Communicative Thought Patterning as Threat to Peace and Security in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus

Abstract

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a literary giant who through her novel, Purple Hibiscus communicated to her audience verbally and non-verbally some of the happenings in the society. This paper is an attempt to discover those thought patterns imbued into the characters which were not spoken out but which disputed chief character - Achike popularly addressed as papa in the novel. In other to achieve this, three research questions are raised. A theory known as psychoanalysis propounded by Sigmund Freud in the year 1933 was used as the theoretical framework. Six excepts were purposively selected from the novel and these formed the data for analysis. These data were analysed and interpreted. The interpretation showed that non-verbal communication as part of communicative patterning is very dangerous to peace and security because it hides the addressees to real motives from the addressor. The researchers made some recommendations which included that, dialogues should be used in presenting and settling disputes in both the families, states and nation. It equally advised communicators to understand that keeping silence to issues does not really mean good hearts but they should sense danger and make their communication partners talk. That silence is golden, works under contexts. It can favour some contexts and disfavor other contexts. The researchers conclude that, non-verbal communication is a powerful weapon against peace and security to any home, state and nation and should be avoided in any security issues and peace talk.