The Poisonwood Bible By Barbara Kingsolver

Barbara Kingsolver’s novel, The Poisonwood Bible, explores numerous themes and ideas , standouts being feminism and religion. The Missionary Position: Barbara Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood Bible, and Singing a New Song from the Conqueror's Music: Religious Hybridity in The Poisonwood Bible both deeply analyse Kingsolver’s Poisonwood Bible’s stance on religion and how the book portrays colonialism and religion and its effect on others. Outline each critical text’s stance on your topic.

In The Poisonwood Bible (1998), author Barbara Kingsolver uses an array of stylistic features to influence the meanings that the readers make of the text. Perhaps the most prominent aspects of style employed are the manipulations in narrative voice. The novel has five narrators, the mother and four daughters of the Price family. Kingsolver has created a unique voice and personality for each of the Price girls by using specific diction, syntax, and sentence structure depending on which narrative voice is engaged. Using these stylistic features to construct five very different points of view, the reader is able to form a just opinion of the events in the novel, and thus Kingsolver ultimately persuades the reader into making the desired

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.

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

In The Poisonwood Bible, the novel opens with a narrative instruction, and it has an effect on the reader in one main way. The directive is meant to make the reader put him/herself in the setting of the story, and read it as if you are in the novel. In the opening paragraph, it tells us, “I want you to be its conscience, the eyes in the trees,” which is telling the reader to read the novel as if you are there (Kingsolver 5). This suggests about the novel that the Price family is going to do missionary work in Africa, and there are going to be events that occur to show what happens when they go to Africa. When Orleanna continues her narration, the “you” that she is speaking to appears to be the God that she believes in. Orleanna states, “Your bright eyes bear down on me without cease,” which shows that she is talking to someone from above (Kingsolver 7). The great disasters that Orleanna alludes is when her and her family do missionary work in Africa. The reason why she is telling the story looking back on Africa and the girls tell it as if it is happening is because they both have different perspectives on the whole situation. Orleanna is talking about something that she has experienced while she was in Africa, and the girls talk about stuff that happens in their everyday lives. Orleanna is talking about the whole trip at one time, while the girls take it step by step.

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

Throughout Barbara Kingsolver’s novel The Poisonwood Bible, the downfall of the Price family is enclosed through the words of each family member. One may blame Nathan Price, the father of the Price family, for the downfall of his family. Therefore, his preaching is poisonous to his loved ones. During their time in the Congo, the women of the Price family constantly wish to return back home, but it is Nathan who forces their stay. Nathan poisons his family through his abusive behavior towards his family, and ultimately kills his daughter, Ruth May. Aside from poisoning his own family, Nathan Price also poisons the African people. Towards the end of the novel, Adah Price goes into detail about the mistakes that have taken place in the copies of the Bible. For

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

Orleanna Price is presented with the difficult task of moving her four daughters, Rachel, Leah, Adah, and Ruth May, and her husband, Nathan. However, this is not a typical move to another house within their city limits or even to another state. Orleanna has to move her family of six from southern Georgia to a less than rural village in the Congo. Her husband, Reverend Nathan Price, believes God wants him to travel to the Congo, bringing his family along with him, on a mission to share the teachings of Jesus Christ. Since their marriage, her husband has slowly disregarded Orleanna as a significant other. Due to this, when Orleanna did not show enthusiasm or trust in this adventure, Nathan was not hesitant to disregard her feelings. Losing this battle, Orleanna had to meticulously choose what to pack for their excursion. Once their luggage bags reached the weight limit for the airline, Nathan refused to pay any more than what the airline allotted. Therefore, Orleanna had to pack their remaining things within the clothes of her and her daughters, as Nathan 's only thing he had to take was the message of Jesus, which was confined within his brain. After two uncomfortable airplane rides, the Prices finally landed in Kilanga, Congo. They were presented their church and their home after being speculated by the numerous women, men, and children of the village. These villagers, many of

much like college advocates, for the best selling story of a missionary family to be interpreted

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.

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.

Often in novels, characters are faced with justice of some sort. The same can be said for the characters of Barbara Kingsolver’s novel, The Poisonwood Bible. Overall, the best example of this complex character can be seen in the twin Price daughter, Leah. She is the character that stands out when it comes to the injustice that occurs in the Congo. After Ruth May dies, the Price women all journey to leave the Congo.

In The Poisonwood Bible, author Barbara Kingsolver creates a sinful outlook on the world's imperialism in the Congo. Europe and America are the image of racism and greed that corrupts the Congos way of life. The United States and Europe insert themselves into the Congolese formation of a government system and assassinate Patrice Lumumba then replacing him with Mobutu, a leader loyal to the United States, that receives the riches extorted from his country. Kingsolver uses Nathan Price and Brother Fowles polar opposite standpoints to show how missionaries deal with the Congos moralistic views and its traditions. Nathan believes that the only way to help the Congo is to evangelize and baptism every Cologlese. Brother Fowles sees the Congo for the beauty that it is and tries to respect the culture, while changing traditions that he sees as unjust. Kingsolver’s viewpoint on morality in the Congo is that America and Europe corrupts the culture of the Congo by bringing greed and a disrespect of Congolese culture, all while undermining the Congolese ability to make decisions for themselves.