Purple Hibiscus

Purple Hibiscus

• Genre: Fiction; historical
• Originally Published: 2003
• Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 920L; grades 9-12; college/adult
• Structure/Length: 4 parts; approx. 307 pages; approx. 11 hours on audio
• Protagonist and Central Conflict: Fifteen-year-old Kambili Achike lives in pre-civil war Nigeria in the 1960s; she must weather not only the political turmoil of her nation but also the physical and emotional abuse from her controlling father at home.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Physical and emotional abuse of family members; race and gender conflicts

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Author

• Bio: Born in 1977 in Enugu, Nigeria; lost family members and family possessions during the Nigerian Civil War; attended the University of Nigeria before arriving in the US to study at Drexel University in Philadelphia and the Eastern Connecticut State University; later attended Johns Hopkins University for creative writing; awarded 16 honorary degrees from prestigious colleges and universities and earned the Macarthur Fellowship “Genius grant” honor (2008); inspired and influenced by Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe; has given several TEDx talks on cultural understating, feminism, and the influence of background and history on individuals
• Other Works: Half of a Yellow Sun (2006); Americanah (2013); We Should All Be Feminists (2014)
• Awards: Hearst-Wright Legacy Award (2004); Commonwealth Writers Prize (2005)

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

• The Dangers of Intolerance and Spiritual Transformation
• Freedom of Speech and Postcolonial Politics

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:

• Develop an understanding of the cultural and social contexts regarding postcolonialism that incites Kambili’s conflict.
• Analyze paired texts and other brief resources to make connections via the text’s themes of The Dangers of Intolerance and Spiritual Transformation and Freedom of Speech and Postcolonial Politics.
• Plan and design visual media in the form of a book trailer that conveys plot and character traits based on the novel.
• Analyze and evaluate plot and character details to draw conclusions in structured essay responses regarding the motif of laughter, traditions, and other topics in the novel.