Honors Theses
Date of Award
2015
Document Type
Undergraduate Thesis
Department
English
First Advisor
Adetayo Alabi
Relational Format
Dissertation/Thesis
Abstract
This thesis examines Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Half of a Yellow Sun and Purple Hibiscus in order to explore the implications of trauma on middleclass Igbo women's gender performance. The traumas that the women encounter within the novels occur within the domestic sphere and are results of the Biafran War in Half of a Yellow Sun and domestic abuse in Purple Hibiscus. This thesis interrogates women's experiences within the domestic sphere, ultimately reflecting a larger national trauma that Biafra and later Nigeria undergo as a result of colonial occupation. This thesis concludes with an exploration of the culturally specific practice of orality and storytelling that occurs within both novels that ultimately initiates the healing process for the individual, as well as the nation.
Recommended Citation
Rackley, Lauren Elizabeth, "Gender Performance, Trauma, and Orality in Adichie's Half of a Yellow Sun and Purple Hibiscus" (2015). Honors Theses. 574.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/574
Accessibility Status
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