To what extent do male and female literary characters accurately reflect the roles of men and women in society? Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayChimamanda Ngozi Adichie uses dominance, control, and power to accurately reflect the role of male literary characters and silence and oppression to reflect the role of female literary characters society characters in Purple Hibiscus. Eugene Achike has power over his family, his companies, and his newspapers, which leads to a desire for abusive control that can be seen through his family relationships. Obiora and Jaja take on the role of ruler, as would an older child who lacked a father figure and was concerned with the well-being of his family. Beatrice Achike cares for her children and makes plans for them, regardless of the abuse and oppression she suffers from her husband. Eugene Achike, referred to as Papa, is one of the main characters featured in Purple Hibiscus. He is the father of Kambili, the narrator of the book. Papa is dedicated to his religious studies, as well as his snack food companies and being the editor of the newspaper he works for. Kambili is talking about the newborn while describing her father when she says, “Kambili was written in bold letters on the white sheet of paper, just as Jaja was written on the schedule on Jaja's desk in his room… Daddy liked order. " (p.23) Dad's desire to have order or control in the home is similar to the stereotypical role of men in a family. In many forms of literature, men are perceived as the “bread earners.” According to Dictionary.com , a breadwinner means a person who supports a family with their own earnings. This can be seen again when Kambili does not rank first in her class and her father takes her to school to look for Chinwe Jideze and highlights the fact that she only has one. head, the same advantages as Kambili, so Chinwe shouldn't do better than Kambili. “'Why do you think I work so hard to give you and Jaja the best,'" (pg. 47) shows that Dad believes that the structural influence he puts into Kambili and Jaja's lives is beneficial, since when he was growing up he did not have these privileges of a private Christian school or personal chauffeured transportation. Another example of how Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's characters reflect gender roles in society is the relationship between Obiora and Aunt Ifeoma. Similar to the controlling and earning role that dad has over his family, it is a Western cliché that if the father is missing from the family, the eldest son will take on that role. On page 74, it is revealed that Amaka, Obiora and Chiaku's father was in a car accident, and this was the reason why he was not present in their lives. When Kambili and Jaja are visiting Nsukka, Obiora tells Amaka to stop being mean to Kambili, siphons fuel for Aunt Ifeoma's car, and slaughters chickens for her family. This shows dominance and responsibility within Obiora, where she takes on a role within her family, something Jaja would like to have. Towards the end of the story, after Dad dies and Mom is devastated, Jaja says “I should have taken care of Mom. Look how Obiora keeps Aunt Ifeoma's family in balance, and I am older than him. I should have taken care of mother." (p. 289) Jaja feels this need for dominance like his father, at the beginning of the book when he kneels next to his mother on Palm Sunday and helps her pick up the broken ballet statues and he tells her to be careful, like a caring husband would do for his wife3.10)