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Metaphor
Explanation and Analysis—Walk In Sin:
The brutality of Eugene’s punishment for Kambili seeing Papa-Nnukwu is wildly disproportionate to the seriousness of her “crime.” Adichie uses tactile imagery and metaphor to illustrate the warped moral justification of Eugene pouring boiling water on his child’s feet:
I saw the moist steam before I saw the water. I watched the water leave the kettle, flowing almost in slow motion in an arc to my feet. The pain of contact was so pure, so scalding, I felt nothing for a second. And then I screamed.
'‘That is what you do to yourself when you walk into sin. You burn your feet,’ he said.
The tactile imagery of this horrible scene vividly conveys the physical agony of the punishment. The description of the water’s slow arc and the “moist steam” preceding it also builds a sense of dread, forcing the reader to anticipate the inevitable pain that Kambili must stand still and endure. She describes the moment of contact as “so pure, so scalding” that she’s almost unable to feel it; the pain is too much for her brain to take in. The visceral depiction of burning, boiling feet not only brings the moment to life for the reader but also reinforces the inhumanity of Eugene’s actions.
The metaphor of “walking in sin” adds a layer of psychological violence to Eugene's physical punishment. Eugene believes Kambili’s visit to Papa-Nnukwu—her grandfather, whom Eugene doesn’t approve of—is such a violation that it merits him permanently scarring his daughter in this torturous way. He wants her to feel the boiling water burning her and see it as a physical representation of sin’s consequences. He uses this act of cruelty both to assert his religious authority and reinforce his oppressive control. This metaphor of demonstrating the “effects” of “walking into sin” shifts blame to Kambili, suggesting that she has brought this pain upon herself.
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