The Effects Of The Price Family In The Poisonwood Bible By Barbara Kingsolver

Book two is entitled “The Revelation” and the girls’ sections is entitled “The Things We Learned.” The Revelation was intended to mainly the Price family, excluding the father. The theme revelation has another definition: apocalypse. In the bible, the apocalypse leads to destruction and demise right before when God makes it a better place. In connection to the book, at this time the new prime minister, Patrice Lumumba was elected. This election set the stage for the independence movement in the Congo. In addition, Methuselah (the parrot) passes away as soon as he is freed, after being banned from liberation for most of his life. This foretells the destiny of Congo and the delicate independence they acquired. The Book of Revelation explains about how God’s creation encountered savagery and anguish so that it will become altered. The Belgian doctor who treats Ruth May for her broken arm has a little conflict with the Reverend. He prophesies that Congo will experience savagery and anguish if it changes to a self-determining state from a colony. In the Revelation section of the story, all the members of the Price family come to face a new sense of comprehension about the Congo’s culture, plants, animals and tradition. Throughout the book, the characters go through many hardships and success which permits them to learn

“The Poisonwood Bible” was published in the year 1998 which is the time that the second Congo War began. Due to this war there is believed to have been 5.4 million fatalities. This was occurring in Africa.

The novel The Poisonwood Bible begins with a narrative directive that grasps the reader’s attention. It suggests everything that is about to occur can only be witnessed by the people of Africa. Portraying a hint that something is going to happen to their family that leads them to ruins. I believe the “you” Orleanna is speaking to is the daughter that she lost in Congo as she introduces herself as “Southern Baptist by marriage, mother of children living and dead” (Kingsolver 7). This reveals the biggest disaster that occured during their time in Congo. Orleanna speaks from a time in the future to further enhance the feeling of guilt. She feels that she helped her husband accomplish his ungodly actions while failing to properly take care of her children. Kingsolver uses traits to differentiate the voices of each sister, which allows the reader to single handedly pick them out in a crowd if needed. Ruth May is exhibited as a child by the manipulation of grammar to make her sound more childlike. Kingsolver uses high sophistication to develop Adah’s voice making her one of the most intelligent of the four sisters which is ironic considering her decision to remain silent. Leah is blunt and straightforward reflecting her true nature. Lasly Rachel reflects her snobbish and conceited attitude through her short sentences. Adah Price’s voice is the most compelling to me for her large span of vocabulary and simply her injury. Reading her chapters are the most interesting based off of

There is strong juxtaposition in The Poisonwood Bible when it comes to American versus Congolese culture. While Mama Mwanza is viewed as equal in the Congo for her disability, Adah is considered an outcast in American society because of her hemiplegia. Ruth May talks about Mama Mwanza’s disability as if it is something strange, yet she reveals that the people living in their village do not look at Mama Mwanza as any different from them. She says that “Why, they just don’t let on, like she was a regular person. Nobody bats their eye when she scoots by on her hands and goes on down to her field or the river to wash clothes with the other ladies that work down there every day.” The phrasing of this implies that the Price family looks at Mama Mwanza

In the novel The Poisonwood Bible, written by Barbara Kingsolver, the reader is introduced to the Price family, Baptist missionaries who are attempting to “Christianize” the country of Congo, more specifically the village of Kilanga. As the story progresses, the family realizes that they are not changing the Congo; instead, the Congo is changing them. The development of the characters within the novel is due to the instrument of cruelty. Although distasteful to regard it as such, cruelty motivates the development and choices of its subjects, whether politically, culturally, or socially. Rendering itself as a main theme throughout the book, different aspects of cruelty are illustrated through the interactions of the Price family, internally and externally, as well as the overall relationship between the “white men” and Congo, or more generally the continent of Africa.

