Nathan's Decisions In The Poisonwood Bible

A noticeable pattern in The Poisonwood Bible would be plain old ignorance from the Americans regarding the African people. A huge part of the story is showing how ignorant the west is of the culture in Africa. Nathan Price is constantly showing this off by wanting to baptize children in a river filled to the brim with crocodiles and other awful, dangerous things. Even once this is explained to him he still continues to push the issue because he feels he is right even when it is blatantly obvious he is not. Also he says, “Tata Jesus is bängala!”(Kingsolver 276) Thus constantly pronouncing “bängala” incorrectly; instead of calling Jesus “dearly beloved” he ends up calling him a dangerous tree making any arguments about his religion sound irrelevant

As a soldier stationed in the Philippines, Nathan ran away from the fray when he was wounded by piece of shrapnel. While in hiding, his unit would meet their death in the infamous Bataan Death March. Nathan is the only one to in his unit to survive. This is root of his guilt and the influence of his actions, for the rest of the story. Nathan, forever guilty of his cowardice, is permanently scarred. “Hounded by what happened in a Philippine Jungle and the ghosts of a thousand men who didn’t escape it, his steadfast disdain for cowardice turned to obsession” (Kingsolver,96) Nathan even receives the Purple Heart for “surviving” the war, the medal isn't for heroism or bravery, its for being wounded. It’s a medal of failure, that further provokes Nathan’s shame. After the war is when Nathan began his strict devotion Christianity, what the reader witnesses throughout the story. This is what leads him to Kilanga, willingly putting his family in danger to spread the name of the lord, in hope of redemption. Nathan’s guilt at having escaped the Bataan death march has twisted his belief in God, he sees God as one who punishes and rewards strictly on the basis of merit. He lives trying to earn his, by pushing the teaching of Christianity to the Congolese. Nathan masks his cowardice using a sort of “divine right”. He uses god to justify every decision he makes, disregarding anyone elses opinion. “father needs permission only from the Saviour"

Nathan Drum is the type of person everybody should strive to be, and although he stumbles, he gets back up again soon after. Nathan reacts to Ariel’s death the calmest of the family members. Yet we hear him ask, “Why Ariel? Why not me? The sins are mine. Why Punish her? Or Ruth?” (191). Even when faced with the death of a loved one, he does not question his faith. He may ask why God did something as bad as taking his only daughter instead of himself, the one that committed the crimes of war, but will not denounce God. Nathan’s faith that everything is going to be alright in the end is incredible to me. The Sunday after Ariel’s death shows just how incredible God’s power is. Now even though Nathan did not give a sermon at every church, it took a lot of guts and immense trust for him to preach in one of these churches. After having the darkest moment in his life, he comes out and gives one of the best sermons I have ever seen.

It is no doubt that “The Poisonwood Bible” has some references to the actual Bible, and

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.

Douglas is accepted by the family and Kenneth is the only one left between Douglas and Connie, like David was the only one brave enough to fight Goliath. Kenneth can also be portrayed as Moses leading people to safety because he does with Connie when he kills the intruder. Kenneth's experience can also be compared to the story of Adam and Eve. "Another way of saying "loss of innocence," of couse is 'the Fall.' Adam and Eve, the garden, the serpent, the forbidden fruit. Every story about the loss of innocence is really about someone's private reenactment of the fall from grace". (Foster 49) Kenneth and Connie both loss some form of innocence in this story and their introduction to real death and violence is the forbidden fruit - Kenneth loses the most innocence because he commits a sin of murder. While defending against the intruder, Kenneth acts on what he thinks is right, just like the biblical characters

In the Belgian Congo, rubber plantation owners cut off the hands of their workers if their quota was not met. Mistreatment of the people by the country imperializing them was a common practice. King Leopold II used the Congo as a cash cow while lying about helping the Congolese natives. Barbara Kingsolver wrote The Poisonwood Bible in order to shine a light on the United States’ and Belgium’s complicity in the Congo’s political turmoil. She was thought to be “one of the most controversial writers of her time” (“Barbara Kingsolver (1955-)”). Throughout many of her novels, she used allegory and satire in an attempt to open people’s eyes. More specific themes in The Poisonwood Bible include not only allegory and satire, but also cultural arrogance

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.

Upon returning from pillaging another English town, an Indian offers Mary Rowlandson a “gift” of a Bible, which he had stolen from a dead English townsperson. The usage of the word “plunder” connoted the violent force used to obtain the Bible. This enhances the significance of the irony of Rowlandson overlooking the fact that someone was murdered in order for her to receiver her “gift.” Rowlandson’s Calvinist views, which made her believe that God brought the Bible to her, outweighed any sympathy for nay anonymous English person, and the intended demographic (late 15th century Calvinists) of readers of this captivity narrative would have agreed. An alternative example presents itself when Rowlandson attempts to convince Goodwife Joslin, a very pregnant captive who was becoming impatient and wanted to go home, not to run away., “I wished her not to run away by any means […] We opened the Bible and lightened on Psalm 27 […] “Wait on the Lord, Be good of courage, and he shall strengthen thine Heart, wait I say on the Lord.” (4); Rowlandson utilizes her Bible as a tool to steer others into the light of God, whether it means deteriorating their own safety and health, proving that she will lack sympathy for humans in favor of devotion to her God.

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.

I was curious as to how did the title The Poisonwood Bible associated with the text. The form of this novel is written in a similar pattern as the biblical bible. The words “Poisonwood” first appeared when Mama Tataba warns Nathan not to touch the poison plant. The second time the words occurs from a mispronunciation. Adah narrated, “TATA JESUS IS BANGALA... Banglala means something precious and dear. But the way he pounces it, it means the poisonwood tree” (276). Nathan makes this mistake over and over. His mistakes here help indicates the theme of ignorance even more. It also reinforces the theme of language, as to how power language can be. There is an irony here as to pastor Nathan is trying to preach to the Congolese about how Jesus is

There are various depictions of opposite ideas in Barbra Kingsolver’s “The Poisonwood Bible”. Symbols of good and evil, lights and darks, sick and healthy, and social and natural balances are reoccurring images throughout Kingsolver’s work. Among these images is the one shown of Nathan Price and his counterpart Brother Fowles.

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

Morals are an essential part of the human psyche. In Herman Melville’s “Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street,” the scribe Bartleby works for a lawyer for a short period of time. During the time, the lawyer notices Bartleby’s odd characteristics which are similar to the characteristics of how lepers in The Bible are treated. In the short story, Melville infuses the story with symbols such as the Dead Letter Office and a key phrase that alludes to the narrator’s failure to answer the moral question that Bartleby presents of how lepers should be treated in society.