emptiness that hung on the walls of Papa Eugene’s
house. Loneliness and fear grip her and rule her heart and for most of the
days she just survived life. The family leads a monotonous life as Kambili
realizes this after observing life in Aunty Ifeoma’s house. She is so policed
by her father that she never knew life could be so beautiful until she meets
her cousins at Nsukka.
She suffers internally as her father creates an air of fear and anxiety
in her and also in the house. She bears Papa Eugene’s fury patiently as she
believes in him and adores him for his respectable position that had been
earned from his hard work. She constantly wants to please him by quoting
 6

words from the Bible and getting recognition from him. On the other hand,
she feels sad for her mother who remains voiceless and victimized in the
house and it is pathetic that she fails to understand herself being a victim.
She feels her father is harsh and unfair by illtreating her mother who has
sacrificed all her desires for his sake. Kambili’s internal confusion that
emerges from her silent observation takes a colossal toll on her mental
health. She narrates how her stomach feels funny, her bladder becomes full
and her legs lose strength on contemplating her father’s vehemence.
Her life at Nsukka helps her to analyse herself and thereby creates a
new way of thinking. There is a self – revelation inside Kambili in Aunty
Ifeoma’s place where she learns to smile, talk and even to check on the
varying emotions, in contrast to her own house where she knew nothing
beyond fear. Deep down in her heart she knows that this newness in her life
can be destroyed in seconds by her aggressive father. The saga of
aggressiveness seems to run throughout the narration of the novel. The very
thought of her father makes her undergo turbulence constantly that keeps
killing her peace and she is unable to focus on the present.
The revelation of her own likes and dislikes which comes from self-
analyses is an important turning point in the novel. It is born from
comparing her oppressed life with the temporarily liberated feeling that she
encounters at her aunt’s house. Her budding affection for Father Amadi, her
shyness, her desire to dab on lipstick, her feminine desires blossoms at
Nsukka. She is able to feel her emotions and experience happiness. She
realizes that her life is being smothered by her father who keeps taxing her
with schedules and penalties. Those lost days are made up in Nsukka at her
cousins’ place where she discovers her own self, liberated and happy.
It is normal and natural for a woman to yearn for colourful outfits
and make- up kits but in Kambili’s case even those natural desires of a
woman have been killed by her father. Her father objects to wearing of
pants as he believes that it tempts men therefore Kambili is given
permission only to wear skirts. When Aunty Ifeoma orders her to wear
pants to play football, Kambili remains silent and replies in her small voice
that her father never allows her to wear pants. The denial and betrayal of
killing her rightful desires are felt in her small choking voice as she feels
that her father has snatched away all her freedom. Kambili thoughts run as:
I wanted to talk with them, to laugh with them so much that
I would start to jump up and down in one place the way they
did, but my lips held stubbornly together. I did not want to
stutter, so I started to cough and then ran out and into the
toilet. (PH 141)
Amaka pinpoints to Kambili about her struggle in speaking and
introduces her to her own voice. She is surprised to listen to her own voice
for the first time in her life. She learns to speak more clearly and loudly
during her stay at Nsukka. Even Beatrice’s way of speaking is slow and
low as she also suffers from trauma and fear. Kambili watches her mother
speak slowly “She spoke the way a bird eats, in small amounts.” (PH 20).
Only Eugene’s voice thundered in the house while others are denied of
opportunities to speak. Kambili and Beatrice are scared of Eugene and
never raise their voice even when they are cruelly punished.
She tries to dab on lip stick for the first time at Nsukka and removes
it immediately as the very thought of her father gives her the creeps just
 7

thinking of the consequences. When Father Amadi recognizes the lip stick
in her hand, he appreciates the colour and wonders why she has removed it.
“I took Amaka’s lipstick from the top of the dresser and ran it over my
lips…I wiped it off. My lips looked pale, a dour brown. I ran the lipstick
over my lips again, and my hands shook” (PH 174).
Adichie says in her TED TALKS:
‘We Should All Be Feminists’ speaks “We teach girls’
shame. “Close your legs. Cover yourself.” We make them
feel as though being born female they’re already guilty of
something. And so, girls grow up to be women who cannot
say they have desires. They grow up to be women who
silence themselves. They grow up to be women who cannot
say what they truly think. And they grow up — and this is
the worst thing we do to girls — they grow up to be women
who have turned pretence into an art form.”
Kambili has been trapped for fifteen years by her father’s rigid rules
and schedules. Her freedom is curbed by him as he never allows her to
choose things for herself. Her mind never goes beyond her father and fear
and has never questioned her dependency on her father. She even
remembers her father choosing her confirmation dress that was so
expensive and royal that everybody in the church kept touching her dress.
Her father makes the choice for pride but sadly fails to recognize his
daughter’s desires. Adichie manifests in her book Dear Ijeawele, or a
Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions “Sadly, women have learned to
be ashamed and apologetic about pursuits that are seen as traditionally
female, such as fashion and make-up” (16).
Even Mama Beatrice waits for her husband’s consent in deciding
the curtains for the house. Mama Beatrice changes the curtains once in a
year and she always waits for her husband to choose the colour and the
texture of the curtain. Mama and women in general are mocked for their
indecisiveness which is symbolized through Eugene who decides on the
shades. Decorating houses, dining room, kitchen and curtains are women’s
domain and the choice is left to them but sadly Papa Eugene snatches away
even this little happiness from mama.
Papa Eugene’s punishments are always eccentric and brutal and is
enabled more by rigid faithfulness to his religious rituals that pushes him to
inflict severe punishment on his children. He punishes Kambili heartlessly
by pouring boiling hot water on her legs until the skin peels off. Mama
bandages the wounds neatly although she says nothing to the child about
the incident. Her cries and the pain that she undergoes silently is so
disturbing to her mother who is not allowed to save her child from the
punishment and is unable to articulate the domestic violence to anyone else.
O’Reilly writes Adrien Rich definition of mothering “Women’s mothering,
in other words, is defined and controlled by the larger patriarchal society in
which they live” (O’Reilly 7). Beatrice cries bitterly as she is unable to
defend her own children from her husband. Her bitterness and anger over
this issue ultimately leads to the catastrophic climax of the novel.
“Patriarchy’s foundation is the oppression of women. The cement of this
foundation is the socialization of men to hate women” (Hooks 75).
Obioma Nnaemeka claims that “Extreme pain and suffering push
women victims to the brink of madness” (Emenyonu 19). Towards the end
 8

of the novel her patient endurance with her husband is put to test by him.
Beatrice is forced to emancipate herself and her children from the grip of
her abusive husband by poisoning him. As she watches him pour hot water
on his children’s legs she decides to fight in silence with her autocratic
husband. She begins to add slow poison to his food as she is unable to
picture the future of her children with an abusive father. Her act of killing
him is not a decision taken at the spur of the moment. The idea of slow
poisoning him has been building up inside her due to anger and the
humiliation that she undergoes at his hands. His death has muted mama as
she feels guilty over her actions. She confesses this to her children “I
started putting poison in his tea before I came to Nsukka” (PH 290).
Adichie attaches power to women through Mama Beatrice by breaking the
long traditional Nigerian women’s standards of being submissive as she
gains freedom for herself and her children. Beatrice’s killing of her
husband displays the measure of the inner turmoil that she has suffered for
several years in silence and pain.
Papa’s fanaticism not only destroys his own children and wife but
even his own father’s life. Eugene’s belief in Catholicism forces him to
remain firm and harsh towards his family which makes him a spoil sport.
Once Kambili happens to swallow a pill for her monthly cramps before
leaving to the church, which is noticed by Papa Eugene who turns furious
as she has committed a sin by breaking the rules of the church. The entire
family gets lashed with his belt for his blind belief in Catholicism. He is
unable to understand a woman’s body and the hormonal changes and that
they too need a period of rest and medication if required. He never respects
the body of a woman when he turns angry and boisterous, he beats them
mercilessly.
On another occasion Papa finds Kambili holding a painting of her
grandfather Papa- Nnukwu who is considered a pagan by her father because
he is a traditionalist. Despite his warning she holds the picture for dear life
which infuriates her father. She is stamped on violently by her father with
his shoes and the iron buckle on his shoes hurts her so hard that her ribs
break. The power of a man is exhibited on his naive daughter almost killing
her. Kambili’s image of her father begins to crumble as she always looked
up to him as her hero. When she opens her eyes in the hospital, she watches
her father sitting close to her crying but her thoughts run to Father Amadi.
Eugene fails to exhibit affection which she receives in abundance from
Father Amadi. The fact that she has turned her attention to Father Amadi is
that she has lost faith in Papa Eugene. Eugene inflicts very harsh
punishments on Jaja and Kambili but Jaja begins to retaliate as he enters his
teens while Kambili is unable to defend herself as she is timid by nature.
The siblings are viewed differently as Jaja and Kambili belong to
different genders. Thus, adding more value to Jaja as he holds the rights to
his father’s properties. When it comes to marriage the village women view
Jaja as a potential partner as he becomes the legal heir to his father’s
properties. Therefore, it makes him rich and powerful, while Kambili is
seen in a different light because she is a female and has no hold on property
which makes her dependent on another male, as sadly the right to inherit
property is once again carved out by the society. Papa never punishes his
son because he is a man and is on par with him therefore, he executes his
cruelty on his women. This universal idea of favouring boys, placing them
 9

on the pedestal takes a turn in the novel. As Adichie breaks the

conventional ideas of the Igbos that celebrate the victory of sons and places
more trust on a woman and therefore she chooses Kambili to narrate the
entire novel.
It is very much internalized that woman can’t do without marriage.
A woman is respected when she is married and bears children. This is
further emphasized when Aunty Ifeoma displays the pathetic condition of
women whose educational needs are sponsored by their boyfriends and
therefore women are automatically compelled to be submissive to the men.
And as a fact when women graduate the husbands own the girls and their
degree. The student who visits Aunty Ifeoma to invite her for the wedding
gives up on her education for the sake of her boyfriend as she does not want
her fiancé to think that she must be leaving the house empty. The patriarchy
society has internalized in women that marriage and dependency should be
the sole priority for women is mandatory. “It is often assumed that
patriarchy is endemic in human social life, explicable or even inevitable on
the grounds of human physiology” (Millet 27).
The spirit world explicitly exhibited gender discrimination which
can be seen during the Masquerades. During the Aro festival, Papa Nunkwu
explains that the women spirits or women mmuo were harmless and timid
unlike the male mmuo who are stronger and are feared. Papa Nukwu
explains that women mmuo do not even take part in the bigger festivals as
the mmuo are inferior to the male mmuos. Yet in another incident Jaja
questions on the mmuos infuriates his grandfather. He asks him “How do
they do that, Papa Nnukwu?” annoys Papa Nnukwu who snaps at Jaja for
speaking like a woman” (PH 87). Papa Nnukwu’s statement indirectly puts
down women as he believes that women are empty headed and speak of
trivial things. Even the titles given to people in the village are reserved only
for men.
Papa Nnukwu takes up for his son Eugene who disowned him long
ago which displays outwardly his male chauvinistic ideals. Eugene brands
Nnukwu as a pagan and eschews him from his life. In spite of all the insults
that Papa Nnukwu receives from his son, he is still proud of him. He says
that “if God gave him an option of choosing wealth and a child, he would
choose a child as he believed that his wealth would grow. He takes pride
looking at Eugene’s house “My son owns that house that can fit in every
man in Abba” (PH 83). It is obvious that men are given more importance
in the society from the fact that Papa Eugene is rich and owns two houses, a
factory and also runs a newspaper. On the other hand, Aunty Ifeoma
struggles barely to make both ends meet. Papa does not show much concern
for his sister and never cares for his sister’s family. Ironically Eugene
extends financial help to his church members and stays in the lime light but
fails to help his own sister who struggles financially.
Aunty Ifeoma reminds Papa Nnukwu that although she too is a
missionary school product, she takes care of her father unlike Papa Eugene.
The answer she receives from her father is that “But you are a woman. You
do not count” (PH 83). The power of a man is displayed in the words of
Papa Nnukwu. It is to be noted that it is Aunty Ifeoma who cares for him,
in fact she is the one who takes him to the mmuo festivals and hospitals and
buys him his medicines. His son Eugene Achikie does not even consider his
 10

