Boo Eugene boo

I'm not a big fan of Kambili's father, Eugene. He's a horrible person. The past one hundred and so pages are chalk full of new reasons to dislike him. The biggest is that he hardly reacted to the death of his father. And when he did, all he was concerned about was whether or not his father had converted to Catholicism on his death bed. This kind of detachment from his own father causes me to see Eugene as a heartless monster. Another despicable aspect of Eugene that becomes apparent in this section is his willingness to abuse those he loves. From pouring boiling water on the soles of his children's feet to severely damaging on of Jaja's fingers, Eugene repeatedly shows the reader how he brutal a man he is. It's ironic how savage he acts, since he is meant to represent the modern, "civilized" Nigerian man. While he does show remorse for his actions, I still find it horrendous. He blames his actions on his Catholic ways, instead of taking responsibility for his actions. I find this very cowardly. However, Eugene and his sister, Auntie Ifeoma, work as great foils for each other. She highlights all of his negative features, and in return, he highlights all of her positive features. Eugene's strict, by-the-books life style is the polar opposite of Ifeoma's exciting, free life. I find the large difference between the two siblings very interesting since they come from the same background.