The Poisonwood Bible---Week 5

After the tragic death of Ruth May, the other girls and Orleanna continue their lives separated from each other. It is during this separation that Leah transforms into a well rounded human, while Rachel continues her materialistic lifestyle.

After the family is broken up, Rachel states, “What happened to us in the Congo was simply the bad luck of two opposite worlds crashing into each other, causing tragedy. After something like that, you can only go your own way according to what’s in your heart. And in my family, all our hearts seem to have whole different things inside.” Rachel understands that her family splitting up was the best possible solution to the heartbreak they were experiencing from the loss of Ruth May. Rachel goes onto living in Johannesburg, South Africa. After the death of her third husband, she is left with his restaurant, Equatorial. When Rachel first begins describing her restaurant, she mentions that it is “for paying customers only” but she feels bad for the people who can’t afford to buy the food so she “built them a shelter, so they wouldn’t be tempted to come in and hang out” by the main bar. In stating this, I thought that Rachel had made a slight character transformation because she was suddenly concerned with other people’s wellbeing. Just a short time later though, Rachel begins complaining about how no one in her family will come visit her and see how successful she has been with her new business. Rachel says, “Supposedly Father is still over here wandering about in the jungle and honestly what else does he have to do? He could get cleaned up and pay a visit on his eldest daughter.” Here it is evident that Rachel is not concerned with anybody but herself. She is self-absorbed and wants to prove to her family how great of a living she is making. It is also ironic in this chapter when Rachel says, “I work myself to the bone, keeping this business open seven days a week and the weekends,” yet if she wants chicken curry for the dinner she “simply says to the cooks: Chicken curry!” and if she wants more flowers “I snap my fingers and have more planted.” Rachel is extremely unaware how strenuous other’s work is in order to make her restaurant successful, and she takes all of the credit. Although she has split up from her family in order to live life how she wants, not how her father wants, she has not bettered herself as a person by living on her own.

Leah has flourished as a person since Nathan is no longer in her life. She is finally able to marry Anatole, an African boy, and have a family with him. Leah also becomes an English teacher for American children, and she recognizes how ungrateful the children are for the education they are receiving. Leah is upset about how ungrateful the children are to her and she gets frustrated when they make fun of her clothing. Even in witnessing their lack of gratitude, Leah is ignorant to the fact that the way these children are treating her is nearly identical to the way her family treated the Congolese people when they first arrived in Africa.

Anatole and Leah have three children, and the names of their children carry specific symbolism. The names of their children are Patrice, Pascal, and Martin Lothair. Patrice was named after Patrice Lumumba, the leader of the Congo who was killed. Pascal was named after one of Leah’s childhood African friends. Leah naming her children after important African’s portrays how much of an impact coming to Africa had on her life. Martin Lothair, the youngest child, was named after Martin Luther, who was known for reforming Christianity.

After this week’s reading, I am left wondering if Rachel will undergo metamorphosis like her sisters have. Both Adah and Leah have moved on from being selfish humans, but will Rachel ever change her outlook on life?

The Poisonwood Bible---Week 4

As The Poisonwood Bible progresses, each girl in the novel continues to make individual characteristic transformations. Throughout these changes, Kingsolver continues the motif of American’s being conceited.

Kingsolver also uses different scenarios to depict American’s as greedy throughout the novel. At the beginning of this week’s reading, Rachel is out on a walk with her “fiancé” Axelroot. During their conversation Rachel is concerned about whether or not her family will be going home soon, and Axelroot responded, “You still think you’re the epicenter of a continent don’t you, Princess?” Within the microcosm of this novel, Rachel represents the materialistic people in the world. Although the statement by Axelroot is directly stated to Rachel, it is indirectly meant for the United States as a whole. The majority of people living in the United States get caught up in all the material goods that they own and then forget about other people and their needs. When we overlook other people’s needs, it is easy to think that the world revolves around us. Kingsolver brings to light this problem in our society by using Rachel to play the role of the selfish, materialistic citizen. After reading this part I questioned whether Rachel would ever begin to change her lifestyle and understand the negative impact her father is having on the Congolese people. Later on in the reading at a village meeting, Reverend Price tries to take over the meeting implying that his way is the best. During this meeting it is made obvious to Rachel that her father resents the kind of person that his daughter, Leah, has become. Rachel states, “It’s just lucky for Father he never had any sons. He might have been forced to respect them.” Through this statement, we can see a transformation in Rachel as she now sees that the way her father treats her, her family and the Congolese people is not appropriate. Since Rachel has had this transformation in the way she views her father, will she stand up to him, or let him continue to act this way?