father as a human being instead views him as a pagan. Eugene’s external

conflict of culture and Catholicism has been muddled up by him.
Denial of rights and hiding their native culture from his children by
Papa Eugene has left the children feel ashamed of themselves especially the
boy. Obiora has already taken part in a Masquerade or ima mmuo two years
ago in his father’s home town says Amaka to Jaja. Jaja feels inferior for not
doing the ima mmuo and Kambili wishes that her brother should have done
it. The women do not feel sorry for not taking part in the ima mmuo but the
boy feels complete disgrace as it is a matter of personal pride.
As Sylvia Plath writes in her poem Daddy “Every woman adores a
Fascist” (Ariel) is very much true in Kambili’s life as she takes pride in her
father who dominates the house but yet looks perfect in her eyes. She
admires and adores him despite the fact that she is tortured and mentally
tormented by him. Still, she admires the way the words come out from his
lips and the way he prays and cares for his church people. It is also visible
that the others seldom speak in the house as only her father voices his
opinions. The male occupies central position while the other gender is
pushed to the periphery. The only tradition that Eugene breaks is that he
remains loyal to his wife and this act of his touches Kambili’s heart.
Kambili’s admiration for her father is not complete as Plath writes
in her poem “The tongue stuck in my jaw, … I could hardly speak” (Ariel).
Even though the poet admires her father the poet is being suppressed by her
father and her heart gripped with fear that she was unable to talk when she
speaks, she stutters. Similarly, Kambili’s tongue is also chained that she is
unable to speak as she felt that words are caught in her throat. She seldom
speaks to her father although she wants to share a lot with him.
Kambili has been so suppressed that she speaks in a low voice due
to her traumatic experience. She is unable to recognize her voice being low
as she never speaks too much to anyone in her house. At Nsukka, Kambili
tries to talk Amaka’s friends but she chokes as she is afraid of conversing
to others. “I wanted to tell the girl that it was all my hair… but the words
would not come” (PH 141). She is unable to communicate even with her
peers or even with her own mother she is unable to express her feelings.
Papa Eugene was born into a poor family but rose to a respectable
position in society because of his hard work and sincerity. The Christian
Missionaries have supported him by giving him education. His loyalty to
them is reflected by attending Mass and giving charity and donating money
for the priest’s house. He always quotes his struggles to Jaja and Kambili to
make them understand the difficulties of life. As a good father sharing his
life story has a positive effect on the children especially Kambili. Though
his ugly punishments are annoying his love for his family is often
showcased. He loves his children so much that he wants them to be perfect
in everything.
From the beginning of the novel Jaja exhibits his defence hence
proves that his ancestor’s blood runs in his veins. Jaja’s revolts resembles
his ancestors who were unwilling to submit to the Britishers. Jaja in his
teens is vibrant and therefore he expects his family to grant him freedom
and space. This denial of space by his father compels him to retaliate. Jaja
is found calm and balanced even while retaliating in the novel.
Jaja’s path to self- discovery takes place when he is with his
cousin’s at Nuskka. His retaliations commence at a very early age where he
 11

begins to disobey his father. His mind is constantly in war which is very
evident when he declares to his sister that they have to protect the baby
brother to be born. This decision clearly puts forth the amount of inner
struggle that he has undergoes which forces him to pass such a comment.
His matured remark on his deformed little finger to his cousins displays the
intensity of the inner conflicts in him that makes him hide the real fact from
the others.
Eugene’s nasty temper and rational behaviour has suppressed
Kambili and her voice is silenced out of fear. She wants to tell her mother
that she is sorry that papa has broken the figurines but words refuse to fall
into place. She therefore simply says “I am sorry your figurines broke,
Mama” (PH 18). Once she says she mumbled at the plate “I mumbled to
my plate, then started to cough as if real sensible words would have come
out of my mouth but for the coughing” (PH 105). Her subjugation has left
her mute while inner self is loaded with curiosity, questions. and
speculations. “…but the silence of the characters in Hibiscus is
overwhelming and so enslaving that is just that -bad and negative”
(Emenyonu 37)
Colonialism has had a negative impact on the Nigerians who have
encountered oppression and domination entrenched during colonialism.
Most of the Nigerians tried to ape the Colonizers which turned their own
people into enemies. Igbo is basically patriarchal in nature which can be
observed in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. The character Okonkwo is
the man of the house who refuses to exhibit his emotions openly and his
disrespect and anger towards his second wife during the peace week, leads
to his self – destruction. Similarly, in Purple Hibiscus during Palm Sunday
Papa Eugene’s anger destroys every one’s life. Both the characters,
Okonkwo and Papa Eugene are alike in exhibiting their domination over
the family especially women as they are the weaker sex.
The hierarchy travels in the Igbo clan where responsibility is passed
down to their sons after the father’s death and women remain insignificant.
This is very obviously seen in Obiora and Jaja who automatically assume
the position of protecting the family. Jaja imitates his cousin who plays the
role of the man of the family. Jaja goes to the prison for his mother’s crime
of killing his father. Men are attributed with the qualities of protecting the
family, the masculine dominance is obvious but it is ironical that it is
Mama who saves the family.
Papa Eugene is harsh in treating his family members only when
they disrespect church rituals. He acts like a monster; the patriarchal
dominance pushes him to brutally punish the family, but he always springs
back to his family during times of difficulty to find consolation in Mama
Beatrice and his children. Men are usually fragile and therefore Papa
Eugene easily breaks when things turn bad. Eugene’s violence is executed
only within the house but with others he is magnanimous and sympathetic.
When Ade Coker is killed, he sets up a trust in Coker’s name and facilitates
income for his family which is a genuine act of kindness displayed towards
the Cokers.
Papa Eugene’s external conflict hits the surface when he loses Ade
Coker, the editor of the Standard Magazine. Kambili describes her father’s
face that changes drastically after Ade’s death. While his inner struggle
crops up when he is unable to digest the fact that his editor has been
 12

murdered, he loses his confidence, strength and becomes feeble and is lost
in thoughts. Through Beatrice, it is made known that after the death of Ade
Coker, Eugene becomes sluggish in his activities.
As Nguyen states, the notion that “men are expected to be strong,
independent, and free, with their main role in the family being to provide
economic support, while the entire burden of housework and childcare is
expected to be borne by women” (20) is internalized inside men all over the
world. Jaja is no different in his view of life but changes when he meets his
cousin Obiora who is more responsible and enthusiastic about life. Like
Kambili his conflicts begin in Nsukka. The sense of responsibility is learnt
by Jaja at Nsukka unlike his home where everything is decided by Papa
Eugene and where he is never given an opportunity to shoulder
responsibilities. Jaja treats his mother with respect unlike his father. He also
accepts her crime and goes to jail instead of his mother thus displaying his
love and care for his mother in the novel. Jaja learns to be manly and at the
same time he learns how not to be like his father. Mama Beatrice
emancipates her children from Papa Eugene.
Kambili undergoes changes during her stay at Nsukka. Father
Amadi has a soft corner for Kambili and he helps her play football and they
even visit churches together. The adolescent conflict surfaces inside
Kambili and she is attracted to Father Amadi as he showers loads of
affection on her. All her life she has watched her father who is strict, rigid
and harsh who does not know how to respect a woman. She is taken up by
Father Amadi who displays kindness and is a gentleman. Father Amadi is
the first man in her life who has shown her kindness and respect which
makes Kambili fall in love with him. Although she is aware that he is a
catholic priest and she can never marry him, she waits with hope for him.
Kambili’s inner conflict about religion changes when she meets
Father Amadi. Her father practices Christianity in a rigid way that has
suffocated her, pushing her into questioning her faith in Christianity, while
Father Amadi practicing the same religion gives her freedom and
happiness. Similar religion but different outlooks have helped Kambili to
gain a full understanding of the religion. She realises that Christianity need
not necessarily be practiced in a rigid form to experience God. Her internal
conflict on men and religion undergoes a transformation in Nsukka
although not completely but to an extent.
When Father Amadi prepares to leave Nsukka, Kambili confesses
her love and promises to wait for his return. Deep down in her heart she
knows that he will not give up his priesthood as he is loyal to his faith. But
her wanting to stay with Father Amadi is simply that she wants the love and
care which she has not received in her own home. Kambili becomes vocal
about her feelings for the first time to Father Amadi as she is genuinely in
love with him. She feels secure when she is with Father Amadi as she is
pampered by him. He takes her to the market to braid her hair where the
woman speaks of their love, as Igbo women believe that only a man who is
deeply in love with a woman would bring her to braid her hair. Her
affection for him grows within herself and blossoms into a beautiful love
yet her conflict rises from reality of him being a catholic priest and she
finds it difficult to accept the truth. Kambili, undergoes external conflict at
the hands of her father. Her father abuses her physically: she is kicked, hit
badly with a belt, her feet burnt with boiling water and even her ribs are
 13

broken for disobeying him on trivial religious lapses. Extreme punishments

are inflicted upon her and her brother Jaja.
Jaja who is also in his teens experiences his father’s wrath. His
punishments are no different form his sister’s yet he manages to escape a
couple of them. Jaja also undergoes the cruel punishment of boiling water
being poured on his feet. His little finger on the left hand has been damaged
forever by his father for omitting two questions in his Catechism exam at
the age of ten. Papa lacks compassion when it comes to disciplining his
children. He leaves them completely shaken up through his physical
violence. The family hardly speaks to each other even though they are
living under the same roof. Their mother Beatrice remains silent when her
children undergo physical abuse from Eugene as she herself remains a
victim of Eugene’s anger. Her passiveness and helplessness situation
spread across the novel. Her external battle with her husband is
immeasurable.
Although, Eugene is rash in his actions, he is a loving father who
has genuine love for his family. He sees that everyone goes for dinner
together and brings his company products to get his family’s opinion. His
external conflict is displayed when his family disobeys him. Jaja asking for
the room keys to spend time alone annoys papa. The picture of Papa
Nunukwu brought into the house by Kambili causes a tornado in the house.
When Beatrice refuses to meet the priest, she erupts Eugene’s anger and
gets punished. Whereas Aunty Ifeoma who is penniless portrays her valour.
As a widow, she battles out with life. Her open confrontation with
Eugene brings out the modern version of a Nigerian woman. When she
takes up for Papa Nunkwu against Papa’s will, she often ends up fighting
with Eugene. Her battle with money, the university people and Papa
Nunukwu is almost exhausting for her. She gets into trouble with the
University that they throw her out of her job. Her determination in moving
to America and in the process, her visit to the American consulate drains
her out completely.
The novel Half of a Yellow Sun set against the Nigerian Civil War
highlights the different struggles and conflicts endured by the women
characters during the Civil War. War celebrates male warriors while
females who battle war in a different perspective remained invisible in
Literature. The novel throws light on the sufferings experienced by both the
female and male genders especially the middle class. Both Olanna and
Kainene assume the character of modern-day women by discarding the
typical traditional Nigerian Women. Olanna is very practical and
manoeuvres through the war crisis skilfully while Kainene is recognized by
her father as the male daughter in their family. “Kainene is not just like a
son. She is like two’, her father said” (HYS 32).
Chief Ozobia, tries to exploit his children by using their bodies to
gain business connections and expansions. He cunningly provides
education in the best schools and European colleges to introduce them into
the field of business. Ozobia himself is disloyal to his wife and has an
extra- marital affair which is put to an end by Olanna. Her mother’s inner
torment is erased with Olanna’s help at least till the end of the novel. The
affair may or may not continue after the end of the novel but men always
want to prove their dominance over the weaker sex. Olanna and Kainene
are different and never care for anyone’s opinion. They make their own
 14

decisions and Olanna boldly rejects her father’s idea of hitching her with
another old rich Chief just to gain access to his wealth. Kainene, on the
other hand, takes up her father’s business like a man and acts
independently.
The conflict between the two main characters Olanna and Kainene
is obvious from the very beginning of the novel. Their relationship which is
strained in the beginning of the novel gradually becomes smoother towards
the end of the novel. The conflict begins between them as Olanna is
beautiful and Kainene is not although they are twins. This has always made
Kainene feel inferior and betrayed. The feeling of betrayal is made worse
when Kaniene discovers that Olanna has made love to her boyfriend
Richard. Their relationship remains bitter until the war sets in. The sisters
find solace in each other towards the end of the novel.
The Biafra War turns everybody’s lives miserable and horrifying.
Olanna escapes her death during the religious riots as she is not dressed
covering herself from head to toe. The rioters believe that women should
not expose their body, the idea emerged in an attempt to decolonize the
south easterners. They kill women who are not dressed properly or wear
Western clothes. The conflict here arises between tradition and modernity
which is very evident in the novel. A counter coup takes place with the
Igbo officers in Nigeria being killed. The northern part of the country
chants, “the Igbo must go. The infidels must go. Araba, araba!” (HYS 147).
According to George Uzoma Ukagba outlines the relation between race and
gender:
Race and gender are similar in terms of the imposition of
historical and cultural meanings on human biology. The
social meaning and roles attached to gender are similar to
race in that they are seen as part of the natural order which
includes the idea of men as ‘physically strong’, ‘bigger’ and
operates in the public sphere’ etc. In accord with the latter,
women are socially defined as ‘weak’, ‘small’, with the
‘potential of giving birth’, confined to “domestic matters”
and excluded from public sphere etc. (Ukagba 340)
But warfare involves many activities besides the exact contact
between armed men. Confessions of women from countries that have
known civil disturbances help to illustrate the ordeal of the female gender
and the challenges they grapple with during episodes of violence and civil
strife. (Virgili and Branche ch.12). Olanna is constantly found battling with
her life trying to balance her family, war, health and emotional wellbeing.
Her relationship conflict arises when she loses her trust with her lover
Odenigbo, as he has slept with the maid impregnating her. Though
Odenigbo has been tricked by his mother into involving himself with the
maid the incident shatters Olanna. Odenigbo’s mother’s inner conflict is
visible from her actions as she is unable to accept Olanna as her daughter-
in- law because she feels that she is too modern and too learned. Olanna
forgives her revolutionary lover yet the trust she had placed on him reduces
a degree.
In the refugee camp Olanna suspects her husband’s uncanny
behaviour that she becomes doubtful about her husband having an affair
with the Asaba woman, Alice. Although, Odenigbo claims that there has
been nothing between them Olanna is not convinced. She loses the little
 15

respect that she has for Odenigbo for the second time. Olanna’s mental
strength fluctuates as she finds her relationship with her husband keeps
turning colder from day to day. Despite all the misgivings she sticks to him
with a doubtful eye and a cold heart.
Olanna has been very faithful in her relationship with Odenigbo
until the first affair which pushes her to make love with her sister’s fiancé
Richard. The act is merely an act of vengeance, just to avenge her
boyfriend’s unfaithfulness to her. Her relationship with Richard, though
superficial, angers Kainene who is not willing to forgive her almost till the
end of the novel. Adichie creates a jigsaw puzzle in order to break the
conventional portrayal of women. She gives power to women who take
decision and accord punishments to their men. She places women on the
dominating side and men on the submissive side.
When she hears the news of Amala’s pregnancy she is annoyed and
irritated. But Olanna adopts Amla’s child as she is unable to conceive after
putting in a lot of effort. Olanna feels that she will be looked down by the
society due to her barrenness. Her reaction to Amala’s pregnancy disturbs
her so emotionally that she squeezes her stomach brutally for not becoming
pregnant. Subconsciously there is her inner conflict of being useless and
barren which makes herself feel inferior. When Amala is gifted with a girl
baby, she rejects the baby because it is a ‘girl’ and even refuses to look at
the baby. Olanna determinedly brings the baby home and raises the child as
her own. But deep inside her is the feeling of not giving birth to her own
child.
Olanna and Odenigbo’s relationship remain intact even though they
undergo a few ups and downs but gradually loses essence with time. The
war and its offshoots namely starvation, displacement and poverty greatly
have adverse impact on Olanna and Odenigbo’s sexual life. The happy sex
in the beginning of the novel slowly occupied with fear and anxiety, thus
leading to a collapse in their peaceful partnership.
The war has made women independent as they hold the sole
responsibility of caring for the family. The war unravels the potentiality of
the hidden talent of women and qualities of boldness, strength, and
courageousness. This venture by the women folk breaks the traditional
ideas created by the patriarchal society that have suppressed them for
several years. Olanna performs the role of a male in the family making
major decisions, changing currencies in the bank and going in search of
petrol. Similarly, in the Relief Centres she learns the art of tricking the
soldiers and escaping the floggings. Olanna is excellent in socializing,
rendering help to others and makes everyone feel at home with her
humbleness. She adapts herself easily to the war crisis, she even learns the
art of making chalk and soap. She is productive and is passionate about
teaching and hence she teaches solidarity helping the children to sing
Biafran patriotic songs to children in the backyard
In the case of Biafra, although their role was predominantly
non- combative (reflecting, no doubt, the gender politics of
the time), the burden of suffering and responsibilities not
less. This suffering is a strong thematic link in women’s war
narratives, whether of the immediate post-war period or
those which have emerged from what is now called the
 16

