Gender Violence in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichies Purple Hibiscus and Half of a Yellow Sun

Gender Violence in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Purple Hibiscus and Half of a Yellow Sun

Project / Seminar Material
Reference ID: PS-10440-TM

DEDICATION

This research material titled “Gender Violence in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Purple Hibiscus and Half of a Yellow Sun” is dedicated to God for his enabling grace, and to all computer enthusiasts who contributed to make life a pleasant experience during my research documentation.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I extend my sincere gratitude to all those who contributed to the completion of this project. Special thanks to my Supervisor (Name of your Supervisor), the Head of Department (Name of your HOD), the Lecturers in the department of English Language, Book Authors and Profound Scholars of existing or related project material on “Gender Violence in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Purple Hibiscus and Half of a Yellow Sun” for their invaluable guidance, support, and expertise throughout the journey.

I am also grateful to your study area (mention any funding organizations, if applicable) for their financial assistance. This research would not have been possible without the encouragement and assistance of some stakeholders (mention any mentors, teachers, or colleagues). Additionally, I would like to acknowledge the understanding and patience of my family and friends during this endeavor. Your unwavering support has been a constant source of motivation. Thank you all for being part of this meaningful endeavor.

ABSTRACT

Gender-based violence is not a new problem in the Nigerian society or other societies of the world. Violence against an individual on the basis of his /her gender is common place and is becoming endemic. The study was carried out to examine the Gender Violence in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus and Half of a Yellow Sun. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out to examine the trauma of gender violence and evaluate the traumatic experiences of Nigerian women in its various facets as represented in Adichie’s Novels. Investigation revealed that gender discourse is an important area of literary criticism with wide spread implications for gender equality and human development across sectors. Increasing attention is being accorded the negotiation of gender relations in contemporary African literature. However, there has been a limited account of the nature and historiography of gender-based violence in the fiction by women writers in Nigeria. This research interrogates how Adichie presents gender violence in these novels and how it affects the female gender. This study demonstrates that the texts selected by its thematic preoccupation and character delineation show culture and tradition as strong factors in sex differentiation, creation of gender identities and power sharing. It also shows that socially constructed roles and identities contribute to domestic and social violence in patriarchal societies. This is because the analyses of gender relations must take into cognizance theories of a person’s biological sex and gender identity and how it affects power sharing and the role of tradition, laws and the dominant ideology in the perpetuation of gender-based violence. Adichie‘s writings portray a strong call against gender violence and the treatment of women as commodities.

Gender Violence in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus and Half of a Yellow Sun

CHAPTER ONE

1.1 Introduction

Gender-based violence is not a new problem in the Nigerian society or other societies of the world. Violence against an individual on the basis of his /her gender is common place and is becoming endemic. In Adichie’s novel, there are various symbols, starting from the title of the novel; half of a Yellow Sun represents the Biafran flag: a Yellow Sun, which is not fully risen, thus not enough for maximum illumination a half Sun. This symbolizes the short lived Biafran war. The Biafrans were not fully ready for that which made it impossible for them to match the Nigeria side, despite their bravery. Purple Hibiscus is set in postcolonial Nigeria, a country beset by political instability and economic difficulties. The central character is Kambili Achike, aged fifteen for much of the period covered by the book, a member of a wealthy family dominated by her devoutly Catholic father, Eugene (Wikipedia, 2021).

As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Research questions, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.

1.2 Background of Study

In recent years, increasing attention has been paid to women writing in Africa. Consequently, gender studies dominated the literary scene and the representation of women in male authored works precipitated many critical debates. In other words, there has been more interest in examining the ways in which men behave, particularly in relation to women. Consequently, a literary canon was developed in which women writers give a re-presentation of the female experience by depicting a different image of women in their works in variance with the earlier works by male authors.

In furtherance of the argument on the importance of women writing about the female experience in literary texts, Aidoo (1996) submits that, Women writers write about women because when we wake up in the morning and look in the mirror we see women”. Many female writers try to bring into focus their femaleness/femininity and personal experiences in their narratives and in doing so highlight power differences between men and women.

As a result, women scholars and activists have pioneered a literary canon built on sexual politics aimed at stamping gender and feminism into both criticism and theory. This is with the aim of replacing a tradition that is viewed as masculine and domineering by female critics like Showalter (1985). She maintains that gender has become an analytic category whether the concerns are representation of sexual difference, (re)shaping masculinity, building feminine values or exclusion of female voice from the literary canon.

…

CHAPTER TWO

2.0 Literature Review

2.1 Introduction

This chapter focuses on the review of related literature. A literature review includes the current knowledge as well as theoretical and methodological contributions to a particular topic. It documents the state of the art with respect to the topic you are writing. It surveys the literature in the topic selected. In this research work the literature review includes the …

Summary Headlines for Gender Violence in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Purple Hibiscus and Half of a Yellow Sun