ipl-logo

The Poisonwood Bible Literary Analysis

1462 Words6 Pages

In the novel, The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver, a missionary family travel to the African Congo during the 1960’s, in hopes of bringing enlightenment to the Congolese in terms of religion. The father, Nathan, believes wholeheartedly in his commitment, and this is ultimately his downfall when he fails to realize the damage that he is placing upon his family and onto the people living in Kilanga, and refuses to change the way he sees things. However, his wife, Orleanna, and her daughters, Rachel, Leah, Adah, and Ruth May, take the Congo in, and make the necessary changes in their lives, and they do this in order to survive with their new darkness that they are living in. Curiosity and acceptance help the ones with curious minds, …show more content…

Her completely refuses to believe that this is now her life. Her way of coping with the Congo is trying to cling to anything that reminds her of home. Her small hand mirror is something that she holds very dear. It is one of the first things she thinks of to grab in a life or death situation. Rachel never fully connects with any of the Congolese people, and finds it absolutely revolting about the idea that the Chief wants her as a wife. Her religious views are almost nonexistent throughout the novel, so she never comes to terms with if it is something she does or does not believe in. Besides her clinging to American civilization, she has nothing guide her through the darkness, and never even attempts to learn how to. She doesn 't let herself connect to anyone, except for the only other American in the village, Eeben Axelroot. Because of this, she cannot grow and adjust, only remain in the same spot she had when they had first arrived in the Congo. Turning away from a darkness that one does not want to face is a perfect way to stay in the same spot that you have been for your whole …show more content…

Each one of them face their own darkness, and each one of them overcome it in their own separate ways. However, they all have one thing in common, that the darkness fell upon them once they had entered the Congo and stepped foot in the village of Kilanga. For some, acceptance was their way of adjusting. Realization played a major role in the development of others. And one lonely daughter never fully accepted that she was in darkness, and clung to the smallest things she could find to stay in belief of this. Darkness is something that holds onto every life, and every life has a different way to overcome it, adjust to it, and most never fully accept that it is apart of their lives, and go on believing that everything is okay. If one does not accept that darkness is within that, surrounding them, or apart of their lives in some way, then they will always live in constant misery, whether knowing or

Show More
Related

The Poisonwood Bible Summary

324 Words | 2 Pages

A Response to Barbara Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood Bible and the essentializing of Africa: a critical double standard? Barbara Kingsolver was not able to enter the Congo/Zaire while she was writing this book. She admits that she is relying on memories, other cultures, and others accounts of what the Congo/Zaire is like to write this book. I disagree with what William F. Purcell has to say about the use of cultures in her book.

Read More

Analysis Of The Poisonwood Bible By Barbara Kingsolver

347 Words | 2 Pages

In the Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, the Price family is living in the ever changing country of the Congo, the author seeks to make a statement on the way that colonialism affects the people of the country being colonized. Kingsolver achieves this effect by adding instances of change and people of different countries coming in and out of the country in order to add the effect of colonization. Colonization in the Congo is shown in The Poisonwood Bible in the way that Nathan rules over his family, he drags his family to the Congo and often acts as the leader and makes all the decisions for the family. Kingsolver uses this as a metaphor comparing Nathan to the European countries and the rest of the family as the Congo. Nathan asserts

Read More

Character Development In Barbara Kingsolver's 'Poisonwood Bible'

1118 Words | 5 Pages

Atlee Carr Professor Penwell English 1101 14 April 2016 The Poisonwood Bible Evaluation Draft The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver is narrated by Orleanna Price and her four daughters. The Price family moves to the Belgian Congo in 1959 with hopes to spread their faith of Southern Baptism to the Congolese. While there, the Price family had to endure many struggles that the Congolese had to experience in their entire lives. In the middle of the story, the youngest daughter is killed by a green mamba snake that was placed by the local witch doctor.

Read More

Cruelty In Poisonwood Bible And Things Fall Apart

1285 Words | 6 Pages

With great power comes great responsibility—even if said power was not rightfully earned to begin with. In positions of power, humanity is prone to an overexertion of force to ensure those positions are secured, vying to push them to greater heights that cannot be overtaken. In Poisonwood Bible and Things Fall Apart, these tendencies manifest into ardent displays of cruelty; within itself, cruelty becomes a defense mechanism, a coping method, a disciplinary tool, rash and injust from fear of this superiority being lost. The driving point of this cruelty is that it festers within insecurity and is fed by greed. In the novels it reflects the presence of not only patriarchal dominance, but also religious, cultural, and racial puissance.