Third Generation of Nigerian writers. (Falola and Ezekwem

423)
Writer Buchi Emecheta breaks the stereotype female roles and focus
on women at the war front. Similarly, Adichie breaks the conventional
image of women characters in her novels and instead attributes masculine
qualities to them. The war leads people to flee from place to place which
makes women exhausted from endless running and hiding but they do not
lose courage. They tirelessly fight with spirit even when there is no
permanent place to reside, battling economically and starving for most of
the time. Most of the men are at the war front and hence the women have to
fend for themselves and the families trying to make both ends meet.
The majority of Adichie’s women characters illustrate the struggles
and trials faced by them in protecting their families. Life has to move
forward with or without the man in the house. Adanna, a single mother tries
to save her child from Kwashiorkor by killing and cooking her own pet
dog. Women fight life everyday with valour as their major goal is ‘survive’
for them and their families. Mama Oji takes care of her family as her
husband loses a leg in the war and stays jobless in the camp. The
performance of the women during crises displays their resilient nature.
Women, financially disadvantaged as the men are fighting at the front but
do not lose courage. Unable to keep the wolf from the door they go from
house to house asking for jobs with food as wages.
The price of salt doubles every week and a small piece of chicken is
heavily priced and rice is sold in meagre amount as the rice bags are
expensive. There is so much of food scarcity that the relief centres fail to
function for most of the days. Women return home with heavy hearts and
empty hands. Once a woman shoves her baby on to a soldier in the relief
centre demanding him to take care of it due to frustration and
disappointment that the relief centres are locked. The men in the war fight
with their weapons while the women in the camps have to combat various
types of struggles. Adichie highlights the external conflicts like how hunger
and poverty affect the women due to war crisis. Ugwu recalls the rice he ate
in Nsukka which is slender compared to the rice given in the relief centre
that is too puffy. Olanna and Odenigbo start using a single tea bag for
breakfast. No more pepper soup is served to the visitors. Kainene even
witnesses a group of children roasting a rat to eat.
Olanna hails from an upper - class family and moves into a middle-
class family by marriage. Though she knows the difficulties that she would
be facing during the war she chooses to stick to her middle-class life.
Olanna’s parents with their riches have bribed people to fly to London and
want to take Olanna and Kainene along with them. As a mother she wants
to save her children which is a natural instinct. Olanna’s mother insists on
Olanna leaving Nigeria in order to escape war but her appeal goes in vain.
Despite all her efforts both her daughters refuse to move out of Nigeria.
Although brought up in an elite family, Olanna does not mind running to
the Relief Centres to get egg yolk for baby. She learns the nuances of
pushing and tugging in the line and Kainene takes part in saving the
Biafrans at the camp.
Olanna is emotionally disturbed as the war has a negative impact on
Odenigbo who distances himself from his society and his own family. Men
are fragile who become depressed and frustrated due to the war. Olanna
 17

shoulders all the household responsibilities like a man. When Olanna

worries about baby’s cough, Odenigbo does not show interest in baby and
is found more preoccupied with the war, news and radio. Odenigbo loses
interest in life, sex, and family. Sorrow hangs over Olanna and is unable to
retrieve her depressed husband who is losing himself in the process of the
war. Despite all these challenges she holds the family together even during
the grimmest situation. Adichie, through the character Olanna, represents
the entire conflict both external and internal faced by Nigerian women
during the course of the civil war.
Odenigbo becomes too preoccupied as a result of the prolonged
war. Olanna’s statement of having little cash falls on deaf years as he is
unable to synchronize with reality. His mind is blocked with tension and
the fear of losing the war. Though not on the war front, the impact of the
war leaves men worried and low even while sitting at home. His mother’s
death adds more to his disillusionment and he begins to drift away from
Olanna. Olanna is annoyed by every irresponsible answer that she receives
from her husband regarding family affairs. Olanna is able to sense her
husband’s psyche being affected by the war which forces him to pull out
from all his responsibilities.
Adichie has depicted the conflict related to sexual violence in her
novels. Women become prostitutes to save their family, a mere surviving
tool. Carol Ijeoma Njoku says “Those who went into prostitution did so to
feed themselves and their families” (Emenyonu 157). Eberichi is Ugwu’s
girl- friend who undergoes exploitation at the hands of a General. As the
General has helped Eberichi’s family, she is sent to sleep with the him as a
token of gratitude. The officer hardheartedly consumes her and mercilessly
demands her to lay on top of him. Eberichi spends the rest of the night
without moving watching the officer breaths. Eberichi does not regret for
what has happened and instead whenever the General wants to meet her,
Eberichi runs with enthusiasm to meet him. Eberichi, deep down in her
heart, loves Ugwu and even confesses this to him but she has to be loyal to
the General as he has saved them from poverty. Eberichi silently bears the
humiliation because as a woman she is unable to mention her struggles to
anyone.
Sexual exploitation can be seen when Odenigbo who is heavily
drunk is tricked into having an affair with Amala. Mama exploits Amala’s
economic condition and utilises her for her selfish motive. As a woman
Olanna is devasted by the fact that Odenigbo has slept with another woman.
Amala gives birth to a girl baby and she refuses to touch the baby due to
the baby’s gender. Amala prefers a boy baby although the reason might be
that she does not want to see her daughter suffering in the world or like a
traditional Igbo who believes that only a male child can bring glory to the
house. Olanna takes out her anger on Odenigbo by sleeping with Kainene’s
boyfriend Richard as she wants to punish her husband. Adichie proves that
her female characters are strong and break the bonds of stereotype women.
Women undergo sexual violence from their enemies and their own
troops during the war. Ugwu, the houseboy, who hails from Opi and lives
and works at Odenigbo’s house is treated well and is given space to voice
out his opinion. For the most part of the novel, Ugwu is found battling with
his own adolescent feelings and lusting after girls. He lustfully admires
Olanna and wishes he could always stay with her. When Olanna leaves the
 18

house, he keeps imaging the way Olanna laughs, speaks and commands
him. Whenever he looks at Olanna his urge for sex arouses. Ugwu
fanaticises having sex with Nnesinachi, a girl from his village. He satisfies
his sexual desire with Chinyere. Apart from sex they never conversed or
shared thoughts. He loves to overhear the sounds and moans when
Odenigbo and Olanna make love in the bedroom. He always fanaticises
touching Eberichi’s neck until one day he openly asks her to show her
private parts to him. Ugwu searches for consolation in form of bodily
pleasure and his age plays a significant role. The war also leaves him
traumatized and he is worried that he might be killed in action and hence
craves for sex.
War situations generate conditions for rape and mental and physical
abuses on women in addition to obvious trauma thereafter. Some of these
traumas are evident in the recorded history of the armed violence in
Nigeria. Most of the Nigerian war novels involve rape during war times.
The character Rachel in Ejeuru’s novel and Debbie in Emecheta’s novel
represent the Nigerian Civil war atrocities that left women striped off their
dignity violently and brutally. Sexual violence is very common when a war
occurs in a particular place and Nigeria faces a lot of sexual violence.
Ugwu’s sibling Anulika is unable to converse much with her brother after
his return from the war. He later on learns from Nnesinachi that Anulika
was gang raped by five vandals who beat her almost to death and forced
themselves on her. Her eye is left permanently damaged due to the heavy
beatings that she received during the rape.
Ugwu himself is forced to join the army where men exhibit their
manliness during the opportune time and thus as a token of pride, he rapes
an Igbo bar girl who glances at him with complete disgust. Similar to
Debbie in Buchi Emecheta’s Destination Biafra who undergoes the same
treatment as the bar girl in Half of a Yellow Sun who is brutally raped by
the Nigerian and Biafran Soldiers. This act of shame is purely conducted to
exhibit the men’s superior power over women and how they considered
women as the weaker sex deep down in their hearts.
The war makes men demonstrate their power over women and girl
children. Men from both the armies and the vandals violently rape women
folk hard-heartedly.
Countering Sexual Violence in Conflict by Jamille Bigio and
Rachel Vogelstein indicates that Sexual violence in conflict zones can be
employed as a deliberate tactic to terrorize civilians. The victims are either
left traumatized, dead, or killed by the soldiers.
The most shameful act is the one executed by a catholic priest,
Father Marcel who sexually harasses young children at the settlement who
come knocking at his door for food. Urenwa, a refugee girl, is impregnated
by Father Marcel taking advantage of the situation. He sexually abuses
them and then gives food as the children are keen on saving themselves
from starvation. Similar to Achebe’s protagonist Gladys in Girls at War
joins a group of prostitutes and is ready to sleep with men for the sake of
stock fish. Father Marcel a prevaricator, claims himself to be a priest just to
avoid joining the war. To satisfy his erotic desires, he watches Olanna
having a bath. Father Marcels disgusting behaviour can never be forgiven.
Arize is Olanna’s favourite cousin who is economically below
poverty but lives happily with her parents. Olanna bonds better with
 19

Arize’s than with Kainene. When Arize becomes pregnant, Olanna

promises to take her to Nsukka in order to give her the best facilities to
welcome the baby. Unfortunately, before her dreams could come true,
Arize is killed by a group of religious fanatics who rape her, tear her belly
and leave her to die a miserable death. This leaves a void inside Olanna.
She enters a state of shock unable to digest the fact that her favourite cousin
is murdered in the cruellest way. During the riot’s men killed men while
women suffer doubly -they are tortured, raped and then killed. Olanna
undergoes severe mental trauma after witnessing the ghastly killings. Her
physical health fails her as her legs are temporarily paralyzed. She has
difficulty in sleeping and walking and keeps ruminating the ghastly killing
and her health keeps deteriorating.
Apart from the inner conflicts caused by the family and
relationships the civil war causes agony and internal struggle for Olanna.
The fear caused by the war weighs her mind especially her encounter with
the severed head in the calabash similar to Arize’s death which affects her
health badly. Her inner conflict intensifies as she loses her hope of her baby
surviving the war. She becomes perturbed as she wonders how she will
inform Amala and her relations because she is aware that she is not the
biological mother. She is in constant conflict of owning the baby and
simultaneously the fact that she is not the real mother of the baby keeps
nagging her mind throughout the novel.
Kainene is the most independent woman in the novel who breaks
the societal stigma surrounding conventional Nigerian women. The
Nigerian tradition believes that women should be polite and submissive.
Kainene is different as she shuns the idea of marriage and being tied down
to a particular person. She breaks the traditional Igbo rules like woman
must be married to a man especially to a wealthy man and should be
confined to four walls and not allowed to partake in public ceremonies.
Kainene breaks every single conventional Igbo rule by taking up the role of
a man. She takes care of her father’s business, meets big men in society and
discusses business and war. She makes her own decision even when it
comes to her marriage.
Kainene comes across Richard, a white journalist and decides
whether Richard will suit her or not. Kainene functions autonomously in
handling her father’s business and also emerges successful in it thus
breaking the traditional patriarchal structure practiced by the society. The
novel has elevated female characters equal to the male characters where
one can notice how Richard, Odenigbo and Ugwu are being taken care of
by Kainene and Olanna. The entire patriarchal system crumbles with
Kainene playing the role of a man by making important decisions and
carving a niche for herself in the business world. She makes the decision of
staying back in Nigeria supporting and serving Biafra. Born in an elite
family does not stop her from teaching children. She goes to teach at the
Akwakuma Primary School, which directly supports the Biafran cause.
Kainene always has low esteem of her complexion as she is not
beautiful as her sister Olanna that makes her envious. This inferiority
complex becomes her inner conflict but does not hinder her external self.
She chooses Richard and initiates sex like a man thus time and again
proving herself to be equal to a man. She believes in gender equality and
even lives up to her ideology. Olanna always carries a photo of Kainene
 20

