Reading

    This year, I grew as a reader by learning how to interpret the book past the surface better. One of the books that helped me to improve in this way was Purple Hibiscus. This is a list of the books I read, and some reading responses that show my improvement from Purple Hibiscus.

     While reading Purple Hibiscus, I noticed a large amount of pressure on Kambili and Jaja to do well in school. It was expected for them to be the top of their class, and their father is very disappointed if they aren't. This is very stressful and difficult for Kambili. She says "it was like balancing a sack of gravel on my head every day at school and not being allowed to steady it with my hand." When she does well, the only thing she thinks about is the approval of her father.

     Kids should not have this amount of stress and pressure put on them. By setting this standard, their father is forcing them to give up their social life and free time. It is especially terrible because this is the only way they can get affection from their dad. It is at the point where Kambili is obsessed with trying to impress her dad and get his attention. A child should not have to work for the love and support of their parents.

 In Purple Hibiscus, the father has been abusing the rest of the family for a long time. We can see a progression in the harshness of this abuse as the book reaches its end. It starts with the mother having a black eye, and the kids were beaten with sticks. Now the abuse escalated to the mother having a miscarriage from the fighting, and Kambili being in the hospital from being mercilessly kicked by Papa.

     My point with recognizing this growth in abuse is that it will get even worse if nothing happens to stop it. The kids get a break from Papa's violence when they go to Aunty Ifeoma's flat, but that just leaves the mother there by herself. I'm afraid that Papa could kill somebody if he doesn't get what he deserves first. This thinking makes me want to read more to figure out how this situation gets resolved.

List of Books Read

Purple Hibiscus

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Lord of the Flies

Theodore Boone the Accused

Cinder

The Firm