Christianity in Mongo beti’s the poor christ of bomba and chimamanda ngozi adichie’s purple hibiscus

This study examines the representation of Christianity in Mongo Beti’s The Poor Christ of Bomba and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus. The study is aimed at examining the representation of Christianity in literary texts representing pre-independent (colonial) Africa represented by Beti’s The Poor Christ of Bomba and those representing post independent Africa as represented by Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus. The study also tries to establish whether these two novels have an inter-textual relationship. The study establishes that both novels represent conservative Christianity as an ideology that tries to alienate Africans from their cultural roots, turning them into European cultural puppets. However, Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus goes an extra mile by portraying an ideal version of Christianity for Africa, Christianity that does not intend to destroy or abolish what is good and beautiful in African culture, but one that incorporates them in religious services. This Christianity tries to create a person who is both a good Christian and a true African at the same time. Focusing on narrative and rhetorical techniques employed in the narratives, as well as characterisation, the study has identified a number of similarities that make Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus and Beti’s The Poor Christ of Bomba inter-textually related. Therefore, the study argues that Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus is not only influenced by Achebe’s Things Fall Apart as Hewett notes (79) but also by other early African male writings such as Mongo Beti’s The Poor Christ of Bomba.