smoking. Whenever Olanna shows the photo to the other women in the
camp their jaws drop. They are so puzzled as they have never seen a
woman smoking.
Kainene visits the refugee camp regularly trying to help and save
lives of men, women and children dying in starvation. She takes care of a
refugee camp independently and runs it confidently. She is intelligent,
brave, educated and above all gives a totally new dimension to Nigerian
Women. She distributes relief materials and writes letters and gets protein
tablets supplies for children as a supplement for food. Her external conflict
arises when she is unable to satisfy the people in the refugee camp. She
renders maximum help and even risks her life by crossing the enemy lines.
Sadly, she never comes back till the end of the novel although Olanna and
Richard wait with hope. She even launches a “Plant Our own Food
Movement” (Adichie, HYS 398), which reveals her independent character.
She does not want to depend on anyone. She plans to cross the enemy
border to do trading for the sake of her people. She risks her own life even
though she knows her life is in danger.
Richard, a white journalist is a serene character etched by the
author. He falls in love with Kainene and undergoes inner turmoil from not
being unable to comprehend Kainene’s mind of whether she is in love with
him or not. Her actions and speech often confuse him and make him
restless. His affair with Olanna causes a rift in this relationship with
Kainene. He suffers from his own guilt and is in conflict with himself
whenever he has to meet Olanna. For most of the time he avoids Olanna
and during inevitable situations he turns his head away from her. His good
friendship with Odenigbo changes after this incident which makes them
feel uneasy when they have to face each other. Kainene is more of
androgynous and therefore dominates Richard and he remains on passive
mode in making advances towards Kainene.
The author brings out the difference between a man having an affair
with woman and vice- versa. When Olanna becomes aware of Odenigbo’s
relationship with Amala and Alice, she is tormented by her inner sufferings
and she bottles it up inside her. She then plans an ambush and penalizes
Odenigbo by sleeping with Richard. When Olanna confesses her guilt of
having slept with Richard, Odenigbo loses his temper, and picks up a
quarrel with Richard. Olanna has every opportunity to hush up everything
without Odenigbo’s knowledge but she boldly confesses the truth to him.
She seems both happy and unhappy about her unabashed action. She is
happy that she has hurt her husband and at the same time regrets for being
so petite and disloyal to her husband. In contrast Odenigbo is never vocal
about his affairs and lies to Olanna who learns of it by herself. Olanna tries
to teach a lesson to Odenigbo that both sexes have power to commit
mistakes.
Most of the men are disoriented and remain paralyzed due to the
war while women draw strength for homosocial relationships. Mama Oji
and Mrs. Moukelu gain Olanna’s friendship and is a good companion to
Olanna. She teaches her to make soap and helps her buy medicines, she
serves like a mentor to Olanna. Alice, the Asaba woman, who refuses to
speak to anyone, reveals her past to her. Olanna develops a soft corner for
Alice and shares a little of whatever she receives in the parcel. Adanna is
disliked by most of them in the camp yet they do not exhibit it and instead
 21

maintain a rapport with her. The war thus brings women from different
places and background close to each other and helps them to share their
inner struggles and burdens and also console each other.
The novel Americanah propels around Ifemelu and Obinze whose
relationship undergoes bitter transitions and also suffer from identity crisis
that leads them to suffer internally and externally. “Everybody is
conflicted, identity, this identity that” (Am 217). The novel is built on
humiliation, challenges and struggles encountered as immigrants in other
countries. They are mocked at for their colour and complexion even in the
21st century. The scar created by racism cannot be erased from history
therefore when revisiting history, one is able to understand the viciousness
involved in racism. Racism is an issue that occupies a major place in
Literature, Politics, News and History and can destroy a person’s life and
nullify happiness and self- image. In Orientalism, Edward Said shares his
opinion on the ‘other’ is inevitable in a European colonized area. There is
always ‘us’ and ‘them’ where ‘them’ is considered abnormal and portrayed
negatively. The novel Americanah echoes the sufferings that coexisted
along with racism: Sexual harassment, betrayal, unhappiness, domestic
abuse etc.
In Americanah Ifemelu’s inner struggle emerges when she finds
herself unable to follow the American culture and yearns for Nigeria. This
can be witnessed when one delves into her three relationships - Obinze,
Curt and Blaine. Her true lover Obinze and her relationship with him is so
magical although they do not share anything much in common when it
comes to interests and hobbies. Their magnetic mutual love is envied by
everyone. When she goes to America, she encounters a transactional sex
with a tennis coach as she needs money to pay her bills. Out of guilt,
Ifemelu goes into a period of silence cutting off all connections with
Obinze as she feels that she has betrayed him. She withdraws from the
society and her boyfriend as she goes into a temporary depression. Her
traumatic encounter with the coach ultimately pushes her into silence and
ends her relationship with Obinze. Her personal conflict rises when she is
unable to fix her silence in her relationship with him. Obinze does not give
up on Ifemelu easily as he keeps reaching out to her with e - mails and
phone calls which is not reciprocated.
Ifemelu works as a baby- sitter in Kimberly’s house where she first
meets Curt. Curt is Kimberly’s cousin, a White Caucasian software
developer in America who falls in love with her. He is both wealthy and
handsome and hails from Baltimore who adores Ifemelu immensely.
Initially, Ifemelu hesitates to accept his love as he is a white but later agrees
to his proposal. Curt is very caring and concerned about Ifemelu and
provides the best for her. He respects her background and appreciates her
colour and hairstyle.
When Ifemelu tries to straighten her hair with relaxers which leaves
her scalp damaged, Curt calms her down and helps her to recoup her hair
back to its original self. Her relationship with Curt ends as she is unable to
fill the void left by Obinze. She makes love with a man named Rob who
lives in her apartment. When she happens to run into him in the lift, she
satisfies her carnal pleasure. Her self-confession about the incident to Curt
leaves him hurt and broken, and draws an end to their relationship. Adichie
draws her female characters with dauntlessness as Ifemelu and Olanna
 22

disclose their mistakes of their fiancés. Ifemelu ruins the luxurious life that
she gains in America through Curt. After the breakup she desperately wants
to meet Curt but he rejects her for her betrayal. Her dilemma becomes
intense when she realizes that she is not satisfied with Curt and that has led
her to have sex with a stranger. Her thoughts go back to Obinze who is the
only person who could make her feel whole and regrets her decision for
having avoided him.
Her third relationship with Blaine an African- American professor
and an activist remains strained. His constant nagging and his involvement
in protests make Ifemelu detest him. He mocks her and her blog which
annoys her and feels suffocated in her relationship with him. Her thoughts
run back to Obinze as he is the only one who can make her complete and
happy. This brings in a fissure in her relationship with Blaine and she
leaves him yearning to go back to Obinze.
Ifemelu takes a courageous decision of rejecting her new life with
the White and the African American. She wants to go back to her native
land Nigeria by rejecting America which gave her luxuries and
opportunities. Metaphorically referring to going back to Obinze by
rejecting her two American boyfriends. “She rested her head against his
and felt, for the first time, what she would often feel with him: a self-
affection. He made her like herself. With him, she was at ease; her skin felt
as though it was her right size” (Am 61).
Obinze’s mother, a very strong independent widow, courageously
leads life amidst numerous problems. She is a posh, educated lady who
creates a place for herself in the society despite having to face many battles.
She is a connoisseur of art, music and books. She brings up Obinze as an
obedient and disciplined child and gives him freedom and all her
knowledge. In an incident that takes place in the university Obinze’s
mother is caught up in a heated argument with a male professor. She gets
blamed for stealing question papers and amidst the argument receives a slap
from the male professor as he feels that a woman should never raise her
voice against a man. “and slapped her and said he could not take a woman
talking to him like that” (Am 59). Some of the female students demand
justice for the ugly incident.
She tolerates all the insults silently and yet she leads a successful
life raising her son to become a real- estate entrepreneur. She instils the
love for foreign countries and is stubborn about getting her son to settle
abroad as she is worried that Nigeria lacks opportunities. Her matured way
of dealing with Obinze and Ifemelu’s relationship shows both her concern
and affection towards them. Ifemelu recalls in her memories, Obinze
introducing her to his mother at his home while studying in the school. It is
a new experience to Ifemelu and she admires Obinze’s mother for showing
concern about their affair which normally does not happen in Nigeria. She
approves of their relationship with one condition that Ifemelu should report
to her when they are planning to have sex. She educates Ifemelu on the
consequences of having sex before marriage. She explains to Ifemelu that
when a boy and girl experience sex, it is both male and the female who
commit the mistake but nature is so unfair that it punishes the women. She
is an ultra-modern mother, open minded about things and knows when to
be strict and when to remain calm. Ifemelu admires her for her honesty and
straightforwardness.
 23

Ifemelu and Odenigbo have a beautiful bonding which is destroyed

by Ifemelu’s silence when she goes to America. Their sex as adolescence is
spontaneous, passionate and playful yet remained filled with happiness and
love. Both of them get indignant when warned by Odenigbo’s mother. The
early exploration of sex and intimacy leaves both of them scared but still
happy that it all worked out well. She finds sex comfortable with Obinze as
she does not have to act or force love which she does not find it with Curt
and Blaine.
Aunt Uju is Ifemlu’s Aunty who goes to America after the
General’s death and finds it hard to assimilate. Aunty Uju lives as a
mistress of a General in Nigeria and cares for him until his death. The
General is economically sound and supplies everything that aunty asked
for. Aunty Uju lives a posh life until her fortune reverses with the General’s
death. Soon after his death she is turned out of the house by the General’s
first wife and her family. She and her son Dike settle in America after the
catastrophe that befalls them. Aunty Uju’s experience in America is very
rough and she faces many difficulties as an immigrant in America. She
struggles to get a job because of her colour. Although not very successful,
she determinedly continues to fight for her survival.
Aunty Uju leads an artificial life with false friendship and tries to
keep up her appearance for the sake of General. Aunty Uju undergoes
beauty treatment to maintain a high standard of living. Her life with the
General is very subdued and she makes herself believe that she is happy
and contented with the General. When she moves into America once again,
she chooses General Bartholomew as her new boyfriend which turns out to
be a disaster. Bartholomew absolutely lacks interest in Uju and in fact, he
sticks to her only for her money and undoubtedly not for love.
When Bartholomew visits Aunty Uju’s house Ifemelu immediately
judges him by his looks and attitude. He shows no interest in her son Dike
nor seems cultured. He mimics the American accent, dressing and lifestyle.
Aunty Uju at the dining table serves his favourite Pepper Gizard.
Bartholomew states “Let me see if this is any good.” (Am 116), a cunning
statement to check whether Aunty’s cooking is good simultaneously he
tests whether Aunty Uju would be a good wife. Aunty Uju’s interest in him
is seen in the way she cooks his favourite dishes, while he blatantly
displays his gender superiority.
He expects Aunty Uju to hand over her entire salary to him but does
not want to spend extra money on Dike. “He wants me to give him my
salary. Imagine! He said that it is how marriages are since he is the head of
the family” (Am 217). Aunty Uju plans to change Dike’s school but the
idea is rejected by Bartholomew as the fee is too heavy in public schools
and fears that it would affect his finances. Ironically his own son studies in
California in a private school. Aunty Uju relies too much on a man because
of the gender norms.
Ifemelu, both intelligent and independent, lashes out at
Bartholomew for his passing a rude comment on the Nigerian girls wearing
short dresses on one of the Nigerian television shows. In her anger she
snaps at him and says that women back in Nigeria wear clothes even
shorter than the ones shown on the television. Her instant reaction to his
statement comes out of her spontaneously. She knows that Bartholomew
hails from Nigeria but has lost the Nigerian in him to western culture and
 24

she feels that he has no rights to pass comments on Nigerian girls or their
dressing. Aunty Uju glares at her for arguing with Bartholomew fearing he
might leave her. Even though it does not happen, Ifemelu earns
Bartholomew’s hatred for her. So much for a superior gender that Ifemelu’s
statement touches the ego of the man that he decides to ignore her for the
rest of his life.
Aunty Uju’s dependency on a man can be seen when she makes
wrong decisions. The first mistake is her choosing a married man the
General in Nigerian that earns a bad name for her. And back in America
she makes a wrong choice of choosing Bartholomew who does not care
about the family. Aunty Uju in Nigeria is stuck to the general for his money
while in America it is vice versa. She needs Bartholomew for security.
Even Ifemelu’s argument with Bartholomew causes Aunty to fear that he
might abandon her. Aunty Uju always leads a desperate and dependent life.
Her top priority is money and rich lifestyle and for which she literally sells
herself to a married man.
Her relationship with Bartholomew in America remains cold and
uncertain unlike her relationship with the General in Nigeria. The General
in Nigeria was loving and displayed concern for her and Dike, while
Bartholomew never shows any love and respect either for her or for Dike.
Adichie draws a parallel with aunt Uju’s life with the General in Nigeria
and her life with Bartholomew in America. Aunt Uju’s life in Nigeria was
wrapped with love and happiness while her stay in America is so uncertain
and unhappy.
Adichie infuses Racism, Sexism and Gender in the novel
Americanah. Where Ifemelu’s maiden experience in America is a confused
one that makes her run back to Nigeria to her roots. “To My Fellow Non-
American Blacks: In America You Are Black, Baby” (Am 220). Ifemelu, is
an ideal immigrant exhibiting elements of W.E. B. Du Bois’s Cultural
Frame Switching by flitting between her Nigerian and American
sociocultural spaces.
“Like all women, Black women were objects to be seen, enjoyed,
purchased, and used, primarily by White men with money” (Collins; Part
1). When Ifemelu goes to America she is sexually exploited by a tennis
coach. He takes advantage of her economic situation and colour thus
utilizes her for his bodily comfort. The incident leaves a negative impact on
her where she turns her anger towards herself by isolating herself from the
world. Psychologists say that once a person is guilty soon depression
follows. She is not only subjected to sexual harassment because of her
gender but also because of her colour. A reminder of colonialism is struck
by Adichie where black women are taken for granted by the Whites. When
Ifemelu goes to a gas station seeking for a job the man glances at her chest
and asks her to work for him in another way. Annoyed, Ifemelu leaves the
place without a job. “Historically, Black women have been constructed as
sexually immoral women” (Collins; Part 1).
She gets out of her depression and makes use of the opportunity and
starts her own blog, Raceteenth or Various Observations About American
Blacks (Those Formerly Known as Negroes) by a Non -American Black
where she recognized issues pertaining to race, culture and body shaming.
She addresses both positive and negative issues in her blog. Falola claims
that “African students have served as culture couriers and keen observers of
 25

American domestic politics and race relations” (Flaola, TPA 291).

