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Siddhartha By Chimamanda Adichie

864 Words4 Pages

Why Risk?
A woman walks away from all she knows. She disobeys her family, leaves all material belongings behind, and begins on a path unpaved. Through all this, she continues, striving for benefits which have yet to surface. But why continue when she is uncertain that the world she will arrive to is better than the one she left? Siddhartha from the novel Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse follows a similar path by embarking on a journey still unknown. He leaves his family, friends, and all he has ever known in order to find himself. The novel Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Adichie highlights the significant events in Kambili’s life which compel her to oppose social order. She slowly realizes that the life she is living is not the best one she could …show more content…

Adichie begins the novel, Purple Hibiscus, with Jaja, Kambili’s brother, disobeying his father, causing turmoil in society. “... and Papa flung his heavy missal across the room and broke the figurines on the étagère.” (Adichie 3). Jaja is one example of defying social order because he went against his father’s beliefs, and, as a result, gains a liberation from social norms. Adichie describes Jaja as someone who stands up for what he believes in. After Jaja defies his father’s teachings, society begins to fall apart. Jaja’s disobedience causes others to detect flaws in their lifestyle. Kambili begins to become her own person, and Mama stands up to Papa. She slowly poisoned his tea, which eventually killed him. “Jaja did not wait for their questions; he told them he had used rat poison, that he put in in Papa’s tea” (Adichie 291). As a result of Jaja defying his father, certain events lead to his eventual arrest for a murder he did not commit. He is arrested as a result of defying his father’s policies. Defying his father’s policies lead to Mama poisoning Papa’s tea, and that is why he went to jail. This shows a direct correlation between Jaja’s disobedience and his eventual arrest. Civilization is disturbed due to Jaja taking a stand for what he believes in. The by-products of Jaja’s actions include a release from his father’s grip and societal

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