Character Development In Barbara Kingsolver's 'Poisonwood Bible'

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. The story then ends with the family separating into different parts of Africa and the United States and adjusting to life away from the place that the youngest was killed. With strong scenes

In The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver displays the development of Leah Price when she says, "This is what I must have learned, the night God turned his back on me: how to foretell the future in chicken bones" (311). The quote above displays a development of Leah 's perspective of religion. Earlier in the story, Leah was motivated to learn more about her father 's religion, but the quote shows that she has moved on from trying to keep her faith in her father 's god. One has to infer that when Leah was discussing foretelling the future with chicken bones, she was just implying that she has moved on from the American culture and has accepted the culture of the Congo. By accepting the Congo’s culture, Leah is changing her view of society and opening up to the African culture. The author of The Poisonwood Bible displays the development of the character Adah Price when Adah says, "Within a few weeks I had strength enough in both arms to pull myself up on the furniture, and from there I could release myself to a stand. Now, tentatively, I toddle in a straight line" (Kingsolver 440). In the previous quote, Adah Price is developing her body. She was limping all her life and now she is learning to walk. She has gained enough strength to stand and pull herself up, and from there, she began to learn how to walk. This quote displays character development by

Another aspect of The Poisonwood Bible that contributes to the novel being a good story is its use of high-action scenes. The author of The Poisonwood Bible writes that, "Ruth May 's bare left shoulder, where two red puncture wounds stood out like red beads on her flesh" (Kingsolver 364). In this quote, Ruth May was attacked by a green mamba snake that harmed her shoulder and poisoned her blood. This is the point in the story that Ruth May dies. This action scene affects the story not only because it can be labeled as the climax, but also because it keeps the reader wanting to continue to read in the story. In another part of the story, the author of The Poisonwood Bible shows another action scene when she writes, "Ants. We were walking on, surrounded, enclosed, enveloped, being eaten by ants" (Kingsolver 299). The previous quote demonstrates a high-action scene because the village is attacked by ants. The ants destroy many of the houses and objects in the village. This scene shows an action scene and encourages the reader to continue reading, which is an important aspect of a good story. Action scenes are an important aspect of any good story. They strengthen the reader to continue reading and can also help the reader focus on what the author is