The narrator provides detail about her sip of the tea. What is the impact of this detail on the reader?

What chapter are you referring to?

In the first chapter, Kambili explains how Papa usually gives her and Jaja "love sips" from his cup of tea. She describes how the tea always burns her tongue, but that it didn't matter, because it burned Papa's love into her. However, right after Jaja refuses to go to Mass, he doesn't give them the love sips. This is impactful because Kambili's understanding of 'love' is intertwined with abuse. She justifies Papa's hurtful actions to a certain extent, believing that he does everything because he loves them. This also emphasizes how Papa witholds affection and displays of 'love' to punish his children, which is a manipulative and hurtful behavior.

This motif of boiling water returns throughout the novel. In Nsukka, Jaja kills a chicken for Aunty Ifeoma by dunking it in hot water. When Kambili and Jaja return from Nsukka, Papa punishes them by pouring boiling water over their feet. And eventually Mama poisons Papa with the same tea he used to give his children love sips from.