A Timeline of The Purple Hibiscus, Chapters 9 and 10, Because They Are Very Long Chapters and a Lot to Cover In Paragraph Form
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A Mention of Plates
"Everybody took turns washing plates. Aunty Ifeoma included Jaja and me in the plate-washing schedule, and after I washed the garri-encrusted lunch plates, Amaka picked them off the tray where I had placed them to dry and soaked them in water.
'Is this how you wash plates in your house?' she asked. 'Or is plate washing not included in your fancy schedule?'" (140) The Plate Motif, an example. -
The Difference Between Jaja and Kambili
pages 141-3
Even though he has only been at Aunty Ifeoma's house for only a short while, Jaja is already becoming accustomed to the routines and attitudes of the household. He has opened up to his cousins and seems to fit right in. Kambili, however, still does not speak unless spoken to, and then struggles to answer without stuttering, answering in as few words as possible. She has been unable to open up, and is very uncomfortable in this new environment. -
Papa-Nnukwu Sickens
Papa-Nnuknwu is unwell, so he is retrieved from his home and brought to Aunty Ifeoma's. Kamblili is surprisingly surprised to hear a prayer for his health rather than one for his conversion and salvation from hellfire. Kambili and Jaja are worried about what might happen if their father finds out they are staying in the same house as Papa-Nnukwu. -
Different Just As Good As Familiar
Kambili realizes, with Ifeoma's guidance, that if someone does something different from how you might do something, the way they do it is not necessarily wrong or evil, just another way of doing it. After observing Papa-Nnukwu's morning ritual, she no longer seees him quite so much through her father's point of view (in which Papa-Nnuknwu is a heathen). -
Kambili and Father Amadi Go to the Stadium
Kambili is shown by a priest of all people that her father is not always right about what is and is not a sin. She smiles and runs, and for the first time, wears shorts and laughs. It turns out she thinks God would mispronounce her name. Some probable flirting occurs (scandalous!!!) -
Papa-Nnukwu Goes to Sleep
Papa-Nnukwu dies, smiling, in his sleep. Everyone is very distraught, because he was a well-loved grandfather. Amaka never got to finish the painting she was making of him, but she gives the painting to Kambili to take home in secret. -
The Return of Papa
Papa unexpectedly appears to take Kambili and Jaja home from Aunty Ifeoma's house. They did not expect him for another day. He does not react to the news of Papa-Nnukwu's death, except for asking if he received Last Rites. Jaja and Kambili go home. -
Punishment For Knowingly Sharing a House With a Heathen
Fairly soon after returning home, Papa reinstates his role as Chief Explainer, Discerner, and Punisher of Sins by pouring boiling water on Kambili and Jaja's feet, telling them it is for their own good. However, when Papa comes in later to 'apologize' and tell her what made it for her own good, Kambili does not dwell on how bad her sin was or why she deserved the punishment, but rather on why spending time with Papa-Nnukwu before he died was worth the sin. She has grown from her earlier patterns
