Character Analysis Of Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible

Perhaps her most acclaimed work is The Poisonwood Bible, published in 1998. She was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize and the PEN/Faulkner Award, and later received the U.S. National Humanities Award (Hamilton) for this book and her service to the arts. The Poisonwood Bible tells the story of a Southern Baptist missionary family adapting to life in the Congo. It is narrated by the daughters of the family (Hamilton). She heavily researched the background for this book, traveling to Central Africa during the writing process. This book was also named a Best Book of 1998 by the New York Times Review

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.

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.

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 the historical fiction The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver portrays the American perspective on Africa with the use of a physical representation. In the beginning of the novel, the Price family, the protagonists and narrators, have their own perspective of their journey in a village of Kilanga which is located in South Africa in a congo. The family came with mindsets of missionaries because the father of the family, Nathan, has the desire to spread the word of God and the religion of Christianity throughout the the Congo. However, his unusually amount of urge to change the faith and religion of the African people demonstrate the American perspective because of the ignorance and the lack of acknowledgement of the people and setting. Thus, Barbara Kingsolver uses Nathan as a physical representative of the American perspective. In order to demonstrate the arrogance of the American perspective on the African people, Barbara Kingsolver dramatizes the tension between Nathan and the African people, suggesting that the American people view their principles more superior than principles of the African people despite the difference in setting and influences.

Throughout the Poisonwood Bible, Kingsolver utilizes the experience of the Congo to enhance and rediscover the faith of three of the Price daughters. At the age of fifteen, Rachel, the Price's oldest child, reveals her true beliefs of her religion through her petulant remarks of the Congo. During her stay in Africa, Rachel only talks of possessions she left behind. Rachel misses items such as toilet paper and sets of clean clothes. She, however, doesn't mention the bible in the list of items she longs for. She believes that the only method of survival is not to adapt to the conditions and surroundings. Rachel states, "The way I see Africa, you don't have to like it but you sure have to admit

The closing of Poisonwood Bible recapitulates all that has happened throughout the eyes of no other than Ruth May, watching from the trees. She leaves the reader and he family with peace, she is not angry, she is not upset, she is content. “Being dead is not worse than being alive” (538). Ruth May’s insightful voice echoes that of her mothers in the beginning. Ruth May has matured, not only in her diction but her purpose has to morphed into

Throughout The Poisonwood Bible, Leah develops a deep love for Anatole (Kingsolver). Her love becomes conflicting, and race causes Leah’s love to become a challenge. Leah is a white girl from America and Anatole is a colored man from Africa (Kingsolver). Beliefs, views, and

In Barbara Kingsolver’s novel, Poisonwood Bible, she used the transition between narrators which shed light on the perspective of each member of the Price family. The Price family ventures from Georgia to the Congo led by their father, a Baptist Minister. Throughout their journey each narrator dramatically changes. The families influence on the Congo is parallel to western influence in the Congo.

Based on the book blurb, The Poisonwood Bible is described as a very straightforward story about a family of missionaries who travel to Africa to spread the good word, but run into problems when the Congolese people are not as open to the new religion as hoped by the missionaries. However, once the reader begins to analyze the text, they realize this family was not at all predictable or straightforward. From beginning to end, Kingsolver uses detailed imagery of the Price family, the Congo setting, the Congolese people and all activities the characters would partake in to lead the reader to a clear understanding of each scene. With elaborate descriptions and a vigorous tone, Barbara Kingsolver paints a picture of a classic white family who

Kingsolver’s Portrayal of Christianity in The Poisonwood Bible Kingsolver’s concern with Christianity is evident in the very title of The Poisonwood Bible. She uses ‘books’ to divide the novel into sections, which, with names like Genesis and The Revelation, reflect the books of the Bible. As the novel progresses, the structure deviates from that of its biblical namesakes: there is a shift in order - Exodus is placed centrally - and new books with titles such as The Eyes in the Trees are introduced (Kingsolver’s own appellations).

In The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver uses symbolism within her characters to portray the insidious nature of Western civilization asserting their ideals and politics into the post-colonial African Congo, undercut with a description of the events of the time.

Barbara Kingsolver has been writing books since 1988 and has written over 12 books. She has won the New York Times 10 Best Books of the Year award for her literary work on The Poisonwood Bible. The setting of the book takes place in the Congo around the 1960’s. The family in the book is a missionary family that has just moved from the United States to the Congo, and they are adjusting themselves to this new environment. One character that shows a significant change is Adah Price. Barbara Kingsolver develops the character of Adah Price in the novel through the things that people say about Adah and what she thinks of herself.

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

Barbara Kingsolver takes an interesting approach to voice and perspective while writing The Poisonwood Bible. The book is divided by narration, switching from Ruth May, Leah, Adah, Rachel, and Orleanna. The different perspectives allow Kingsolver to compare and contrast the book’s main characters. Through this design, the reader learns more about the situations because they receive a more well-rounded view of the entire story. Kingsolver differentiates between the four sisters through their individual voices, revealing specific character traits and differing reactions to their life in Africa.