Examples Of Exile In The Poisonwood Bible

Although Nathan’s motives for forcing his family from 1950s urban America to the village Congo may be genuinely good, his ignorance

His stubborn nature gives him the idea that the Congolese people are naked, uneducated savages. He has no ear for what his family says, or what their opinions are, and has a very “cram the word of God down your throat” way of preaching. Nathan is completely ignorant to the Congolese way of life, and language, that he doesn’t realize that he calls Jesus poisonwood in a mispronunciation of the Congolese word for precious.

Consequently, the family started to realize that Nathan’s drive is not to help the Congo receive salvation, but for his own self-centered motives. He screams to Rachel and Leah saying “God despises a coward who runs while others stand and suffer” (238). Nathan tries to impose guilt amongst his family with hope that they will gain sympathy towards the people whom dwell in the Congo. However, the peril in the Congo becomes a prevalent threat to the Price family, and evacuation would be pivotal for their own safety. Moreover, the family started losing faith as Nathan forces their stay in the Congo. Leah exclaimed in the text, “” [Our stay in the Congo] has opened up in my heart a sickening world of doubts and possibilities, where before I had only faith in my father and love for the Lord” (244). From the Prices perspective excluding Nathan, their faith has diminished because of the method in which Nathan demanded their stay in the Congo. Thus, Nathan is the driving force for the Price family’s loss of faith and

Through Orleanna Price, the reader learns that upon marriage, Nathan was drafted for the war. While on the Philippine shore, his company fought their way into Luzon. After being struck in the head with a shell fragment, Nathan was spotted on the beach and picked up by a PT boat. It wasn’t until a few days later that Nathan learned that his fellow soldiers did not make it out alive. Orleanna states, “It would permanently curl one soldier’s heart like a piece of shoe leather” (196). Nathan’s guilt for surviving the war makes him fearless when placed in dangerous situations, such as life in the Congo. Not only does Nathan Price carry the burden of guilt throughout the novel, but Orleanna does as well. Upon the death of Ruth May, Orleanna carries the guilt of not guiding her daughters out of the Congo to safety. Orleanna states, “The substance of grief if not imaginary. It’s as real as rope or the absence of air, and like both those things it can kill. My body understood there was no safe place for me to be” (381). Through these words, Orleanna expresses to the reader that guilt can truly never be escaped. Its burden will follow you wherever you

Even before the reader is aware of the reality of his war experience, it is clear that Nathan has an underlying motivation to save the Congolese. Upon their arrival, Nathan quickly abandons all attempts to console and provide for his family in order to go and attempt to save the natives. Even when advised by the Underdowns to leave the Congo due to an inevitable war for independence, Nathan refuses to abandon what he feels is his calling, even if it means putting his family at risk in order to be viewed as bold in the eyes of the Lord. His fear of being viewed by God as a coward drives him to give up all attempts to make life any better for his family or even to save their lives. Although many would view following the Lord’s calling as an act of obedience, Nathan’s abandonment of his family is clearly the overarching choice that he is making. Because of the choices he makes, his intentions may be interpreted as both humble and

is in constant war. For the Price family, the Congo was over 7,000 miles away from home

He is the personification of justice based on him wanting to liberate the Congo to

Since the Second World War, Nathan has been filled with a burning frenzy to pay the debt given to him by God for escaping death in the Battaan Death March –a fate the rest of his army battalion suffered–

In the Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, Nathan opposes the views of the entire village and the country. Although, Nathan's views conflict with African society, that doesn't stop him from trying to convert them. Nathan's brash behavior creates chaos and eventually splits his family apart. Nathans past and personality explain why he feels like the missionary work is essential in the Congo. Nathan’s case is symbolic of the colonization of Africa by the western culture.

Nathan claims that for the sinners to truly be reborn they must first be baptized, just as Jesus said “let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3.15). However, the tribe members refuse baptism, due to the dangers lurking in the depths of its murky water. The author depicts Nathan's selfish nature through his unwillingness to accept the tribe's simple request. To illuminate how far Nathan is willing to go to spread his ideas of God, as well as his overwhelming God complex, the author sacrifices Ruth May, Nathan's youngest child. When told of her death, Nathan does not take responsibility for what happens, but instead simply says "she wasn't baptized yet," which stirs a new filmy hatred in his children, particularly Leah, who had once seen reason behind Nathan's trek to the Congo, but now sees the painful truth behind the journey. Through her father’s outlandish behavior, Leah discovers that Nathan not only physically isolates her from the beauty of the world, but also spiritually binds her to his own misconceptions of God. She “[feels] the breath of God go cold on her skin” as she realizes her father's simplistic idea of God is the driving force of her and her family’s alienation, not the Congo or the individuals who reside there. As a result to Nathan’s behavior, his family loses faith in him and flees the Congo as a civil war breaks loose, and he is left alone, and is eventually murdered for his

The “villainy” in Nathan Price’s character stems from the lack of emotion he shows towards others. In the book the political state of the Congo is questionable. It begins to get more unstable the Congo announces independence. With this independence comes a lot of risks in staying there. The Underdowns warned the Price family

Nathan Alan Hunt was born on 2/1/1982 at Jerseyville Community Hospital in Jerseyville, IL to Kenneth Ray Hunt and Debra Lucille (AKA Fones) Hunt. Kenneth Ray Hunt and Debra Lucille (AKA Fones) Hunt were married on 3/27/1976 in Jerseyville, IL. They currently live at 305 Prairie Street, Greenfield, IL. 62044. Nathan and Sam are close to his parents. Nathan works for his father so he sees him every work day. He talks to his mother once a week. Nathan and Sam usually go to their house once a month. Nathan Grew up at 305 Prairie Street, Greenfield. His parents still live at this address. He grew up in the small town of Greenfield. He spent a lot of time outside riding bicycles, playing sports, and hanging out with friends. A fond childhood memory Nathan could recall was playing with friends in the open lot near our home. A bad childhood memory, he could recall was fell out of an apple tree and he broke his arm. When Nathan misbehaved as a child, he was spanked on the rear. Nathan graduated from Greenfield High School in Greenfield, IL. in 2000. Nathan was an A/B student in school. He was in athletics from grade school

Nathan decides to stay at the blacksmith shop because he needs the skills his uncle could teach him, as stated in the passage. Although Nathan's uncle treats him a little rough and he makes him do hard work, Nathan's uncle is helping him become stronger. His uncle makes him "pump the bellows" and make nails. Because Nathan kept "pumping the bellows", he was soon able to make perfect nails. Nathan realized that his uncle had skills that could be taught to him, so he decided to stay with his uncle instead of going to sea with Jeremy. Clearly, Nathan wants to stay because of the skills he could

They all laughed at him and called him pathetic. After the fashion show accident, his agent dropped him and he was unemployed and was missing a toe. At least he has his house and check and if he needed a new job, he could become a bodybuilder. As he is walking home, his arm and leg fall off and now he is scared and is missing many body parts. Since Nathan did not have a phone due to his hatred for them and his love for the 1980s, he could not call anyone for help. Nathan sat down on the abandoned street and cried for 5 hours because of how his life has just started to go

Nathan is following in Dan’s footsteps one hundred percent. He is being the number one basketball player, he gets all the girls, he is succeeding at being the town jerk, and much more. Nathan had recently got a girlfriend named Haley James, she is the clever scholarly girl. Nathan had only started dating Haley to get at his brother Lucas, who was best friends with Haley. When Nathan and Haley first started dating he would act like a jerk just to keep up with his reputation.