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Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, or literary devices that can help to develop and inform the text’s major themes.
Religion
Religion is ever-present throughout the narrative, and it serves as an important backdrop for family relationships as well as cultural relationships. Observant Christian practice forms the foundation of the Achike family’s daily lives: Mama knots palm fronds that have been bathed in holy water, Papa always sits in the front pew for Mass and is the first to take communion, and the family prays over each meal for twenty minutes before they can eat. When the family travels by car, they recite the rosary on the drive. Papa has even ostracized his father, Papa-Nnukwu, because he won’t convert to Christianity. In contrast, Aunt Ifeoma and her family explore religion more critically. Obiora tells Father Amadi that when he is on his missionary trip, he should not lie to the people he is trying to convert. Obiora also says that you can’t have religion without oppression. Amaka challenges the European version of Christianity when she refuses to attend her Catholic confirmation, rejecting the requirement that she take a European name for the ceremony. And Papa-Nnukwu finds joy and beauty in the rituals of his ancestral religion. Though each character views religion through a personal lens, it plays a standout role in all of their lives.
Domestic violence
Papa uses psychological control as well as physical violence to dominate the Achike family throughout the narrative. The children must adhere to strict daily schedules, and they must not deviate from Papa’s many rigid rules. In the very first scene, Papa throws a heavy religious book at Jaja. This act of violence will seem minor compared to the attacks described later in the story. Kambili describes loud thuds and bangs that come from her parents’ bedroom, followed by their mother’s appearance with a bruised, swollen eye or a trail of blood as Papa carries her out of the house. As the story continues, Papa beats Mama so violently that she has two miscarriages and is hospitalized twice. After Mama’s first miscarriage, the memory of blood haunts Kambili when she is trying to complete her schoolwork. Papa beats Kambili to the point that she is also hospitalized and must be rehabilitated before she can walk again. Kambili tells the story of how Papa deformed Jaja’s little finger when he was only ten years old for missing two questions on his catechism test. Later, he pours boiling water over Kambili and Jaja’s feet for not disclosing Papa-Nnukwu’s presence in Aunty Ifeoma’s home. Each member of Papa’s immediate family wears the scars of his violent abuse throughout their lives.
Political unrest
Political unrest appears repeatedly in the narrative as an additional agitating factor for the Achike family and those around them. Kambili describes a coup that happens one Saturday during family time. Although the family is insulated from the unrest in their secure home, they hear about the coup on the radio. The next day they read about the coup in the newspapers, and the Standard, the newspaper Papa publishes, is the only paper that is critical of the new military government. Later, Kambili describes other signs of political unrest, such as soldiers demolishing stalls and beating women at the market, and the public execution of three men for drug trafficking. As a result of an article about the execution in the Standard, Ade Coker is taken by the military and tortured. Ade is later killed for further criticism of the government. When Kambili and Jaja visit Aunty Ifeoma, they learn that there is more political tension in Nsukka. Ifeoma explains that at the university, the students rioted because they were not able to reschedule their exams after there was no light and no water for a month. Another student riot occurs later as the university falls under military rule. Though many characters are somewhat removed from the effects of political unrest, others are irrevocably affected by it.
