Biopolitics and Post-Colonialism and Purple Hibiscus, oh my!

Biopolitics and Post-colonialism: Purple Hibiscus

The colonial period has formed the development of many contemporary countries and territories. The superpowers determined the way of self-esteem and self-evaluation of many peoples. Their world perception was formed by the influence of those countries which were considered to be their owners. The postcolonial period started from the point when former colonies had to continue their development alone. However, they had not start from the very beginning because they had already had the heritage which was brought by the colonizers. The majority of peculiarities are described in the postcolonial literature and criticism. Here, I would like to look through this issue on the example of Black nations and their literature which arose during the postcolonial period.

Postcolonial criticism corresponds to the certain historical period. As stated by Lois Tyson (2006), “postcolonial criticism analyzes literature produced by cultures that developed in response to colonial domination,” from the very beginning to the present times. The main heritage of the colonizers is the English language which became the background for the creation of postcolonial literature. Thus, the writer Adichie, about who I will speak further, argued that  "what we represent is largely the result of colonialism, for example, the fact that I think in English" (Garner, 2004). For many, English was the first language in which they learned to write. The Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe once said concerning this issue: “For me, there is no other choice. I have been given the language, and I intend to use it” (Tyson, 2006). However, lots of pre-colonial cultural heritage have been lost through many generations of colonial domination. Significant attention is paid to the postcolonial feminist critics which are often the central issue of many literature works, such as Purple Hibiscus (2003) by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

The development of the Nigerian literature started from the 1970s. In the 70-80s, the Nigerian novel has a critically realistic tendency connected with unfulfilled hopes for a better life and a comprehension of new negative tendencies in public life (duCille, 1996). The feeling of frustration among writers, an accusatory beginning in their work is a reaction of literature to new phenomena of social life. The novel Purple Hibiscus (2003) is a family novel in which the educational and didactic trend is traced. Most of them are related to the problem of the status of women in modern African society. The author defends the idea of the woman's inner freedom, her right to choose her place in the surrounding reality. The novel is the story of the life of the heroine, her family, where the father traditionally rules, demanding from his wife and children obedience and serving him as a master. These traces were mentioned by Tyson (2006). The novel tells the story of a Nigerian family against the backdrop of events unfolding in the country during the Abacha military regime in the mid-1990s. The inner development of the protagonists demonstrates the historical development of the postcolonial countries.

In such a way, the postcolonialism is brightly reflected in the belles-lettres. The thoughts, expectations, and actions are shown in the texts. The readers see the transformation of heroes which is the allusion to the transformations of the whole peoples. Thus, Kambili and Jaja go through the path from the silent oppressed by their tyrant father of teenagers to the spiritually strengthened young people who are ready to take responsibility for their family and intercede for their unhappy mother. In such a way, Adichie traces the origins of the newest social reality through the destinies of her heroes.

References

Adichie, C. N. (2004). Purple Hibiscus a novel. London: Fourth Estate.

DuCille, A. (1996). Skin Trade. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Garner, C. (2004). Profile of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. London.

Tyson, L. (2006). Critical Theory Today: A User-friendly Guide. Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.