Poisonwood Bible Essay - 1937 Words

Poisonwood Bible Barbara Kingsolver is the author of many well-written pieces of literature including The Poisonwood Bible. This novel explores the beauty and hardships that exist in the Belgian Congo in 1959. Told by the wife and four daughters of a fierce Baptist, Nathan Price, Kingsolver clearly captures the realities this family and mission went through during their move to the Congo. The four daughters were raised in Atlanta Georgia in the 1950’s therefore entering the Congo with preconceived racial beliefs, and a very different way of life than they would soon experience. Throughout The Poisonwood Bible Kingsolver explores the importance and impact of faith, and a religion based on your own private beliefs. Orleanna Price, the†¦show more content†¦As Mathew 6:1 states, â€Å"Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven,† Nathan Price, is very hypocritical as he does his good deeds to be noticed, while Orleanna does them out of faith and moral righteousness. Rachel is the oldest of the four daughters, at 15 years of age, the whiny would-be beauty queen who cares for naught but appearances, can think only of what she misses: the five-day deodorant pads she forgot to bring, flush toilets, machine-washed clothes and other things, as she says with her willful gift for malapropism, that she has taken for granted, the bible and her faith were no where near the top of her list. Her only way of surviving in the Congo was simply to not adapt at all; as she says The way I see Africa, you dont have to like it but you sure have to admit its out there. You have your way of thinking and it has its, and never the train ye shall meet! Thi quote not only applies to her views of the Congo, but also of her views on religion. While growing up with her father, her religion was forced upon her, as for their punishment the children were sentenced to â€Å"the verse†, in which they were required to right out one hundred lines direct from the bible by memory. She doesn’t seem to enjoy the idea of faith, but there is no doubt that she realizes it’sShow MoreRelatedThe Poisonwood Bible2189 Words   |  9 Pagesin the Congo. These countries may have not been aware of their influence at the time, but the outcome nonetheless was drastic. Cultural misunderstandings were the ultimate catalyst for the Congo’s destruction. In Barbara Kingsolver’s novel The Poisonwood Bible published in 1998 she exposes how cultural ignorance creates problems. With her chosen syntax, point of view, and time gap of each narrator Kingsolver exposes how close mindedness creates unfulfilled results because individuals can not adaptRead MoreAnalysis Of The Poisonwood Bible1093 Words   |  5 PagesTitle of Work: â€Å"The Poisonwood Bible† Author: Barbara Kingsolver. Date of Publication: 1998. Genre: Historical Fiction. Writing Style: five narrators to show different perspectives of the events that occur. Orleanna creates vivid images of her past and uses descriptive language, Rachel talks informally, Leah uses a lot of dialogue and is informed, Adah uses palindromes, has a sarcastic tone, uses descriptive language as well, and Ruth May’s style is simple and playful. Point of View(s): first-personRead MoreThe Poisonwood Bible, And The Movie1399 Words   |  6 Pagesadversity which are sacrifices. In this independent study unit, Barbara Kingsolver’s novel, The Poisonwood Bible, and the movie â€Å"In America,† demonstrates the difficulties of being an immigrant as a result of different cultures, fear and frustration, and starting a new life. Both the book and movie shows newly immigrants confronting adversities of adapting to a new, unfamiliar culture. In Poisonwood Bible, not being accustomed to the culture in Congo, this surprises the Price family, as Rachel PriceRead MoreThe Poisonwood Bible By. Kingsolver Essay1369 Words   |  6 PagesThe theme of â€Å"The Poisonwood Bible,† starts with the cultural selfishness of the Cogeneses people toward the western power. Most of the perspective of novel turns to feminist of four Price daughters and their mother. In the novel people of the Kilanga wants to adopt a religion which will protect them from natural disaster and starvation. Nathan Price wants to change the ancient tradition values of Congo with his own beliefs of worshiping the god. This part of Africa is ruled by the Western PowersRead MoreThe Poisonwood Bible Analysis903 Words   |  4 Pages as it is idealized in the western world, it is in different forms than what westerners are used too, but unwillingl y, individuals are forced into the westerns way of teaching, compelling them to believe it can fix all their problems. In The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver criticizes the way religion affects an individual’s arrogance, political stance, and guilt, due to a belief that religion can fix dilemmas, and this conflicts the main characters and their own beliefs. In this novel, the PriceRead MoreAnalysis Of The Poisonwood Bible1548 Words   |  7 Pages Barbara Kingsolver s novel The Poisonwood Bible captures a white southern families struggles through cultural collision and avid yet destructive faith. Kingsolver utilizes personal narratives to highlight the effect of western presence in Africa, not only pertaining to the natives but to the intrusive westerners themselves. The Price women display an array of different reactions to their quest in the Congo— each character contributes a different perspective which furthers the plot. Leah PriceRead MoreThe Poisonwood Bible By Barbara Kingsolver1241 Words   |  5 Pagesessentially every past and present known society, women have not been treated as the full equals of men. A woman s main value is to support a man, bear children, and housekeeping duties. This is how it has always been in most cultures. The novel, The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, shows the paternalistic society in which the Price family lives in. In 1959 an obstinate Baptist minister named Nathan Pr ice drags his wife and four daughters deep into the heart of the Congo on a mission to save the unenlightenedRead MoreSummary Of The Poisonwood Bible 1318 Words   |  6 PagesAP Literature and Composition Summer Reading Assignment The Poisonwood Bible Analyzed by: Shraddha Patel contents: 6 essays  â€Å" Imagine a ruin so strange it must never have happened First, picture the forest. I want you to be its conscience, the eyes in the trees.† The effect of the above directive on the reader is that it takes us into the world that is so disparate from anything that we, the reader, could have ever imagined. It propels the reader to continue reading and disclose the mysteryRead MoreKingsolver s The Poisonwood Bible1161 Words   |  5 PagesBarbara Kingsolver’s novel, The Poisonwood Bible, is about a missionary family, the Prices, who move from Bethlehem, Georgia to a small village in the Congo. They choose to move during a time when there is great upheaval about to happen in the region. The reader learns about their trials and tribulations of life in the Congo through the five Price females, who talk about the events from their own the points of view. In the beginning, I thought I would not like this book; however I found that I hadRead MoreTheme Of Change In The Poisonwood Bible867 Words   |  4 PagesThe Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, there are many changes that the Price family experiences. At the start of the book this change relies on the influence of a change in location has on the family, but as the book progresses this change reflects more on the change of the values that each woman of the family faces. Throughout the novel, the idea that change can force one to adjust their outlook is reinforced by the changing of narrators. The changing of narrators in The Poisonwood Bible allows