Read More

Summary Of The Poisonwood Bible

439 Words | 2 Pages

The Poisonwood Bible, a literary text in the Western canon, undermines colonialist ideology through its representation of the lives the Price daughters lead and the things they see and experience in the Belgian Congo, a colonized country with colonized people. Throughout the story, we see as the characters realize the desperate condition the natives are left in following the arrival of King Leopold II. To highlight the gap between the colonizers and the colonized, Kingsolver shows us the differences between Rachel’s Kinshasa, a primarily white town, and towns such as Kilanga, which are populated mostly by the natives. The former is clean and looks much like a modern-day US village. It has everything that could ever be needed and even the problems of nature do not

Read More

Exile In The Poisonwood Bible

874 Words | 4 Pages

Adah Price is the disabled daughter of Nathan and Orleanna Price in the novel “The Poisonwood Bible”, she knows the benefits and struggles from the form of exile she experiences. Adah has dealt with alienation from the moment she was born and her disability was first discovered. Throughout the novel we witness Adah’s disorder and how it affects her and her family's life both in positive and negative ways. With all of Adah’s struggles we see her exiled from her family, her home, and even herself.

Read More

Analysis Of A Poisonwood Bible By Barbara Kingsolver

414 Words | 2 Pages

A Poisonwood Bible When describing Patrice Lumumba, Barbara Kingsolver uses complementary wording that makes the reader like him, or at least respect him. The Belgian doctor puts a cast on Ruth May’s arm on page 149 and calls Lumumba “the new soul of Africa”, which introduces Lumumba to the reader as a positive idea. When Leah sees Lumumba on pages 221-222, he’s described as “a thin, distinguished man” and that “when he stood to speak, everyone’s mouth shut... Even the birds seemed taken aback”. This portrayal makes him appear smart and scholarly and the reader is partial to him.

Read More

What Is The Last Chapter Of The Poisonwood Bible

718 Words | 3 Pages

In the book The Poisonwood Bible story telling is explained as something that is passed on from one person to the next. Stories can be told in many different ways, and there are always multiple sides. Within this book specifically the author, Kingsolver, is trying to tell the story of the view of an oppressed female in the 1960’s. The women are able to give a different outlook on life, compared to what a character like Nathan. Communication is an important factor in storytelling and is the center of all life.

Read More

Differences In The Poisonwood Bible

749 Words | 3 Pages

The Kikongo word nommo means “word”, it is the “force that makes things live as what they are” (Kingsolver, 209) . This is significant because this allows Adah to understand herself and her twin sister, Leah. Although they are twin sisters that have come from the same place they are in fact very different. The idea that a name creates one’s existence helps her understand why she and her twin sister are so different.  Muntu can mean man [as in mankind] or people which makes no special difference between living people, dead people, and children not yet born.

Read More

Light And Dark In Anthem, By Ayn Rand

942 Words | 4 Pages

The dark will always be resistant to the light. In the book Anthem by Ayn Rand, darkness is something that haunts this totalitarian society. Darkness is represented by the council and all the pain and fear it causes. The council punishes them and sucks the light out of everything, for example, speaking of The Unmentionable Times.

Read More

What Are The Interlopers In The Great Gatsby

312 Words | 2 Pages

Plato once said that “We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.” Outsiders, members of illegitimate societies, are shunned because of limitations and restrictions in society. They tend to gravitate towards the light, but very few complete their journey. In Othello, The Great Gatsby, and The Death of a Salesman, heroic ambitions for acceptance and escape from the darkness are combated by societal expectations, shown through the light, which acts as a lure, towards societal norms and goals. Ironically, however, the tragedies that face all the protagonists are because of the darkness, or secret desires that each character makes to overcome their expectations.

Read More

Significance Of Light In A Long Way Gone By Elie Wiesel

666 Words | 3 Pages

When humans are surrounded in an endless chasm of darkness, they find it necessary to grasp onto whatever dim hope may be near them. They find it necessary to set their minds onto a mission or action, however feasible or relevant, and turn all thoughts away from death or despair. Light and dark are words commonly thrown about, usually to describe gradients of color. But humans need light in the sense of comfort, a way out, or the promise of salvation. They have to find this light in life, to turn away from the darkness.

Read More

Foreshadowing In Barbara Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible

485 Words | 2 Pages

he Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver focuses on both real life and fictional events and tells the story of the Price family’s experience in the Congo. Kingsolver makes good use of foreshadowing to dramatize the tragic incidents that occur in Africa. Orleanna Price is the most reliable narrator in the novel and is used to foreshadow future events and to explain various aspects of the past. In the first chapter, Orleanna maps out all the major events that will occur throughout the book.

Read More

Light And Darkness In Plato's Allegory Of The Cave

676 Words | 3 Pages

At the end, Socrates made me understand how evil will fill our eyes with darkness. Those who step out of the darkness will relate to those who are in the dark at this time. On the other hand, those who have always been in the light will mock at the ones who are still in the

Read More

Theme Of Light In A Streetcar Named Desire

895 Words | 4 Pages

Darkness can be a comfortable place for anyone. Without having to look at yourself or have people see you, one may not feel as judged or insecure. Light is revealing. In a bright room, you can’t hide tears, blemishes, or emotions. Blanche, from A Streetcar Named Desire, knows the pain of light all to well.

Read More

More about The Poisonwood Bible Literary Analysis

Open Document