Ifemelu’s blog obviously reveals that she does not like to trade her self-
respect under the gender and race banner.
Obinze is married happily to Kosi and is blessed with a baby girl
‘Buchi’. Obinze carves a place for himself in the society. Everything goes
well until the intellectual Ifemelu returns to Nigeria after which fate
reverses everything for Obinze and Kosi. Obinze is forced by Ifemelu to
leave his wife for her sake. Ifemelu plays her move well when she returns
to Nigeria and wins Obinze back into her life. Although she is guilty about
breaking his marriage she does not mind. Her strong will- power ruins the
life of Kosi and her daughter. Ifemelu’s silence ruins a family as she steals
Obinze from Kosi which is an act of selfishness.
The inner conflict that Kosi undergoes is purely because of Ifemelu
complex nature that causes a terrible fracture in Kosi and Obinze’s
relationship leading to divorce. Kosi is a beauty conscious woman hailing
from an elite background and is loyal to her husband. She handpicks his
clothes and displays care for Obinze. Kosi’s life becomes turbulent when
Obinze decides to part with her for the sake of Ifemelu. Kosi is devasted at
the announcement made by her husband that he is divorcing her for the
sake of his old girlfriend. The betrayal caused by Ifemelu to Kosi and her
daughter is very pathetic. Ifemelu’s rash and hasty decision destroys Kosi’s
life.
Ifemelu recalls that when she was young a nun kept nagging at girls
especially who wore tight clothes to church. She tells them that they were
committing a sin as they distract the opposite gender. The nun unlike
Obinze’s mother is harsh and rigid in putting across the dangers of wearing
tight clothes that annoys the teens. The girls are annoyed with the nun for
not rectifying the opposite gender instead of nagging at the girls. The nun
deliberately avoids warning the male gender as they are superior and
society never blames them for their mistakes, while for a woman the
society has framed norms and are supposed to operate within those norms.
Women are generally supressed by men and Black women have
been doubly suppressed. The double jeopardization is experienced by
Ifemelu in her relationship with Blaine her African – American boyfriend
who enforces his gender superiority on her by belittling her. Ifemelu is
unable to comprehend the racial issues in America where colour, hair style,
language and vocabulary play a crucial role. Her blackness is seen beautiful
by Kimberly while many dislikes her for her colour.
Kimberly who hires Ifemelu as a baby sister is taken up by her
beauty. Kimberly believes that ‘black is beautiful’. She strongly believes
that the minority culture is way superior and has her house decorated with
souvenirs brought from the land of coloured people. It is sad to know that
Kimberly is enthusiastic only when her husband is not around as she is over
shadowed by her husband.
The African Students Association (ASA) hold regular meetings and
discussions where they argue for and against Africa and America. The
relationship between the blacks and whites are always strained as the
historical hurt and betrayal still looms inside the blacks. The n- word stirs
up a feeling of unrest in the class by Wambui a Kenyan student and the
President of ASA, who mentions that the word cannot be censored as it is
already gone down in history. Wambui is verbally attacked by one of the
 26

black students who vents her anger on him, claiming that the Africans sold
their ancestors as slaves. The racial conflict and identity have been at stake
in the African – Americans.
The stereotyped statement about Africa annoys Ifemelu. When Don
and Kimberly throw a party at home the whites are surprised looking at
Ifemelu and keep on telling her about the charity work that they are doing
in Africa. Ifemelu regrets listening to the Whites and wishes that Africa
should have been on the other end of giving rather than be the one
receiving the aid. Especially Laura, Kimberly’s sister calls Africa
‘Horrible’ which is the image of Africa that every white embrace in their
mind. The Whites’ statement on AIDS is a generalized one that makes
Ifemelu feel like every African possesses this disease. Adichie argues this
issue in her famous speech ‘The Danger of a Single Story’ where she
claims that people hear stories from a source or one’s point of view and
believe in that story to be the story of all the people in Africa.
There is an argument that young children are unable to identify
racial discrimination which is not true according to Katz, a social
psychologist who says that children at a very early are able to identify
group differences that is black versus white. They feel bad for the dark skin
colour and at a very early age they develop self – hatred. Likewise, Uju’s
son Dike undergoes a bitter experience in America where he is taunted for
his colour. The incident where the girl refuses to give him the sunscreen
lotion as she feels that Dike does not need to use it because of his skin
colour. This creates a self- hatred in him for possessing a dark skin. His
turmoil regarding identity and colour eats his mind as he enters into his
adolescence. In his trauma he attempts suicide but is saved.
Nigeria’s perennial problem of unemployment and poverty push
most of the Nigerian children to dream of migrating to America as it
promises more jobs and comfort materialistically. But race and colour
intimidate the Nigerian settlers in America who even experience depression
and are forced to commit suicide. Racism in America killed most of the
Blacks physically and mentally. Dike’s negative experience and his internal
and external conflicts are the representation of the many blacks living in
America by Adichie. She also brings out the double consciousness
experienced by Ifemelu and Uju. The concept was introduced by W. E. B.
Du Bois, in his work The Souls of Black Folk where he speaks about the
two- ness felt by the Blacks- one the American and the other Negro. The
two souls are constantly in conflict and ache to live in harmony without
being mocked by the Americans.
Racial conflict unwinds itself in another episode in America when
the carpet cleaner’s disgust towards black is made visible when he sees
Ifemelu a black answering the doorbell. He is relieved when he learns that
she is only a helper at Kimberly’ s house and then acts friendly with her.
His hostile feeling represents the White’s feelings for the blacks at large.
The big picture is that even if Ifemelu owns a big house, he would have still
detested her for her colour. Racial conflict stirs the feeling of unwantedness
of Blacks by the Whites in America. Ifemelu faces racial challenge and
migrant conflict when she is in America. Her culture and identity are
questioned by the Americans. The black man mocking at her hair, finding a
job, being sexually assaulted by the sports man and her changing of
 27

boyfriends indicates that she has been constantly battling with her external
environment.
In one of Ifemelu’s blog on ‘how dark women go unnoticed in
America’ quotes and appreciates Barack Obama for recognizing and
marrying a dark black woman, Michelle Obama. Unlike other blacks they
remain unique in respecting their culture. While the other blacks prefer to
have a mixed ancestry as light skinned blacks become the most successful
in America. The black women rejoice reading her post on the blog.
Ifemelu’s blog becomes a massive hit among the black Americans in
America that she gains millions of readers yet she is being slammed and
criticized for her blogs.
The Ethiopian driver warns Ifemelu of assimilation which makes
her become furious. The driver looks at her tight dress and advises her not
to let America corrupt her. She is aware that the African immigrant is
always conscious of America changing the Africans from their own culture.
She is able to sense the driver’s endless fear of being torn between worlds
yet is found working in America ironically trying to protect Africa.
She feels that there is a certain gap between the Whites and herself.
When she is surrounded by Curt and his friends, she is unable to mix with
them as their language is too American. She feels that she will never be
able to relate to them completely. Similarly, Obinze undergoes racial
conflict in England. His struggle as an immigrant in England, is displayed
crisply over a few episodes in the novel Americanah. According to his
mother’s wish Obinze moves to England illegally. Two Angolans
orchestrate a wedding between an unknown girl and Obinze in order to gain
citizenship. The Angolans fleece illegal immigrants’ money as they are
aware of the fact that they had no other option but to depend on them.
The African immigrants’ struggles are revealed through Obinze
during his first month in England at his new work spot. He takes up a
menial job of cleaning the toilets. Initially he is fine with his job until one
fine day he finds dirt smeared all over the toilet lid that makes him quit the
job. While working in England he runs into a Ghanaian girl who refuses to
strike a conversation with him as he is a black and moves only with the
whites. Obinze learns that the African immigrants try to create an artificial
identity by moving only with the whites as if it would make them erase
their black origin. Obinze is able to sense immigrants being in a continuous
conflict.
Emenike, his friend seems happy and satisfied in his reinvented
identity. He does not appear to miss Nigeria and will not be visiting Nigeria
likely anymore as he boasts to Obinzie that his wife will not survive a day
in Nigeria. He has made the word ‘Nigeria’ sound very obscene. Obinze is
shocked to see that his friend has become totally westernized and wealthy.
Emenkie has deliberately expunged Nigeria from his life and has actually
certified Nigeria as an unsuitable place for his wife. He has not only
undergone an external transformation but also feels ashamed to talk about
his native land. Adichie brings out the limitations of the Black immigrants
abroad through Ifemelu and Obinze. Though legal or illegal they suffer the
same measure of insults and unhappiness. As immigrants it does not change
anything if one is female or male as they suffer equally and undergo trauma
in various forms.
 28

Aunty Uju keeps reiterating the fact that American- Africans have
to face too many issues. Ojiugo’s statement that whites convert everything
into a mental problem and this is true in the case of Ginika who tells
Ifemelu that she is depressed. Depression is very common in Western
countries though it is unheard of in Africa. Dike falls a victim to depression
and his suicide attempt displays Dike has merged into American culture.
Ifemelu’s self-conflict is immeasurable from the day she enters
America. Although she gains confidence and tries self-fashioning, she
never seems satisfied with anything. She is regularly being taunted for her
colour, looks and weight. She enters into a period of depression as she is
unable to synchronize with the American culture and language. Initially she
becomes a product of American culture but later realizes that in the process
she has lost her own identity which leaves her annoyed and disgusted with
herself. Ifemelu is able to relate to Dike’s depression as he has experienced
the same discrimination.
As Pecola in Toni Morrison’s Bluest Eye and Celie in Alice
Walker’s The Colour Purple writes that God’s skin is white with blue eyes
has been internalized in every African. They always imagine God as White
in colour. As Naomi Wolf claims in her book The Beauty Myth that the
images of beauty forces women to adhere to higher standards of artificial
beauty in order to keep up with the societal norms.
Ifemelu’s beauty issues increases when she goes to America where
she is constantly conscious about her hair and physique. The comment
passed by an individual in the supermarket annoys her that she keeps on
looking at herself in the mirror checking her physique and weight. The
novel opens with Ifemelu sitting in a hair salon waiting for her hair to be
braided. As she is very self-conscious of her hair, she tries to straighten her
hair using relaxers which damage her hair and therefore ruins her beauty.
Her struggles to bring back her hair to normal condition which takes a
period of time yet all these trials and errors was just to make a place in the
American society. The very fact that she wins millions of hearts through
her blog proves that beauty isn’t a necessary and to come to this position it
took a long-drawn conflict for Ifemelu.
The colonizers have brainwashed the natives who believed that the
colour white is superior and therefore God belonged to the whites. As much
as possible they mimicked the whites to please God. They also made them
believe that the colour black is inferior and therefore they were exploited
by the Europeans and the Christians priests. Above all they have made
them follow the Catholic rituals in order to make themselves feel on par
with the whites. To sum up they can only mimic their rituals but can never
match their skin colour.
When she made a U-turn and went back the way we had
come, I let my mind drift, imagining God laying out the hills
of Nsukka with his wide white hands, crescent-moon
shadows underneath his nails just like Father Benedict’s.
(PH 73)
In PH Kambili notes that “Even though Father Benedict had been at
St. Agnes for seven years, people still referred to him as “our new priest.”
Perhaps they would not have if he had not been white” (PH 4). Adichie
brings out the mentality of the blacks who revered the colour white through
Kambili. She also notes that her father Eugene always sat beside the “blond
 29

life size Virgin Mary” (PH 4). In contrast she compares a painting at home
where the Virgin Mary is white in colour whereas in Amaka’s room the
painting bore dark skin colour. The author brings out the fact that colour
has nothing do to with faith but the whites have made them believe that
God is white and made the blacks feel inferior.
Adichie gives a different perspective of gender where she draws the
sufferings and humiliations faced by both male and female. Further
analysing religion and culture which intersects gender, weighs more on
both women and men confining them to limitations and subjecting them to
rules and regulations.
30
 31

Chapter – V
Summing Up
“Conflict is inevitable, but combat is optional.”
-Max Lucado

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a third-generation Nigerian writer

who captures the power structure established by the European Colonizers
and its impact on Nigeria. Her novels touch on the various conflicts that the
characters face due to the impact of Colonialism in the post-colonial era.
Nigeria after gaining independence becomes corrupt and violent and
mirrors the colonial traits in its actions and still continues to follow the
same suit. The colonial residue and its influence in Nigeria are featured in
Adichie’s novels. The study highlights the conflicts relating to politics,
class, race, gender, religion and culture and how Adichie’s characters
endure these conflicts and rise above their situation as they proceed their
journey with hope.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s concern over Nigeria’s endless
conflicts is evident in her works Purple Hibiscus (2003), Half of a Yellow
Sun (2006), and Americanah (2013). Over the years, conflicts in Nigeria
have caused miseries, destruction of families and lives, loss of identity,
displacement and economic dearth. Nigeria has natural resources in
abundance and yet 40.1% of Nigerians live in poverty. The
mismanagement of human and natural resources due to political conflicts
have severely affected the nation. The Global Finance Magazine stated the
top ten poorest countries in the world and Nigeria is named fifth in the list.
Nigeria has the highest rate of crimes which encompass corruption, hate
crime, domestic abuse, child abuse, pillaging, rape and sexual assault,
kidnapping, murder, burglary, orchestrated crime, terrorism, robbery,
cyber-crimes, bribery, violent crime, money laundering etc. Corruption is
one of the major underlying causes for Nigeria’s many conflicts though
“the country is ‘richly endowed with natural resources and high-quality
human capital” (Ogbeidi 2012:1) The crime rate in Nigeria keeps escalating
every year. Adichie explores the multi -dimensional conflicts such as
Political conflict, Class, Gender, Racial and Religious and Cultural conflict
in her novels.
Adichie through her narrative, exposes these conflicts in Nigeria
that looms in the country since 1960’s. Her characters revolve around one
or more conflicts which have a drastic effect on themselves and their
surroundings. The cause of these conflicts is attributed to the Britishers
who left the country chaotic and twirly. The Christian Missionaries
converted numerous Nigerians particularly the Igbos in the south which
resulted in losing their native religion and culture. The Europeans tactfully
turned the converted Nigerians against their traditional Nigerians and also
branded the traditional natives as pagans. The colonizer’s hegemony and its
impact can be traced in Nigeria’s politics, society and family. After
Nigeria’s independence the land fractured as the dominant group executed
power over the weaker group which they imbibed from their colonizers.
This led to political and religious clashes which in turn led to the Nigerian
Civil War or the Biafra War. Undoing the Eurocentric attitude is a
challenge to the Nigerians which cannot be completed overnight as it
involves a long and tedious process.
 32

This chapter serves as a summation for the first four chapters.

