The narrator describes her mother's actions after Papa breaks the figurines and adds imagery of her mother two weeks prior "when her swollen eye was still the black-purple color of an overripe avocado..." (10-11). What can we infer from this description of Kambili's mother? What can we infer from the casual way Kambili inserts this description?
What is the purpose and effect of the following simile that the narrator uses to describe Jaja's defiance toward his father: "Jaja's defiance seemed to me now like Aunty Ifeoma's experimental purple hibiscus: rare, fragrant with the undertones of freedom, a different kind of freedom from the one the crowds waving green leaves chanted at Government Square after the coup. A freedom to be, to do"? (16).
The comparison ties in the theme of the purple hibiscuses, and shows Jaja as representative of the hibiscuses in the fact that he is one of the rare family members to not be completely submissive in nature towards papa/colonizers ways.
Because the Igbo are a patriarchal society, marriage holds the utmost significance in order to procreate and continue the family line. However, it is common for a man who has a barren wife to procreate with a woman other than his wife, or even take a second wife. Why is it significant that Mama pointed out Papa's rejection of other women to her own children? (20). What does the reader learn about Mama's character through these comments?
It is significant because it shows Papa's commitment to converting to European ways, it shows mama as analytical and supportive of papa's commitment to her, and appreciative of him.
What does the reader learn about Kambili's perception of Mama and Papa's love for one another? (21). Why is this significant for the reader?
The reader learns that she doesn't have many visual examples of love between mama and papa, and love between them is not a concept that is regularly shown consistently in the household.