Character Analysis : The Poisonwood Bible

People face difficult and life altering challenges every day. Some of the bad times are more complex and affect more people than other types can. A challenge can start out as a family trying to help the less fortunate, but then take a turn for the worse. Even if it wasn't a specific person’s fault, he or she still feels guilty. In The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, the author uses symbolism and allusions to prove the theme everyone has and deals with guilt differently.

In the book The Body in the Woods by April Henry there is a contrast/contradiction moment where Ruby’s parents don’t allow her to go on the SAR search. The book states that, “Ruby had an excruciating awareness of her own strangeness. No matter how hard she tried, she found it impossible to fit in. Being friends with Alexis had helped.” This shows that Ruby normally doesn’t fit in, but when she joined SAR the only girls were Alexis and her, so she felt she fit in a little bit when she had a friend. Another piece of evidence states that, “ ‘You’ll go to school tomorrow, not the sheriff’s office. And you’ll contact the SAR and tell them you’re going to have to withdraw from the group... Anger made Ruby rigid, locked her rebuttal in her throat.”

In the Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, the story is told through multiple points of view. Each member of the Price family is noticeably different, and each have their own inner demons. As each character is unlike, the way they handle their guilt, and search for forgiveness are also different. Some characters like Orleanna Price are forgiven by the end of the novel, and others, such as Nathan Price are not as fortunate. In this story the biggest

This quote shows how Leah starts to doubt her fathers ways, she is not flat-out disobeying him but she does not believe that his ideas are true. Leah wants to be independent, but it’s hard for her to change because she has been dependent on her father her entire life. In this quote Leah shows the reader how much she has changed,

When Leah arrives in Africa, she is oblivious to the completely different world she is entering. She attempts to help her father with his work, yearning for his attention and recognition, but does not understand the foreign environment and culture she is engulfed by; her father, too preoccupied with his work and too set in his misogynist ways, does not listen to his daughter or even regard her positively. However, Leah is utterly dedicated to her father, saying “I know

Emily Dickinson once stated “saying nothing...sometimes says the most”. This is very true in Barbara Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood Bible when Adah chooses to keep silent and not waste her days speaking about pointless things. She only speaks when she absolutely has to, which is not often. Maybe she only stayed mute because of Emily Dickinson’s opinion, but she also stayed silent because she thought it was funny and out of spite for her bleak prognosis from doctors. People think she is strange for doing this,but most assume her silence is due to her hemiplegia, as the doctors diagnosed. Her silence is a feature of her “slant”, or her entire identity (439). Adah also has other significant features of her personality, such as sarcasm and her love of palindromes. In The Poisonwood Bible, Adah Price’s syntax and diction aid in creating her odd characterization.

Alexis’s mother is mentally ill. No one knew until she told Bran. (Bran is one of her friends.) One day her mom and her got into an argument about people watching her. She was off her meds at the time and when She stormed out of the house she didn't take anything, not even her phone or jacket, and she didn't come back home for days at a time. Alexis never gave up looking for her mom. she looked everyday, asked people if they had seen her. She was very persistent.

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

Life isn’t black and white and this is a sentiment that the book The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver tried to express. The aforementioned book is about an American family from Georgia, which leaves the comfort of the USA to go to a missionary mission in the country of Congo, in the town of Kilanga. Throughout the novel, it can be seen how the Congo either changes or reveals the true personalities of its 5 narrators (Orleanna, Rachel, Leah, Adah and Ruth May). This can be seen through the use of different motifs, some which even contradict each other help bring life into this novel by creating complex characters and revealing how true personalities are in their own way as, state before, life is not black and white,

Leah, the tomboy of the family, opposes her father's mission and finds out the true man he really is; this changes her opinion towards religion. Leah puts forth tremendous effort to be accepted by her father, however then realizes that her father is an "ugly man." She sees that her father's "blue eyes with their left sided squint..had a vacant look. His large reddish ears repelled me. My father was a simple, ugly man." When Leah was younger she practiced religion based on her father's perspective, however after making the realization of her father's true colors, she chooses to practice her religion. Leah follows the path of the

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.

The Poisonwood Bible ultimately says a lot about storytelling. Unlike other books or novels, Kingsolver writes The Poisonwood Bible in the form of different perspectives. Instead of just reading the whole story in one point of view, it is told in a series of events by each Price sister and Orleanna. For example, Orleanna tells the story from a mothers’ view. She talks about her struggles in the Congo for her and her family. Orleanna is mostly depressed and exhausted throughout the novel, so the reader sees the story through a different point of view rather than what they would with the other characters, such as Leah, Rachel, Adah, and Ruth May. Orleanna

Nor Hell a fury, like a woman scorned.”-William Congreve, The Mourning Bride, Act III, Sc.IIX, 1697

The Poisonwood Bible is a book about a man named Nathan Price who takes his wife and four daughters on a mission into the Congo. All of their ups and downs are documented throughout the story. This novel was written by Barbara Kingsolver in 1998. This story was inspired from her own personal trip that her father took her on, to the Congo, where they lived without and water, electricity, and many other necessities. During the time period that this book was being written, a lot of feminist and post-colonial literature was being acknowledged. Feminist literature is both nonfiction and fiction that supports women by defending political, economic and social rights for women. Many works of feminist literature depict strong willed women who

Imagine you are a lawyer tasked with an impossible case, and everybody in your community is against you, but still there is a shred of hope you cling to. What might that be you ask? That to which you cling are your morals. In To Kill a Mockingbird Atticus Finch had been given the Tom Robinson case, where a black man was convicted of raping a white woman. As a single father of two children, he continues to reinforce his values throughout the trial and during his daunting task of raising his children. In To Kill A Mockingbird what Harper Lee suggests about the nature of morals is that you should try to stand up for what you believe in even if people oppose or reject your ideals. Even when faced with an insurmountable opposition you should stand up for your morals because in the end if your don't follow your beliefs you are just contributing to the problem. We should try to create a voice for what we believe in and impress that upon the next generation so they can continue to exercise their beliefs to make the world a better place.