Adichie jots down the cause and effects of the various multi-dimensional
conflicts in Nigeria through her novels and further indicates that her
characters in the course of time accept and embrace the conflicts as part and
parcel of their life and continue to remain sanguine about a better future.
Adichie’s protagonists Kambili in Purple Hibiscus, Olanna in Half of a
Yellow Sun and Ifemelu in Americanah despite the challenges they face due
to conflicts in the novel remain optimistic that quality of life will change
for better in the future and they stand as an epitome of Nigeria.
Chapter I introduces the various writers and writings in African and
Nigerian literature. It highlights Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s literary life,
works and world recognitions and critical receptions. Further the chapter
explains the postcolonial theory and Feminism and its key concepts put
forth by the pioneers with regard to Adichie’s works.
The second chapter of the thesis Political Instability and its Myriad
Conflicts in Select Novels of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie discusses the
origin and the cause of Nigeria’s political instability and furthermore
explicates the effects of the political instability that laid the pathway for the
rest of the conflicts in Nigeria. This political conflict in Nigeria concerning
Adichie’s three novels Purple Hibiscus (2003) Half of a Yellow Sun (2006)
and Americanah (2013) are explored in this chapter. Adichie covers
timeframe Nigeria’s political instability from 1960 to 2009 which shows
the intensity and the magnitude of destruction that happened in Nigeria.
The novel Half of a Yellow Sun’s background is set before and during
Nigerian Civil War which spans between 1960s and 1970s. Purple
Hibiscus is set in 1980s and unlike her other two novels Americanah
written in the year 2013 has its main action set in 2009 and the incidents
take place in Nigeria, America and United Kingdom. The novel Purple
Hibiscus (2003), set two decades after the Nigerian Civil War addresses the
political conflict through the narration of Kambili. Kambili’s father Eugene
secretly runs a pro- democracy newspaper called ‘Standard’ and it is the
only newspaper that spoke outwardly regarding Nigeria’s corrupted leaders
and the corruption that was taking place in Nigeria. The Nigerian
Government followed the colonial ways of oppressing the common man.
The Nigerian Government looted, threatened and even killed people which
provoked Eugene to voice out the issues in his newspaper Standard. The
novel Half of a Yellow Sun (2006) recollects Nigeria’s ghastly historical
moment that left thousands killed. Thousands of Igbos were displaced
including Adichie’s characters Olanna, Odenigbo, Kainene and Richard
and Ugwu in the novel. Olanna and her lover Odenigbo flee from their
home at Nsukka to Abba and keep on fleeing from one place to another to
save their lives. Ugwu travels along with Odenigbo and Olanna and is
pathetically separated from his own biological family and is constantly
worried about them back in the village Opi. The author captures the sadness
and the desperateness of Ugwu who remains in a helpless situation.
Kainene crosses the enemy border to find food for the refugee camp and
never returns home which leaves the entire family devastated, especially
Olanna and Richard. Due to politics that caused the civil war, the Nigerians
faced starvation, air raids, shelling, rape, sexual assault, anxiety, physical
and mental stress and economic dearth. Adichie unveils the intensity of the
internal and external conflicts faced by her characters. Adichie ends the
 33

novel with a note of hope where Olanna’s waiting for Kainene symbolically
represents Nigerians waiting for Nigeria to turn into a peaceful country.
Adichie’s third novel Americanah (2013) set in the year 2009 brings to
light Nigeria’s political instability that pushes the Nigerians to seek
opportunities outside the country. Adichie through her characters in the
novel exhibits the Nigerian’s desire to leave the country in search of jobs
and better living. Even while Obinze is studying in school his mother thrust
her thoughts onto her son that Nigeria has no scope and therefore, he must
prepare himself to leave the country. His mother encourages him to read a
lot of English books and creates an obsession for the United States in him.
“Obinze had a fixation with the United States, particularly Manhattan, and
with “proper books” (AM 67). Similarly, When Ginika their classmate,
announces that she and her family are immigrating to America, her
classmates become excited and at the same time they envy her for leaving
the country. Possessing an American Passport is the dream of every
Nigerian student. There are too many strikes and riots at Nsukka University
which makes living difficult in Nigeria and compels students to enrol
themselves elsewhere. Thus, Nigeria was losing its best human resources
and the political leaders failed to address this issue as they are engaged in
their own greed and corruption.
The third chapter Gender and Race Matters: Struggle and Survival,
Violence and Victimization in the Select Novels of Chimamanda Ngozi
Adichie observes the sufferings of women and men due to various conflicts
in Nigeria in her novels Purple Hibiscus (2003) Half of a Yellow Sun
(2006) and Americanah (2013). The rate of gender violence is high
especially in postcolonial countries. Adichie believes that gender conflict
can be overcome by gender equity. She has etched her female characters as
powerful and independent. Domestic conflict happens every day and is
inevitable and affect one’s physical, mental, emotional and spiritual
wellbeing. Adichie’s female characters do not submit easily as they are
empowered characters. Adichie unravels the conflicts faced by men and
women in Nigeria due to various others conflicts. In Purple Hibiscus
(2003) the protagonist Kambili and her mother Beatrice undergo domestic
violence from Eugene Achike’s hands. They silently suffer as they are
unable to voice out their problems as they are females and are expected to
tolerate the man of the house by the society. According to Nigerian society
an ideal woman is one who is submissive and remains mute when men
inflict violence on them. Beatrice and Kambili are punished cruelly by
Eugene when they fail to follow the Catholic practices. Adichie displays
cruelty at its peak when pregnant Beatrice is bashed up so brutally that she
loses her pregnancy a couple of times and Kambili is nearly killed as her
father stamps her violently and breaks her ribs. The role of Adichie’s
women characters are dynamic in nature as they undergo a series of
changes. Adichie juxtaposes two types of Feminism namely African
Feminism and Radical Feminism. African Feminism is when a woman
chooses to be submissive and endures her violence while on the other hand
Radical feminism is where a woman breaks the ideals of a patriarchal
society and liberates herself from the clutches of men. Beatrice has been
submissive from the very beginning of the novel. She puts up with her
husband’s tantrums very patiently but she is unable to digest her children,
particularly Kambili being tortured that she kills her husband and liberates
 34

herself and her children. Adichie gives hope to the Nigerian women
through Beatrice although her female character has negatively retorted to
Eugene’s violence, Adichie deliberately portrays Beatrice’s patience and
submission which slowly transmogrifies her into a murderess thus she
wants to break the stereotyping of African female. Eugene on the other
hand is a victim of colonization who becomes a religious fanatic as he
patronizes Christianity introduced by the Europeans. He expects his family
to follow Catholicism rigidly which causes conflict inside the house. The
problem with Eugene is that he fails to imbibe the catholic teachings
instead gives importance to the rituals. His blind faith leads him to punish
his family in the cruellest way. Kambili and Beatrice being female are
silenced by the patriarchal society and are unable to retaliate. In contrast
Eugene who punishes Jaja as a child mellows in inflicting punishment on
Jaja as he reaches his teens. Jaja begins to retaliate by disobeying his father
and he escapes his punishments as he is a male. Eugene is angered by his
behaviour yet he fails to inflict punishment on him as he is his heir. Aunty
Ifeoma’s character is intentionally introduced by Adichie in the novel as a
foil to Beatrice. Aunty Ifeoma, a widow and Eugene’s sister, is a strong,
independent and outspoken woman unlike Beatrice who is soft, scared and
dependent on Eugene. Ifeoma is a self- reliant woman who struggles a lot
in the society as she is a female. She is threatened and falsely accused of
stealing question papers in the university and is demanded to submit her
resignation. She is even charged of killing her own husband by her
neighbours yet she battles out with life to rise above these conflicts. The
societal norms are that a son must take care of his father. In the novel
Adichie once again breaks this tradition where Ifeoma the daughter takes
care of the father, buys medicines and takes care of him when he is sick and
even conducts his funeral. Eugene fails as a son as he shirks his filial duties
to his father.
The novel Half of a Yellow Sun (2006) accentuates the role of
gender amidst the Nigerian Civil War where women take up the family
responsibility as the men are either fighting in the war or have become
disoriented. The female behaviour shows an enormous level of fluidity
throughout Adichie’s narrative that portrays reality. Thus, Adichie
illustrates her female characters Olanna, Kainene and the minor characters
Mrs. Mokelu, Mama Oji, Adana, Aunty Ifeka who struggle during the war
and also hold the family together independently. They stand in long queues
to collect food from the relief centres and also at the hospitals to meet the
doctors. They witness the children dying from kwashiorkor disease,
starvation and shelling. Adichie has constructed her female characters by
attributing male qualities and thus breaks the stereotyping of female
characters.
Men also suffer during the war and lose their body parts and are
even killed in action but the female characters suffer doubly as they are
raped, assaulted by the enemies, vandals and their own Biafran soldiers.
The character Ugwu a naïve village boy who stays in Odenigbo’s house is
kidnapped by the soldiers to serve in the war. Ugwu is scared and without
prior training he is installed in the war. He is also sexually harassed by the
fellow soldiers. Adichie portrays her male protagonist fragile and
vulnerable which is visible when Odenigbo drifts away from the family due
the effect of the war on him. He consumes alcohol and loses interest in
 35

family affairs. He does not care much when Baby falls sick and lacks
interest in sex and does not exhibit concern when the family runs low on
money. Richard, the white journalist, is very scared of Kainene as he feels
that he might disappoint her in bed. Adichie boldly casts her male
characters at the vulnerable end and thus dismantles gender stereotyping.
Adichie goes to the extent of punishing men when at fault which is evident
when Olanna counter attacks her lover by sleeping with Richard who is
Kainene’s boyfriend. Olanna gets her revenge as she is bitterly betrayed by
her husband who impregnates Amala the household girl. Adichie wants her
male characters to understand that sleeping with any woman cannot be
justified anymore through the character of Olanna.
Unlike African women who are submissive and silenced Olanna
has her revenge on Odenigbo so as to make him feel the sting of betrayal.
Her clogged mind becomes free as she is happy that she had avenged
Odenigbo which had kept her mind nagging. She further informs Odenigbo
on purpose about the night she spent with Richard which infuriates him.
Olanna feels satisfied as she has made him feel the pain that she felt when
she heard that he had slept with Amala. Olanna puts Odenigbo in a similar
condition that he had created for her to make men understand that women
can behave similarly. Sleeping with several women does not affect men in a
patriarchal society but a female who sleeps with more than one man is
termed as a prostitute.
The society has assigned certain roles for men and women in the
world, but in this novel Adichie breaks the society standards by treating
both men and women equally. Both her female characters are well educated
and have completed their higher studies abroad. Olanna who is treated by
her father as a sex bait in order to gain orders in business, defies her
father’s will. Born in an elite family, she still prefers to teach and goes to
work at Nsukka university and stays with her revolutionary lover and leads
a middle-class life.
In Americanah (2013) the author exhibits the miseries of the
immigrants through Ifemelu and Obinze who travel to America and the
United Kingdom respectively. Adichie shows the degree of racial hatred
that prevailed outside Nigeria through Ifemelu who faces insults and
undergoes identity crisis. Ifemelu’s stay in America faces hatred from the
Americans and the African -Americans. She is unlike the Americans as she
is fat, dark and her hair bushy or most times in cornrows. She finds herself
tangled in a foreign culture slowly losing her identity and she feels
suffocated living with her two boyfriends Curt and Blaine which makes her
yearn more for Obinze her high school fiancé. America has never been
cordial in any way to her that she longs to go back to Nigeria. She starts a
blog exclusively for Africans which reassured their confidence as blacks.
Her blog gains a massive response from the other Africans residing in
America who voice out their grievances and dissatisfaction in America.
Through the blog, Adichie is able to give an honest account of the feelings
of the many Africans that have settled in America and furthermore speaks
for the Africans who have lost their identity while staying in America.
Ifemelu’s aunt Uju suffers in America as her job as a psychiatrist does not
pay enough for her to make both ends meet. This is because most
Americans avoid consulting her due to her colour. She becomes friendly
with an African- American who is keener on pulling out her money from
 36

