Essays on The Poisonwood Bible

The Poisonwood Bible Book Critique Sociology can be defined as the study of human social behavior, especially the study of the origins, organization, institutions, and development of human society. The Poisonwood Bible is a perfect example of this, as a family is forced to leave their home in America, to a small shack in the Congo of Africa. Nathan Price, takes his wife, four daughters, and the mission to the Belgian Congo, where the minister hopes to educate the people…

Discuss the representation of African culture, place and identity in The Poisonwood Bible considering how your context and cultural assumptions influence your reading. Identity has long been pronounced as that which defines a person, or gives them a point from which to position into society. This facet of existence can often be traced back to the environment and ability one finds oneself in. As Diogenes declared, “I am a citizen of the world”, and thus one is a consequence of…

The book is narrated by five characters, Orleanna Price, Rachel Price, Leah Price, Adah Price, and Ruth May. The first person point of view in the book allows the reader to experience the story as seen through the character's eyes. The author uses the first-person point of view to show the reader the character's emotion and reaction to the events that are taking place and how the characters are struggling to adjust with the turn of events.The poisonwood bible is…

Salient Moments and the Perspective of the Ending A salient moment in a story can be defined as a significant or prominent moment in the storyline or a character’s life. The book The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver begins with the main character Orleanna Price telling the reader that her story is one of guilt and how one can deal with it. The story itself comes from the perspective of five different women -- all from the Price family. The…

There are five point of views in The Poisonwood Bible. These five include Orleanna Price, Leah Price, Adah Price, Rachel Price, Ruth May Price and it is all in 1st person. Kingsolver does this to get the persepective of their life as well as their perspective on the village in Congo to see their true identity in it all.As its title would suggest, The Poisonwood Bible studies the way that religion shapes—and at times imprisons—its characters. Nathan Price, the hypocritical…

Adolescent characters Holden from Catcher in the Rye, Jane from Jane Eyre, and Adah from The Posionwood Bible all face and overcome respective traumas. Each of them uses defense mechanisms to attempt to overcome their traumas, even though they do not prove immediately successful. A popular adolescent sublevel of defense mechanisms is an immature defense style, through the use of “passive aggression, acting out, [and] isolation” (Maltby and Day). Holden, Jane, and Adah use immature defense styles in reaction to…

A great author once said; “Perfect heroines, like perfect heroes, are not relatable, if one cannot, put themselves in the protagonist’s shoes, not only will they not be inspired, but the book will be pretty boring.” In The Poisonwood Bible, the idea of a relatable protagonist poses an interesting controversy upon the reader, in that, depending on the reader’s perception, their idea of the protagonist may vary. The novel is written from the viewpoints of Baptist Nathan Price’s four daughters,…

From 1979 to 1986, the University of Minnesota studied 136 pairs of twins to determine whether our personalities are innate or nurtured. The results were staggering: the scientists concluded that just about 70 percent of our character and psychological disposition comes from birth. But even more than that, these traits are deeply rooted within the actions we take leaving behind the question of what truly commands our fate — is it the genetics that are passed down or the unimpeded…

In her feminist novel The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver portrays the Price family’s journey through Congo as they seek salvation while they ironically embark on a mission to purify the heathens of Africa. Living in a corrupt and oppressive world filled with capitalism, violence, and torments only intensified by her father Nathan’s ignorance, the only way to achieve independence for Leah is purification through rain that can wash away all the wrongs. Through her usage of rain metaphors, Kingsolver portrays…

The Poisonwood Bible serves to depict and demonstrate the cultural divide between America and Africa. The cultural divide does not only signify a racial difference between the characters, but it also exemplifies the cultural that transgresses in every American. Earlier within the Poisonwood Bible it is referenced how the women lived in places other than Africa itself. It is apparent to the reader that there is a prevalent divide between the country of Africa and America. When the entire American…

Barbara Kingsolver sets her novel, The Poisonwood Bible, amid the authentic Congolese Independence Movement, especially the underlying journey for freedom. Following a minister from Georgia and his family, the novel portrays the troublesome relationship between both the locals and the outside 'Western' people groups and among the Congolese themselves. Kingsolver describes her novel as a story that came from passion, culpability, anger, and a long-term fascination with Africa. Since she was a child who spent a part of her life…

Why did Kingsolver create Adah to be what she is? Based on the information already provided on the Price family, I feel Kingsolver made Adah out to be “different” as a way of proving the family’s biggest sin: rejection of God’s children. Although Adah had been born with a mental disability, I feel that she was made out to be the strongest and most intelligent in the family. As she learns the quickest and no matter what has happened to…