Discussion Questions on Adichie, up through p. 51

1. What does it mean when a missal flies into an étagère?

2. Where do the Achikes live? What does their house look like?

3. Identify one place in the opening pages of Purple Hibiscus where Adichie explains the choice to speak either Igbo or English. What is the significance of this sort of language choice in Kambili's community?

4. Why do you think Kambili's father has rejected the requests from the umunna "to have children with someone else"? What does this request suggest about the Igbo culture of this novel's characters?

5. How does Papa distinguish his own church from the Pentecostal churches in his community?

6. Who "takes" Ade Coker after the coup and why?

7. Why does Kambili's father go to school with her toward the end of our reading selection?