her. Aunty Uju who goes to America with a dream of surviving becomes
dejected by the hostility of the whites towards her. She is barely able to
take care of her son Dike who does not remember his childhood in Nigeria.
Dike who grows up in a hostile environment makes him go into depression.
The incident where he is denied a sunscreen lotion as his classmates think it
is not necessary for his skin affects him so much that he attempts suicide.
Ifemelu is able to understand her cousin better than his mother as she
knows the struggle that he is facing in America as a black. Uju fails to
recognize his problem as she herself is busy trying to survive in a foreign
land. Obinze on the other hand suffers in England where he is insulted by
his own people. His job is to clean toilets which he accepts and does not
cringe about his job although he is not satisfied and yearns to go back to
Nigeria.
Chapter IV is Mutation: An Analysis of Religion and Culture in
Nigeria in the Select Novels of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie focuses on the
conflicts that emerged due to the collapse in religious and cultural beliefs
enabled by colonialism. The Europeans left the country in a state of chaos
as the introduction of Christianity hindered the county’s native belief and
culture. They made the natives feel inferior and also made them believe that
they were all pagans. They converted them into Christianity and erected
churches in Nigeria and even paved way for mushrooming of numerous
Christian sects. Adichie through her character Kambili brings out the
religious and cultural conflicts that erupt due to Catholicism practiced in
her house. Kambili through her narration elucidates the plight of the
Nigerians who got confused and rejected their own kith and kin for
following their native religion. The colonizers tricked them as the Kenyan
leader Jomo Kenyatta states that “when the missionaries arrived, the
Africans had the land and the missionaries had the Bible. They taught us to
pray with our eyes closed. When we opened them, they had the land and we
had the Bible.” Kambili observes the colonial impact in her house where
her father is a Catholic Religious fanatic who shows greater interest in the
rituals rather than the teachings. He despises the native Igbos who follow
native the religion and considers them as pagans which also includes his
own biological father. He disowns his father and refuses to visit him and
also objects to his children visiting their grandfather. He prays very hard
and forces his family also to do so and when they fail to follow his rules, he
penalizes them violently, which is similar to the colonial rulers who
inflicted harsh punishments on the people.
The novel takes place two decades after the Civil War and the
impact of colonialism has not changed. Adichie sketches Aunty Ifeoma’s
character which is unlike her brother Eugene as she is much more liberal in
her thoughts and actions. She is concerned over her father’s health and
takes care of him devotedly since her brother neglects him. She teaches
Kambili that Papa Nnukw is not a pagan but a traditional Nigerian and
needs to be respected. Aunty Ifeoma is also educated by the Christian
missionaries yet has a balanced head and also respects the Nigerian
traditional beliefs through which Adichie celebrates Nigeria’s tradition and
culture. She gives importance to Masquerades, folklores, Dibia/ Medicine
man, Ukwu Art, bride price, animal sacrifice, Kola nut and palm wine. This
is also represented in the novel Half of a Yellow Sun by Adichie who
illustrates the importance of art through her character Richard whom she
 37

purposely introduces as a white character in her novel. She does this to

show that even white people who once looked down upon their culture
have now become interested in Nigeria’s culture. The atrocities of the
Christian priests who take advantage of the war situation and sexually
assault female children are also revealed in the novel. Father Marcel who
stays in the camp spies on Olanna having a bath and impregnates every girl
child who comes asking for food. Adichie also throws light on catholic
charity groups like Vincent de Paul who engaged themselves actively in
Nigeria through the character Olanna who joins them in charity work.
In the novel Americanah through Ifemelu’s mother Adichie
unearths the mushrooming of Christians Sects which split the Catholic
church further and cause a lot of confusions among the Nigerians. They
make the Nigerians believe that idol worship and catholic rituals are fake
and that the Bible is the only living truth. Ifemelu’s mother gets enlightened
by one of her friends, she comes home and burns the statues, prayer books
and the rosary. Ifemelu recollects her mother’s eyes which looked like she
was possessed and she cut her hair and removed her jewellery. She keeps
on changing her churches as she has visions that the priests of the churches
are corrupted. She forces her religion on her husband and child and wakes
them up early every day to kneel down and pray fervently.
She fasts often for her husband’s conversion almost killing herself
every day. She calls her relations ‘devils’ as they advise her to stop fasting
since they are concerned that she might fall sick. Ifemelu is able to
comprehend the facade behind every church that they went to and is
worried that she is unable to make her mother understand. Ifemelu even
picks up a quarrel with a sister for advising girls to dress properly but fails
to teach the boys how to behave. The artificial tone of her mother is sensed
by Ifemelu whenever her mother received a gift from Aunty Uju who is
involved in an illegal affair. Her mother overlooks the sin of Aunty Uju,
instead of correcting her mistake and thanks God for the gifts. Ifemelu is
not pleased to witness her mother’s selective ideologies and the way the
churches make her think.
The internationally celebrated author Adichie, in her speech ‘We
Should All Be Feminists’ elucidates the cause for gender conflict.
According to her the word ‘Gender’ itself is a sensitive topic where both
men and women feel uncomfortable in expressing their problems. Adichie
is a feminist who claims that for ages the society has divided human beings
as ‘man’ and ‘woman’ and the dominant group has always suppressed
women and somehow the term ‘Feminism’ has been a threat to the male
gender. She further argues that both should share opportunities, difficulties
and happiness together as she believes that it would be fair in life. Her
counter argument on feminism is that even men are tormented by forcing
them into the confinement termed ‘Masculinity’ which makes men inferior
and small. Adichie claims that “Masculinity is a hard, small cage, and we
put boys inside this cage.” She complains that the society has compelled
men to be hard and not to exhibit their vulnerability openly which leads to
fragile egos. She also blames the society which raises female children to
cater to men’s ego and thus the girls are forced to shrink themselves.
This is reflected in her fictional characters in her novel where she
exhibits the vulnerability of Eugene, Richard, Odenigbo, Obinze and Ugwu
who openly accept their inability and difficulties to their women. Eugene is
 38

stern and rigid in his actions and yet runs to his family whenever he
encounters a problem. He shares his worries and troubles with his wife and
at times with his children that makes him an exceptional character. Kambili
recalls the ‘love sip’ which she and her brother are asked to take from her
father Eugene’s cup which makes Kambili feel proud of her father although
the boiling tea burns her tongue. Every time Eugene cries after hurting his
family members makes the readers feel sad and earns admiration for him.
Richard apologizes to Kainene that he is unable to satisfy her in bed which
is very rarely accepted by men. Similarly, Odenigbo becomes helpless
when he learns Amala is pregnant and seeks Olanna’s help although he
knows he has committed a mistake. Ugwu who is forced by his fellow
soldiers to prove his masculinity at the bar, rapes the bar girl which is a
short-lived experience but feels ashamed of being mean to the girl and
regrets for the rest of his life. Adichie reiterates that men who seek for help
are not fragile but are in a path to resolve a conflict. These conflicts are
faced in any normal household where a man and woman fight but in
Nigeria these conflicts are created due to the colonial residue which has
ingrained unsolicited conflicts. In Purple Hibiscus religion basically
contributes to the family’s destruction, in Half of a Yellow Sun the problem
occurs due to the war and cultural transformations similarly in Americanah
it is the cultural transformation and racism which contributes to domestic
conflicts.
By examining Adichie’s select novels, it can be concluded that
Nigeria’s conflict has never ceased since the day Nigeria gained its
independence. The author aims at exploring these conflicts which is
primarily initiated by the Europeans who left the land chaotic and turbulent
and have been the main cause for the numerous types of ongoing multi-
dimensional conflicts in Nigeria. In Adichie’s TED talks ‘The Danger of a
Single Story’ she claims that many stories matter. Stories have been used to
dispossess and to malign. But stories can also be used to empower, and to
humanize. Stories can break the dignity of a people. But stories can also
repair that broken dignity. The present study exhibits the various sides of
the different types of the ongoing conflicts that is faced by the Nigerians as
elucidated in Adichie’s writings. These multiple ongoing obstinate conflicts
in Nigeria seems to have no end as the conflicts are interlocked and its
causes are deeply rooted in colonization which has altered Nigeria’s pattern
of living. Colonization and its features like struggle for power, position,
domination, nepotism, resources, land disputes, exploitation, oppression,
marginalization, social class status and inequality have become the order of
the day and is all merged in Adichie’s novels which express her concern for
her homeland. Through her characters and narration, she throws light on
Nigeria, a land which is actually rich in resources has been pushed to the
periphery due to the ongoing conflicts and its violence born due to
colonialism. Osaghae and Suberu writes
Nigeria is synonymous with deep divisions which cause
major political issues to be vigorously and violently
contested along the lines of intricate ethnic, religious and
regional divisions. Issues that raise the most dust are those
regarded essential for the existence and the validity of the
state. (Ethnic and Religious Crises in Nigeria 2005:4).
 39

Regional riots and religious polarization began with Nigeria’s

Independence which is a major threat to the land and has caused the people
to remain divided till now. Religious and ethnic hatred gave birth to
horrendous violence in Nigeria which came into the forefront with
Europeanization of Nigeria. The violent conflict between the Hausa and
Fulani, Muslims and Christians, Catholics and mushrooming of Christian
Sects and Native Igbos and the converted Igbos still prevail in Nigeria. Her
protagonist Kambili witnesses her father being in constant conflict with her
grandfather who is a traditionalist. Kambili is nearly killed owing to her
father’s headstrongness as he refuses to forgive his father for following
traditional religion. Her ribs are callously broken from being stamped by
her father for owning a drawing of her grandfather. Olanna witnesses the
communal riots at Kano which is ghastly and horrifying. Adichie freezes
the gruesomeness of the war through her narration. Similarly, Adichie
notes the communal riots that happen in Kano:
Uncle Mbaezi lay face down in an ungainly twist, legs
splayed. Something creamy-white oozed through the large
gash on the back of his head. Aunty Ifeka lay on the
veranda. The cuts on her naked body were smaller, dotting
her arms and legs like slightly parted red lips” (Adichie,
HYS 186)
Similarly, when Olanna flees from Kano on a train, she senses the
putrid smell and blood mixed in the hot air which make her feel sick adding
to her trauma, she finds a woman sitting with a calabash which contains a
severed head of child with blood dripping from it. “little girl’s head with
the ashy-gray skin and the braided hair and rolled-back eyes and open
mouth” (Adichie, HYS 149). Likewise, Ugwu stares at a burnt corpse after
the air raid and Kainene and Richard watch the headless Ijeke’s body
running in the backyard shows the feeling of hatred that looms in the
country. Ifemelu observes her mother losing herself as she is brainwashed
to give up on her catholic faith and is called to join the Christian sects. She
becomes angry and boisterous when people ask her to give up on fasting as
she was losing weight.
Chimamanda is a new writer, a modern writer and the voice for
Africa (Heathers, 2005; Cooper, 2008). Adichie flourishes in her style of
writing as she instils the Igbo culture and practices that have been long
erased by the Colonials. Adichie’s narration are simple, lucid and
descriptive furthermore she writes with ease she manoeuvres through past,
present and future. Her novels subsume Igbo lexical, proverbs, traditional
symbols and folktales. Adichie’s glory lies in her style of writing which
blends Igbo lexical and English that makes her discourses effective. Her
writings are deep and rooted in Igbo culture and wisdom and has the power
to transport the reader to Nigeria. Her works are clear and distinct which
make her an extraordinary writer as she claims in one of her interviews that
“Clarity’s important to me.” Emily Temple in Literary Hub quotes
Adichie’s interview to Stylist Book Club, where she discloses “I love
writing; writing is what makes me happy—happiest. And so, when it’s
difficult, what keeps me going is the possibility of joy.
When Adichie is questioned about her choice of language in an
interview by the Women’s Caucus of the African Literature Association in
2008 replies that “I come from a generation of Nigerians who constantly
 40

negotiate two languages and sometimes three, if you include Pidgin. For the
Igbo in particular, ours is the Engli-Igbo generation and so to somehow
claim that Igbo alone can capture our experience is to limit it.”
The novel Purple Hibiscus is written in first person point of view
of a 15-year-old teenager Kambili. The novel is divided into three parts viz
“Breaking Gods – Palm Sunday” Speaking with Our Spirits – Before Palm
Sunday” and “The Pieces of God – After Palm Sunday”. Adichie
intentionally employs a day that is considered to be Holy to the Catholics
and juxtaposes Breaking Gods to indicate the transformations that take
place in Achike’s house and moves on to demonstrate Papa Eugene’s
religious fanaticism. The second part focuses on the Christmas celebrations
that take place in Abba and Kambili meets her cousins at Abba for the first
time. Papa Eugene and his father Papa Nnukwu’s conflict is elucidated in
the second section. Later they visit their cousins at Nsukka and Kambili
falls in love with Father Amadi. The second part throws light on the culture
and religion of the Igbos. The third section unravels the family being
destroyed by Eugene’s religious extremism and his harsh punishments
which incurs the wrath of his wife who poisons him.
The novel Purple Hibiscus begins with the Achebe’s famous novel
title Things Fall Apart which expresses the destruction brought about by
the colonizers. Adichie employs Achebe’s title to suit the trends in Nigeria
in the late 1990s which have not undergone any changes and yet remain
similar to the colonial era “Thing started to fall apart at home when my
brother Jaja did not go to communion and Papa flung his heavy missal
across the room and broke the figurines on the etagère” (1).
Adichie in an interview to Bookslut re-counts her writing style in
Half of a Yellow Sun
One thing I did right from the beginning was to have a
structure where I start in the beginning, then move to the
war when terrible things start to happen, and then to move
back to the beginning. It’s important for me as well because
I didn’t want to lose the humanity in my characters. I didn’t
want to be immersed in this place where all I felt for them
was pity or horror. (Bookslut)
Adichie switches to Igbo lexical on and off in her writings with
great ease that makes it interesting for the readers to read. Her artistic
interplay of form in her novel aids into comprehending her Engli-Ibo
writing.
“O me mma, Chineke, o me mma …” Mama started her
song and then stopped when I greeted her. (PH 39)
“Mom, biko, give me the neck,” Amaka said. (PH 120)
“Mom, o zugo. Let’s go,” Amaka said. (PH 129)
Aunty Ifeoma was watching us. “Amaka, ngwa, show
Kambili how to peel it.” (Adichie PH 134)
“Why do you look that way, o gini?” she asked. (PH 165)
“O nkem. It’s mine,” Jaja said. He wrapped the painting
around his chest with his arms. (Adichie PH 210)
Kedu? I will be here all night. Sleep. Rest,” Mama said. She
got up and sat on my bed. (PH 214)
 41

