Tamyra Brown 11 May 2023 Significant Quotations Adah Adah realizes that she and her siblings are now forced to grow up and fend for themselves. In addition, Adah notices that they are now just like the Congolese children and the girls’ childhood has been taken away from them. As Adah is thinking about her new lifestyle, she mentions ”Our childhood had passed over into history overnight. The transition was unnoticed by anyone but ourselves” (Kingsolver 218). This shows that one's lifestyle can change in a blink of an eye and not take things for granted. Due to Ruth May being ill, the rest of the sisters are forced to take over the household by cooking, cleaning and taking care of themselves. Leah By the end of the chapter, Leah believes that her beliefs have completely changed. Leah’s character has developed by not listening to what Nathan tells her regarding religious beliefs. Leah’s views on her father are slowly starting to change. Leah says in the book “For the first time in my life I doubted his judgment. He’d made us stay here, when everybody from Nelson to the King of Belgium was saying white missionaries ought to go home. For us to be here now, each day, was fathers decision and his alone '' (Kingsolver 243). This shows that one individual can influence others’ thoughts and actions. Leah has finally broken the cycle of believing what …show more content…
To make her feel safe, Nelson gives Ruth May a nkisi as a way of protection. However, the charm will only work unless she can think of a safe place. Ruth May resorts to the green mamba snake in the tree as her safe place. She mentions in the book “I know what it is: it’s a green mamba snake away up in the tree” (Kingsolver 304). Ruth May now believes she will be protected due to Nelson’s advice about danger. To sum, an individual may connect to non-human things as a way of protection or the feeling of being in a safe place.