Interpreting the Silence in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus

Abstract

“All profound things and emotions of things

are preceded and attended by silence.”  - Herman Melville (152).

Different people react differently towards abuses. Silence is a way of expressing the pain caused by the abuses. When people become frustrated, they use their silence as a weapon to face or subdue the issues. The present study attempts to interpret a similar kind of silence of the Achikes in the novel Purple Hibiscus. The Achikes face pain and silently suffer at the hands of Eugene Achike, the head of the family. The pain is caused by the fanatic adherence of the foreign religion by the converted Igbo people.