“Ekene nke udo — ezigbo nwanne m nye m aka gi.” “The

greeting of peace—my dear sister, dear brother, give me
your hand.” (PH 241)
“Abba, kwenu!” the dibia Nwafor Agbada said, the man
whose medicine was said to be the strongest in these parts.”
(HYS 190)
“Our anti-aircraft fire was wonderful! O di egwu!”
somebody said. (HYS 275)
“Ifem, I don’t know what got into me. Ndo.” [I am sorry]
(HYS 83)
“Darling, kedu ebe I no? Where are you?” [where are you?]
(HYS 21)
“Aunty, biko [please], leave my hair alone,” Ifemelu said.”
(HYS 216)
In certain cases, Adichie translates the Igbo line into English in the
very next sentence which enables the readers to experience Nigeria through
her discourse. Her Engli- Igbo makes her an exceptional writer and her
translations are flawless.
Curt touched Ifemelu’s shoulder gently, asked if she was
okay, before going back outside. “O na-eji gi ka akwa,”
[pampered, adored and handled with care like egg] Aunty
Uju said, her tone charged with admiration. Ifemelu smiled.
Curt did indeed hold her like an egg.” (HYS 219)
As Achebe’s employment of native Nigerian proverbs in his
writings has influenced Adiche who has also mastered the art of fusing
proverbs in her writings. Her passion for her country pulsates through her
writings as she incorporates traditional Nigerian proverbs which makes her
descriptive writing striking rich.
- But I bet I speak Igbo better than you.
- Impossible. - he said, and switched to Igbo. - Ama m atu
inu.
I even know proverbs.
- Yes. The basic one everybody knows. A frog does not run
in
the afternoon for nothing.
- No. I know serious proverbs. Akota ife ka ubi, e lee oba. If
something bigger than the farm is dig up, the barn is sold.
- Ah, you want to try me? - she asked, laughing - Acho afu
adi
ako n’akpa dibia. The medicine man’s bag has all kinds of
things.
- Not bad - he said - E gbuo dike n’ogu uno, e luo na ogu
agu,
e lote ya. If you kill a warrior in a local fight, you’ll
remember
him when fighting enemies.
They traded proverbs. She could say only two more before
she gave up, with him still raring to go.
- How do you know all that? - she asked, impressed. - Many
guys won’t even speak Igbo, not to mention knowing
proverbs.
 42

“I just listen to when my uncles talk. I think my dad would

have liked that.” (Am 61-62).
Her writings subsume her love for Nigeria particularly Biafra and
its events as she grew up listening to her father’s stories of the Biafran war.
Her novel Half of a Yellow Sun celebrates the not- forgotten War Biafra and
adds pride to the Igbos. Her passion for Biafra is visible in the lines where
she explains the pronunciation of Biafra. “Eberechi giggled and whispered
to Ugwu, “Bush man. He does not know it is Bee-afra, not Ba-yafra.” (HYS
289). She also gives the significance of the Biafra Flag. “Red was the blood
of the siblings massacred in the north, black was for mourning them, green
was for the prosperity Biafra would have, and, finally, the half of a yellow
sun stood for the glorious future. (HYS 281)
Adichie further adds poems and songs in her writings which give a
clearer and a vivid picture of Biafra War. The Biafran national anthem was
aired in the radio
Land of the rising sun, we love and cherish,
Beloved homeland of our brave heroes;
We must defend our lives or we shall perish.
We shall protect our hearts from all our foes;
But if the price is death for all we hold dear,
Then let us die without a shred of fear… (Adichie HYS
201).
Richard includes Okeoma’s poem in his book The World Remained
Silent When We Died
“WERE YOU SILENT WHEN WE DIED?” ….
Imagine children with arms like toothpicks.
With footballs for bellies and skin stretched thin.
It was kwashiorkor—difficult word…
Naked children laughing, as if the man
Would not take photos and then leave, alone. (Adichie HYS
274)
The select novels of Adichie are a powerful testament of the various
conflicts that pulsates in Nigeria since colonialism. The study attempts to
demystify the colonial ideas that plagued post- colonial Nigeria from then
and now conflicts are still obstinate and unabating in Nigeria. Adichie
stories are set in various eras of Nigeria since Independence and gives an
honest glimpse of various conflicts and issues that are communicated in her
novel. Nigeria after independence looked forward with great hope for a
harmonious country and tragically the dream of millions of Nigerians
shattered due to the various conflicts that emerged due to colonial residue
as put down by Adiche in her novels. The genesis of all the conflicts that
occurred in Nigeria is owing to political failure, flaws, corruption and
mismanagement and the Nigerian Civil War is a testimony to this.
All the novels of Adichie’s display the political corruption and the
socio-economic stagnation brought about by the political leaders. The
country remains underdeveloped due to the political conflicts which have
been an incontrovertible fact that the political corruption has been a misery
to the growth of Nigeria which is reiterated in Adichie’s novels. As she
mentions in the BBC’s Hard Talk says that the Socio- economic factor
enabled by political corruptions led to the poverty of Nigeria.
 43

The ethnic conflict seems to be unending as Adichie illustrates in all

the novels. In Purple Hibiscus the converted Igbos reject the traditional
Nigerians who failed to convert to Christianity. The converted Igbos fail to
help the Igbos who are economically poor and ignored them. It is visible
when Papa Eugene who is wealthy fails to help his father who remains in
poverty. Eugene helps his church members but not outside Catholicism.
Adichie demonstrates the converted Igbos behaviour which is unpleasant
and hurtful.
In Half of a Yellow Sun Olanna is mistaken by a co passenger to be
a Fulani and states “Why should an Igbo man be the vice chancellor in
Lagos?” he asked (164) which displays the hate for the Igbos by the other
Nigerians. He is further disappointed on learning that Olanna is an Igbo, he
says “But you have the face of Fulani people.” He sounded accusing.”
(164).
The class conflict in Nigeria is underscored in all Adichie’s works
as mentioned in Purple Hibiscus where the Achikes are wealthy people.
Eugene owns a factory and runs a Newspaper called Standard. In Half of a
Yellow Sun where amidst the Nigerian Civil War, Odenigbo’s household
boy Ugwu is stunned to watch a fellow Biafran’s car parked in front of the
house “Ugwu saw the black Mercedes-Benz gliding down the road; the
word DIRECTOR written on its metallic numberplate sparkled in the sun.”
(286) In Americanah Ifemelu remembers her difficult days in Nigeria
where her father loses his job and the Land Lord threatens him for not
paying the money for the past two years. Adichie draws a contrast where
Aunty Uju becomes a mistress to a rich General from Abuja who showers
her with the best clothes, creams and buys a house for her apart from which
he has his wife and children in Abuja. Adichie shows how the general
maintains his two families and keeps them well while Ifemelu’s father
struggles economically unable to provide things for the house and feels
belittled. Likewise, the character Akunne, Ifemelu’s father’s cousin is a
wealthy person who resides in his father’s native place and everyone takes
his problems to Akunna as he is wealthy and Ifemelu’s mother asks him for
a loan. Her father feels sad and disgusted as he is unable to get another job
and fulfil the needs of the house as a man. Ifemelu seeks her aunt Uju’s and
wonders at her new life, “the fawn-colored jewel case on the dressing table,
the silk robe thrown across the bed” (AM 50). Adichie writes only very few
in Nigeria enjoy riches while the others remain in poverty.
The major colonial event that shook the history of the world is
racism which played havoc in the lives of the Blacks. Racism dates back to
the 16th century where Africans were enslaved by the Americans and were
subjected to violence and slaughtering. They were sold like commodities in
the market as they were black. Racism is addressed in Adichie’s two novel
Americanah and Half of a Yellow Sun. Ifemelu in Americanah voices out
the black immigrant sufferings and pain in her blog. Ifemelu goes to the
library in America, begins reading James Baldwin and draws inspirations
from his writings for her blog. She finds it difficult to understand their
English and her fiancé urges her to read a lot of English books authored by
the Americans. She is unable to mingle with the American culture yet tries
to ape them. She begins to speak English with an American accent and she
becomes conscious in the middle of her conversation and tries to undo her
accent.
 44

Similarly, she straightens her hair with relaxers which leaves her
hair damaged and is ashamed of her behaviour. Likewise, Obinze struggles
in England and his own black female colleague avoids him deliberately and
converses only to the white men as she is in the process of wanting to be
married to a white since she feels that the skin colour of her future baby
will tone down slightly. His friend considers it inappropriate in taking his
wife to Nigeria because he is ashamed of his own country. Obinze’s mother
is keen on making her son stay in England as she feels that he will have a
better life. He is therefore forced to fake marriage in order to stay in
England which causes trouble for him when his plans are discovered by the
immigration officer. He is immediately deported to Nigeria and on the
contrary Adichie shows Obinze becomes rich in Nigeria as he learns the
nuances of land business. This shows that even though Nigeria has its own
resources people yearn to settle abroad believing that they will have better
job opportunities.
Adichie introduces Richard a white journalist in Half of a Yellow
Sun who is asked to write a report of the Biafra war by Madu who knows
that when a white man writes about the war the world would listen. The
two American Journalists who visit Nigeria to record the event find nothing
interesting since according to them only when a white man dies it is news
but thousands of blacks being killed do not affect them. Richard wonders
about the White journalist’s attitude. They watch the children eat roasted
rats, but do not comprehend that it is because of the war. They ask for ‘real
Biafrans’ to give them news of the war. Richard who gets a first-hand
experience of the war is astonished of the journalist’s attitude towards the
war.
All these conflicts are ongoing conflicts in Nigeria and Adichie in
her speech speaks about the various current issues and conflicts in Nigeria.
Adichie recalls that both her grandfathers died in the Nigerian Civil War
refugee camp. Her father James Nwoye Adichie was kidnapped in Abba,
Nsukka in 2015 and he was agitated by the entire incident. The reason
behind him being kidnapped is that he is the father of the renowned
Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Adichie expresses her grief in
many interviews as the incident left her in shock as she states in an
interview with BBC News Hours, “We are still reeling from it. We still
have nightmares. I felt deeply hurt and shocked. I also felt very angry”. She
also blamed the authorities for their carelessness as they did not show any
interest in saving her father.
Her statement to the Daily Post titled ‘Nigeria Failed Us’ exhibits
the extent of hatred that prevailed in the country and Adichie reeling from
the nightmare says that her father James Nwoye Adichie is an erudite
scholar and has contributed in large to Nigeria’s education and is greatly
disappointed by Nigerian governments response to her father’s kidnapping
made her wonder at the plight of Nigeria which still remains unchanged.
She further added that her father was always cautious about her daughter
and kept telling them that he does not even have her number. After the
incident her father feared staying in Nigeria and hence her parents moved
to America.
Conflicts abound in Nigeria which occurs as a result of endless pain
and sufferings that exist in Nigeria. The 2020 End SARS Now had killed
several civilians in Nigeria and is criticized by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
 45

claiming that Nigeria is Murdering its Citizens in the Guardian Newspaper.

The Amnesty International, a global movement voiced out the sexual
torture, the brutal miseries and the painful killings that are caused by the
Boko Haram is endless. Boko Haram which stands for ‘Western education
is forbidden’ are involved in the process of undoing Western culture,
religion and ideologies that are embedded by the colonial rule in Nigeria.
The 2002 movement has been in the newspapers since then and has turned
Nigeria into a mass grave. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie to BBC Hard Talk
says “I think everybody is on the edge in Nigeria really because of Boko
haram is a threat.” In the North it’s the Boko Haram while in the south it is
the Christian insurgents.
Limitation of the study:
The limitation of the study is that the conflicts that are taken into
account for the study are explored from a postcolonial perspective. This is
because the study is confined to the origin, causes and impacts of the
various conflicts that occurred in Nigeria with reference to the colonial
impact and its residue in the post-colonial era as mentioned in Adichie’s
novels. The researcher has given a panoramic view of the internal and the
external conflicts of the characters.
Scope for further research:
The present analysis has come to a halt but in the academic corpus,
the scope to research on Adichie can still be taken forward. The areas that
are open for future research are: evaluative study of Engli-Igbo Narrative
Style in Adichie’s Texts, Application of Ethnic studies on Adichie’s
Novels, and A complete study on the emotional strength of the characters in
Adichie’s novels.
It is true that the conflicts are multi-dimensional and eternal.
Despite the limitation, the study draws a close attention to the eternal multi-
dimensional conflicts in Nigeria which have come to vogue since the
colonial rulers entered the country and have left a lasting negative impact in
Nigeria. These impacts are still looming in the country and will still
continue. As the Nigerian inspirational writer Ifeanyi Enoch Onuoha states
that “We can get the better Nigeria we desire, if truly we can abandon
ethnicity, religiosity, dishonesty and greed. We can build a better nation if
we start doing now the things, we said we are fighting for.” This is
reiterated in Adichie’s novels.