Another display of American’s thinking that their ways are better than other peoples is when the Congolese people have an election during the church service about whether or not to accept Jesus Christ. Reverend Price gets upset and says that they should have this election at a different time and place because that is how it is done in America. Tat Ndu says in response to Reverend Price’s outrage, “Then you may do so in America. I will not say you are unwise.” Mr. Price, still upset, yells, “Man, you understand nothing. You are applying the logic of children in a display of childish ignorance.” When Tata Ndu says that he will not call Reverend Price “unwise,” he displays an acceptance of all people and their different beliefs. When Reverend Price rebuttals, he uses repetition of the words “childish” and “children” to describe Tata Ndu’s thinking, which is ironic because Tata Ndu is accepting of other people and their beliefs, but Mr. Price is not. In reality, it is Mr. Price who has a childish manner of handling situations and other people. After this week’s reading, I am concerned that there will be no one able to help Mr. Price in changing his lifestyle. Will one of the Congolese people change him? Or will it be his own daughter’s, or no one at all?

The Poisonwood Bible---Week 3

In book three of The Poisonwood Bible, Judges, Barbara Kingsolver continues to portray America as a rich, selfish country that sees itself as superior over other countries. During the third book, Leah begins teaching math at the school where Anatole teaches. It is during a chapter that is told by Leah that we are let in to the views that the Congolese people have about Americans and all white people in general.

After Anatole and Leah get done teaching the children for the day, Leah studies French while Anatole gets lesson plans ready for the next day. One day after class Leah asks Anatole why some of the students don’t like her. Because he doesn’t want to hurt her feelings, he tries to avoid answering the question. By avoiding the question it is made obvious that there is something wrong with her. Finally Anatole says that there are some reasons why they don’t like her, and they include, “you are a girl, you are white, and they think you represent a greedy nation.” Leah doesn’t understand how American’s are greedy because she thinks that a person needs to be rich in order to live a good life. Anatole explains that not everyone thinks that way and that the Congolese people see money in the sense that “if you don’t get rid of it, it’s just going to rot and stick to high heaven.” After having this talk with Anatole, Leah begins to understand that our country is selfish, but will she be able to bring this mind set back to America, much less to her own family?

During this same conversation, Leah questions Anatole on why he translates her father’s sermons when he doesn’t necessarily agree with what he is doing. Anatole becomes the Christ figure to Leah in this story because he has become her teacher, not only of French, but of how to be a better person. Anatole has the mindset that every person should be able to make their own decisions about what is happening in the world. He says, “people need to know what they are choosing,” so he translates the sermons so the Congolese people can make up their own minds if they want to believe what Nathan Price is preaching to them.

Even though Anatole is young, he has so much to offer to everyone who encounters him. Up until this time, Leah has been following her father because she thinks he is a true imitator of Christ, but now that she has found Anatole, that may change. He has taught her how to be open and accepting of other people and of their beliefs, and isn’t that what the bible tells us to do? Anatole is truly teaching Leah to love other people for who they are, even when they have different beliefs from her. So, will Nathan be the one to teach all of the Congolese people, or will Anatole step in the way and instead teach Nathan?

The Poisonwood Bible---Week 2

“I took a deep breath and told myself that a woman anywhere on earth can understand another woman on a market day. Yet my eye could not decipher those vendors: they wrapped their heads in bright- colored cloths as cheerful as a party, but faced the world with permanent vile frowns…However I might pretend I was their neighbor, they knew better. I was pale and wide-eyed as a fish. A fish in the dust of the marketplace, trying to swim, while all the other women calmly breathed in that atmosphere of overripe fruit, dried meat, sweat, and spices infusing their lives with powers I feared.” In the beginning of the second book, Revelation, Orleanna Price expresses her discomfort with being the minority in the African society. She says that any woman should be able to relate to another woman, but once she steps into the market place, Orleanna realizes how different she is compared to the women “in bright-colored” head wraps with frowns always on their faces. Not only are the appearances of the women different, but also their thinking and personalities. Within this part of the story, it is obvious that Orleanna struggles living in this society because she says she was “a fish in the dust of the marketplace, trying to swim” but “all the other women calmly breathed” in the atmosphere where they were most comfortable.

Also in this chapter, Orleanna’s true feelings of her marriage come out. When her husband is gone, rather than dreaming of his return, she is “dreaming of coffee.” She didn’t miss his physical presence of her husband as much as she missed having coffee when she was in America. Orleanna dreamed of going back to America via the river that could carry her “body down through all the glittering sandbars.” Orleanna also hung pictures of other families and homes in her kitchen because it gave her something to dream of. The kitchen was the chosen location for the pictures because there was no way that Nathan would ever be in the kitchen to help.

At the end of this book, it is evident why the title is Revelation. In the bible, the book of Revelation is about the events leading up to the end of the world. At the end of the reading, Congo celebrates their freedom as they are no longer going to be controlled by Belgium. Also, the family finds Methuselah dead. When Methuselah is found, Adah refers to him as “only feathers, without the ball of Hope inside.” Methuselah is a metaphor for the people of Congo now that they are free. When the Price family released Methuselah, he continued to return to them because he was not able to survive on his own, and eventually died because the family was not feeding him. Now that Congo is no longer being controlled by Belgium, will they survive, die, or turn to the Price family for help?