Barbara Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible

The way that you develop and discover yourself and your personal attributes is largely impacted by the environment you grow up in, as shown in The Poisonwood Bible. Each member of the Price family reacts differently to their being thrown into a completely new location, culture, and livelihood; the maturation path of each child varies drastically from the others, and their exposure to the Congo impacts each of them in a different way, which we observe through each character’s language and behavior in the book. The stylistic formatting, tone, and figurative language used in Leah Price’s narratives in The Poisonwood Bible change as she grows, and the maturation of her physical structure and overall mentality correlate to her development in language throughout the story. Leah enters the Congo as a religious, rule-following adolescent from the suburbs of Bethlehem, Georgia, but as time passes and she becomes accustomed to the land, Leah begins to develop in ways that were once unforeseen by her and her family.

In The Poisonwood Bible, written by Barbara Kingsolver, the aspect of biblical allusion is clearly present throughout the majority of the novel. For example, one of the most conspicuous allusions to the Bible is the way that Kingsolver has purposely named some of the main characters in her book after different people and images in the Bible. Kingsolver uses this biblical allusion to develop important themes, events, and characters in her novel. Kingsolver makes references to the Bible by tying in and creating similarities between important events and themes in the Bible and important events and themes in her novel.

In many ways, the African culture and experience have an everlasting effect on Adah. The first encounter of the Price family with Africa is filled with misunderstanding and bewilderment of the culture but Adah simply observes and admires the culture. “ And so the Price family passes its judgments. All but Adah. Adah unpasses her judgements” (32).

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

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

Throughout a lifetime, many things are gained; experience, wisdom, knowledge, as well as a sure sense of self. But along with all these great things come regret, guilt, and shame of past events. Everyone deals with these in different ways, sometimes turning to religion and denial as coping mechanisms. In the novel The Poisonwood Bible, By Barbara Kingsolver, each member of the Price family deals with a personal guilt either gained while on their mission in the Congo or long before. This novel exemplifies the different types of guilt the Price family experienced throughout their stay in the Congo, and shows various means of reconciliation and forgiveness as the guilt is absolved.

Adah’s psychological state is her first step to achieving balance through acceptance. Throughout her youth, Adah often believes she is worth nothing, particularly because of her physical disorder:

In Barbra Kingsolver’s Poisonwood Bible, there are numerous distinct perspectives within each member of the Price family. However, the most compelling evidence of perception is the Price family towards the father, Nathan Price. There is a common consensus between the Price family that Nathan’s arrogance and ignorance has resulted in their excessively timed stain in the Congo. Throughout the course of Poisonwood Bible, each character in the Price family perspectives cohesively alters towards disgust for Nathan.

When readers are first introduced to Adah, she lives in a society full of people and things that make her feel disabled, different, and held back. Adah is impaired on the whole right side of her body, which includes a significant limp and a different way of mentally processing information. She is not dumber or less intelligent than others; she just goes about things differently. Her own sisters talk about how she is disabled and can not do certain things. Everyone either pities Adah, or looks down upon her. She feels like a freak of nature because of how the people around her treat her. Adah is so used to feeling this way that she often refers to herself as “Quasimodo” and “left behind”(Kingslover 62).

Often, the things people consider to be valuable have the ability to influence them. For instance, one who values their family is likely to base important life decisions on the impact they would have on his or her relatives. People who value money are known to engage in risky behaviors, such as gambling, in hopes of making a profit. The books we read can have this same power. Books that have value, or merit, are not only able to entertain but also leave the reader thinking about the issues the book discusses long after they've set it down. These pieces of literature leave a lasting impression on their audience for both their artistic storytelling and the impacting message they leave behind. Barbara Kingsolver's novel, The Poisonwood Bible displays

LIST OF THE MAJOR CHARACTERS Orleanna Price-mother, abandoned her husband Rachel price- Oldest daughter, spoiled, uses others for her own gain Leah price- twin, political activist, married anatole Adah price- half paralysed, became a major scientist Ruth may price- youngest, killed by black mamba snake Nathan price- preacher, died in africa trying to convert the natives 4. LIST OF THE SIGNIFICANT MINOR CHARACTERS Eeben Axelroot- pilot, fake marriage to rachel and told her us secrets Anatole Ngemba- husband and mentor for Leah Tata Ndu- leader of village, tries to marry rachel Tata Kuvunda-resident witch doctor, ends up killing

Barbara Kingsolver, born in 1955, grew up in Kentucky and lived in many different countries such as : England, France, and Canary Islands. She attended Debauw University and University of Arizona where she earned a biology degree. Kingsolver now is a beloved author of eleven books and has been named the most important author of the twentieth century and has had the honor of receiving the National Humanities medal in 2000. In 1998 she wrote “The Poisonwood Bible” and was short-listed for the pulitzer prize. Kingsolver now resides in Southwestern Virginia with her daughters and husband on a farm.

In his essay “Walking” Henry David Thoreau offers the following assessment of literature: “In literature it is only the wild that attracts us. Dullness is but another name for tameness. It is the uncivilised free and wild thinking in Hamlet and The Iliad, in all scriptures and mythologies,not learned in schools, that delights us” Write an essay in which you explain what constitutes The Poisonwood Bible’s “uncivilised, wild and free thinking,” and how that thinking is central to the value and meaning of the work as a whole.

Virginia Woolf once iterated, “ I would venture to guess that Anon, who wrote so many poems without signing them, was often a woman.” Often, the endeavors of women in history go undocumented or discounted, hindered by either the prevailing male entities which tend to govern most enterprises or, the establishment of a structure which markedly devalues them. With a similar sentiment, in Barbara Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood Bible, the efforts of women are noted to occur without recognition from the patriarchal structure which governs the societies discussed. Towed to the Congo by the will of the father and husband, Nathan Price, Orleanna and her four daughters, Ruth May, Leah, Adah, and Rachel must struggle to survive and support Nathan, while

4c) Religion is explored through setting, Adichie uses Aunty Ifeoma’s home to teach Kambili things about religion different that she had been taught be her father. It was in Aunty Ifeoma’s house that Kambili understood her grandfather’s traditionalist religion and was able to make a link between Catholicism and Traditionalist.