Theme: The Loss of Innocence
While reading Purple Hibiscus, I've noticed an ongoing theme of innocence. Earlier in the novel when Kambii was sightseeing with her Aunt and Papa-Nukwuu, she is exposed to the culture that her father opposes. Kambii then has to regain her innocence by confessing her sins to Father Benedict, that she enjoyed the mmuno masquerade. There was also the appearance of the color red to expose Jaja and Kambii's innocence: the juice spilling, the period, and the reminder of the mother's blood after the miscarriage. To alleviate Kambii's period cramps, the mother tired to give her daughter medicine and food to go with it; however, this was against their churches fasting rule. Their father, recognizing this sin and loss of innocence, whipped his family. In his eyes, this whipping was his was of regaining the innocence lost when he perceived his family to rebel/break the rules.
Finally, when Kambii visits her Aunt Ikuefoma and cousins in Nsukka, there is this loss of innocence again. Kambii had an image of what she thought the ideal family life would be, a patriarchal system with daily schedules. However, when she at her relatives house, she discovered this is not the case. There was no "father structure" in the children's lives. Kambii accidentally saw her cousin naked, something sacreligious in her family. This trip overall represented a shift in Kambii's mindset of the world and the way things should be.
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