Plot overview

Question 1

Pivotal moments

Answer 1

• Begins on Palm Sunday, when Jaja refuses to take communion and Papa reacts by throwing his missal, breaking Mama’s figurines
• Aunty Ifeoma takes Kambili and Jaja to an Igbo festival on Christmas. She then convinces Papa to let them visit her in Nsukka
• In Nsukka, Jaja opens up, though Kambili remains silent. However, she begins to open up around Father Amadi, whom she falls in love with
• Papa Nnukwu dies in his sleep, after which Papa forces Kambili and Jaja to return to Enugu
• Papa severely punishes Jaja and Kambili for not telling him about Papa Nnukwu by pouring boiling water on their feet
• Ade Coker, Papa’s editor, is assassinated by a package bomb
• Jaja and Kambili return to Nsukka. Aunty Ifeoma worries about losing her job and Papa’s abuse against Mama intensifies
• After Palm Sunday, the events of the novel’s opening, Jaja and Kambili return to Nsukka again, learning that Aunty Ifeoma is moving to the US
• Papa is found dead after being poisoned by Mama, and Jaja takes the blame
• 3 years later, Mama and Kambili visit Jaja in prison. Kambili is hopeful for the future, while Mama has become a shell of her former self. There is a suggestion that Jaja will follow in Papa’s footsteps