All who have lived to adulthood understand the difficulty of transitioning to it from childhood. Right now, I'm in the midst of the “coming of age” transition. The overwhelming pressure of our society forcing teenagers to assimilate social norms is felt by many. Just like our first steps, our first words, or anything we expect from our human milestones, coming of age is one of them. It can vary from different societies, religious responsibility or modern legal convention; Sooner or later everyone had to reach this point. The progression of coming of age for everyone is different. When we are able to read about someone else's transition, it may help us reflect on our own transition. In Purple Hibiscus we get to see the coming of age story of Kambili and Jaja. When another story can be analyzed, we can adopt it based on our own influences and characters. At the beginning of the story, Kambili is a fifteen-year-old girl who is painfully shy, her brother, Jaja, is a seventeen-year-old who is starting to rebel. against his devoted, violent and perfectionist father. The first sentence of the story is the beginning of coming of age. “Things began to fall apart at home when my brother Jaja didn't go to communion and dad threw his heavenly missal across the room and broke the etagere figurines” (PAGE 3) The beginning of their story of achieving of age from an explosion of violence in the opening paragraph. Some may say that Kambili's coming of age journey began with the subtle influence of her aunt Ifeoma, but I believe her transition began with a visit to her grandfather. (65) In the whole story we didn't see her once and she thought about going against her father's word. Both boys were... halfway down the page... an explosion of violence. While we don't see any abuse in this first chapter, Kambili's fear is palpable. His concern for his brother's well-being indicates not only the punishments they have received in the past, but also that Jaja's behavior is new. This is a coming of age story for Jaja too. Kambili is characterized by her lack of voice. He stutters and coughs and can barely get above a whisper. Both she and Jaja are protected and intimidated by her father. Both children, as they become adults, must surpass their father. While Jaja's rebellions are more overt – missing communion, asking for the key to her room, taking the blame for her mother's crime – Kambili's are more personal. He does not reject his faith and compassion, but rather adapts them to his new, more complex, worldview. Despite all their hardships, Jaja remains Kambili's hero.