Table of ContentsIntroductionSymbols in Purple HibiscusLove Sip TeaFigurinesLipstickLaughingColorsConclusionReferencesIntroductionThe novel Purple Hibiscus uses many types of symbolism to express Papa's abusive behavior towards his wife and children. In the novel, many symbols are used to help develop the novel, in the text; the main four being Love Sip Tea, Figurines, Lipstick and Laugh. They all played a major role in the story. Love Sip Tea is a tea that severely burns the tongue of Kambili and Jaja, ruled by her father whose power conflicts with love and pain. The Figurines are an anomaly that leads Mama, Jaja and Kambili to freedom, thus ending the suffering of the entire family. The lipstick represents Kambili's empowerment and independence as a woman. Laughter is another symbol, one that causes Kambili to be more active in the novel. In the novel Purple Hibiscus, Adichie expresses different types of symbolism that affect the daily lives of Kambili's family through Papa's abusive behavior towards them. This means that experiencing a different home and their lifestyles changes their perspective on Papa. Adichie tries to persuade the reader that as people get older, they become more independent, stand up, and are more liberal with themselves. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essaySymbols in Purple HibiscusLove Sip TeaAdichie uses the Love Sip Tea to share Papa's abusive actions towards Kambili and Jaja. Dad takes care of the drinking in the family. He named the tea “a sip of love,” because it means “to give love” or “to receive love.” Jaja and Kambili take a sip as it means dads love is consumed in them. The tea would seriously burn both of their tongues. Kambili said, “The tea was always too hot, always burned my tongue, and if the lunch was peppery, my raw tongue suffered” (Adichie 8). Here, Kambili explains how the drink was always hot and the consequences of drinking the tea. More in the line "Always too hot, my tongue always burned", revealing how abusive Papa is, he forces Jaja and Kambili to take a sip because it's very hot. FigurinesAdichie also uses the figurines as an example to show Dad's anger that leads him to be so violent, and how he throws Mom's figurines away on Palm Sunday. The figurines embody mom. She treated the figurines as her prized possession, because she believes it would help her find a way to stop Papa's abuse of her and the children. Kambili says: "Things started to fall apart at home when my brother Jaja didn't go to communion and Papa threw his heavy missal across the room and broke the figurines on the shelf." Here Dad is trying to express his anger because of Jaja's refusal to go to communion, as he said it gave him bad breath. The beginning of the sentence, "things began to fall apart", revealing that the figurines marked the beginning of their journey to freedom and the end of the family's suffering following Papa's violent ways towards the family. Lipstick Throughout the novel, Adichie mentions Amaka's lipstick. Lipstick because it is a representation of symbolism. Lipstick is a symbol of femininity, womanhood and sexual awareness. Throughout the novel, Kambili notices that Amaka and Aunt Ifeoma wear shiny bronze lipstick, while Kambili and her mother have chapped lips and peeling skin. “I took the redLipstick on the top of the dresser and I swiped it over my lips. It looked strange, not as glamorous as on Amaka; it didn't even have the same bronze sheen. I wiped it. My lips were pale, a stark brown. I passed the lipstick on my lips again and my hands shook." Here shows how Kambili always wanted to wear lipstick, just like Aunt Ifeoma and Amaka, but because of Papa's violence, she always afraid to do it. While she was visiting Aunt Ifeoma, she committed a sin. Even after she committed this sin, she never started asking for forgiveness. and didn't even think about what its consequences might be. Not only did she try the lipstick once, she tried it again. “I looked at my hand, the hastily wiped lipstick stain. was still clinging to the sweaty back of my hands I didn't realize how much I had put on It's... a stain.” Here it also goes back to the first quote, Kambili shows how much she didn't. no idea about lipstick She doesn't know how to put it in the right way Kambili never wore lipstick because she could never wear lipstick because of her father's violent action. . Kambili also notices that the lipstick represents her awareness of herself as a woman. Laughter symbolizes Kambili's development and growth. Laughter fills Aunt Ifeoma's house during the week Papa let her visit him. She notices that Aunt Ifeoma's house always laughed and hers didn't. “At home we always spoke with intention, especially at the dinner table, but my cousins ​​seemed to just talk and talk and talk.” Here, Kambili notices that during meals at Aunt Ifeoma's house, there is always talking and laughing, inside and outside, throughout the house, even during lunch. The phrase “we always talked for a purpose at home” reveals that under Dad's roof there was virtually no movement or conversation. It wasn't normal for anyone to talk every day under Dad's roof. ColorsAdiche uses symbolism through nature to show the development of the characters' growth. Several times in the novel, red and purple hibiscus play an important role in the eyes of Kambili and Jaja. The red hibiscus are seen at the beginning of the novel, as things were falling apart. The color red symbolizes the characters' anger because they have not yet found freedom from their abusive father/husband. The color red haunts Kambili. When she had to clean up her mother's blood after Dad beat her, all she saw was red. Kambili saw the words in her book as “the typewritten black is blurry, the letters swimming into each other, then changing to bright red, the . Red with fresh blood” (Adichie 35). Purple hibiscus flowers have been described as “a rare fragrance with an undertone of freedom” (Adichie 16), which depicts their uniqueness. Kambili and Jaja felt their first sense of freedom at their aunt's house, where the purple hibiscus was first seen. The purple hibiscus is planned for the end of the novel once Papa is gone and the Achikes finally have the freedom they have been waiting for. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized paper now from our expert writers. Get a custom essay paper ConclusionIn the novel, there were many symbols that help develop the ideas throughout the novel. Adichie mentioned a lot of symbols, the most important being Love Sip Tea, figurines, Amaka's lipstick, and laughter. As Kambili and her family experience these symbols, the theme of the family's growing defiance of Papa is.)