Analysis Of The Poisonwood Bible By Brenda Kingsolver

The Price family, mainly Nathan, see it as their duty to “civilize” the people of the Congo, considering that they are in Africa to solely to teach the people about Christianity. Throughout the book, Orleanna and the girls are more connected to the African people and better understand their differences. Nathan, however, sees their practices as wrong, and believes they must be humanized.

The Poisonwood Bible is a realistic fiction story written by Brenda Kingsolver in which a family from Georgia travels to the Congo for African missionary work. The Price family, made up of Nathan, Orleanna, and their four children, are not accustomed to the Congolese ways of life, for they come from completely opposite conditions. When they witness the

As they are welcomed to their new home in Africa, the villagers hold a large feast for them that included singing, dancing, and celebration. The family, however, ignored these signs of welcome, and instead noticed the oddness of the party. The daughters were scared to lose their mother in the chaos and were sickened by the food; wanting to spit it out. Nathan, more importantly, noticed the nudeness of the women and openly offended them once the party had calmed down. He stands tall and uses an intimidating voice, saying their ways of life—especially nudity—are unorganized, wrong, and uncivil. He makes it clear to the Congo people that his duty there to “help” them, however he is overall being

She notices how they interact with one another, and even participate in their cultural activities, such as going to their Market and seeing what everyone has to give. She is written as a very quiet and subordinate character, especially towards her husband. In her prologues, she tells of how she sees herself as an accessory to him, or a placeholder. Therefore, she is often afraid to speak or stand up to him. At one point in the story, however, she informs Nathan that the Congolese people are just like them, but with different lifestyles. This, of course, makes Nathan frustrated and disappointed in her. This further represents how different the two are, especially when it comes to the civilization of the Congo. Nathan sees the major differences between him and his family and the Congolese families, and strongly believes that their ways of life are utterly “wrong” and to be frowned upon. Whereas Orleanna, although she does notice these same differences, sees them as