Leah, the girl who has always followed her father’s teachings, and strived to be like him, is forced to make a decision : listen to her father, giving up on the hunt, and turning to the sad complacencies that the Congo holds for females, or disobey her dear father, and walk her own path, one she believes in. Of course, she chose the latter, which drew a wedge between her and her father. That marked a turning point in Leah’s development as a character, as she will further her views from her father exponentially more as the story progresses. After Ruth May’s death, the Price women begin to leave the Congo.

story develops, we see her father, Nathan Price start losing his wits about him, and she grows

“Being different isn’t a bad thing. It just means you're brave enough to be yourself ” (Luna Lovegood). The PoisonWood Bible introduces a character by the name of Adah Price. This character symbolizes difference, bravery and passion. Barbara Kingsolver uses these characteristics to develop the character.

because of the issues she is facing at that moment in time. After she finally decides that

If The Poisonwood Bible had another name, it would be called injustice among humans because of how much injustices there are between the community. The people of Congo have to carry the heavy burden of the greedy leaders of their own country, and of others like the United States of America, not such a surprise. These atrocious leaders could care less about the million of people suffering because of the affluence for social hierarchy and wealth. Injustice is only caused through affluence. An example of this can be seen in page 123, “I was glad nobody wanted to cut off my hands. Because Jesus made me white, I reckon they wouldn 't,” (Kingsolver). Ruth May, one of the youngest family member of the missionary family, learns about white privileges, a topic considered to still be controversial in today’s society. However, the family quickly learn

Living by the Rules “In Congo, it seems the land owns the people” (Kingsolver 283). Barbara Kingsolver, who wrote the book The Poisonwood Bible, uses this quote to particularly mean while in other countries, rules are mandatory to obey. This quote has quite an affect on its citizens as well as newcomers. The Congo influences the general public through change and captivity/freedom. When first arriving to the Africa, Nathan Price’s, a Baptist minister, key objective is to change the hearts of the Congolese people by saving as many as he possibly can.

All families have conflicts, and the Price family is no exception. Within the story there is an overriding conflict regarding the Price women‘s opposition to the move to Africa. Beyond this, Nathan has many other conflicts with each of his daughters. Leah and her father had a very different relationship than the other three Price daughters. Leah is the only daughter that wholeheartedly supports her father completely. As the story moves on she is faced with the harsh realities of daily life in the Congo, and begins to see her Fathers faults. She soon wants to be her own person, and not be controlled by her father. The major parent/child conflict arises when Nathan does not recognize his daughter’s

In a world full of blame and lack of accountability, an individual’s role in injustice needs to be questioned. In the early 1960’s, after many years under Belgian rule, the Congolese people formed an uprising and gained independance. However, the Congo was ill prepared for the organization that independence demanded. The Soviet Union offered aid to the Prime Minister of the Congo. Since this was during the Cold War, the United States retaliated and supported a coup led by Colonel Joseph Mobutu. Mobutu ruled with an iron fist, resulting in pain and oppression of the Congolese. Looking back on history, it is easy to see who was at fault. But at the time, it was not easy to identify blame, especially for the Americans. Barbara Kingsolver wrote about the Congo’s trials much later in 1991. She used a narration from baptist missionary family to symbolize the different kinds of guilt Americans share. In Anne M. Austenfield’s narrative journal, she described Kingsolver’s ability to use, "several character-focalizers whose limited perspectives project highly subjective views of history" (Austenfeld). This technique allowed for Kingsolver to not only produce a more reliable account of what occurred, but to depict her desired theme and message. Kingsolver, in her novel The Poisonwood Bible, uses a political allegory to explore the different notions of guilt through the limited perspectives of her characters.

In The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, the author uses the complex and contrasting societies the Price family lives in to depict how in different societies the norms and concerning issues are not at all the same. The novel begins with the Price family moving from Georgia, USA to a village in Africa called Kilanga Village. The reason for this shift was for Nathan Price, the father, to enlighten the people of Africa

Opinions, self-assurance, and knowledge – these aspects of one’s character constantly develop throughout one’s lifetime. In some cases, opinions shift from one end of the spectrum to the opposite end of the spectrum, while the knowledge gained from the world guides one to become more self-assured. In The Poisonwood Bible, Leah, the daughter of a passionate preacher, gains several unfamiliar experiences after moving to Congo such as the peoples’ way of life and insight on what the Africans think about her family. Throughout The Poisonwood Bible, Kingsolver thoughtfully uses textual features such as figurative language, syntax, and tone to show how Leah’s character gradually progresses from a blinded worshiper who wants nothing more than to follow in her father’s footsteps to an individualistic young woman who strives to live a life without her father’s influence. To begin the novel, Kingsolver establishes Leah’s beliefs by utilizing different forms of figurative language.