The+Poisonwood+Bible


 * Title:** The Poisonwood Bible
 * Author:** Barbara Kingsolver
 * Date of Publication:** 1998
 * Literary Period:** Modern
 * Genre: Domestic** Fiction

The events of //The Poisonwood Bible// take place between 1959 and 1998 in both Congo and Georgia. The transitions between locations are important because the levels of humility shift with the geography. Contrary to popular belief, the intricacy of the culture remains constant from Congo to Georgia.
 * Describe the setting and then explain the relevance of the setting.**

The themes of // The Poisonwood Bible // are applicable on multiple levels. The themes govern the actions and consequential plot events that main characters Orleanne, Ruth May, Nathan, Rachel, and Leah can identify with in the fictional element of the narrative, but also shift shift the perspective of Kingsolver's audience on Congo's struggle for independence and the way said struggle played out. For instance, Nathan and Rachel exemplify the importance of humility. Readers learn that, in order for a person to survive in unfamiliar territory, one must express humility and adapt to his new environment, rather than expect his environment to bend to him or his "better" lifestyle. Humility also pertains to the imposition of American and Belgium culture on the Congolese people, fitting snugly with the historical context of the novel. Analytic members of Kingsolver's audience deliberate over the role of the patriarch both within a microscopic (Nathan Price as he seeks to guide and baptize his Congolese neighbors whilst leading his family in the Christian lifestyle) and macroscopic (the United States and Belgium "fathering" Congo, or Zaire as it had been "christened").
 * Themes (These statements should be complete sentences and completely developed ideas)**


 * Plot Summary (Please do not copy and paste. Simply list the high points of the novel) - Consider creating a visual flow chart or graph and posting it here.**
 * Nathan Price takes his family to the Belgian Congo as missionaries
 * Nathan fails to plant a surviving garden in Congo with the seeds he brought from Georgia
 * Anatole visits to serve as a messenger for Tata Ndu; Nathan casts Anatole out in a fit of rage, rather than attempting to see how he can work Christianity into the current village
 * Ruth May breaks her arm and her doctor deliberat es over the thought of Congo gaining independence
 * Nathan hears of Congo's election, yet refuses to evacuate Congo.
 * Rachel pretends to be engaged to Eebel Axleroot to dodge a marriage proposal from Tata Ndu
 * Brother Fowles visits with his Congolese wife; proves to fit the modern definition of a Christian much better than Nathan by giving away supplies out of good will
 * Ants swarm the village and destroy the supplies; Orleanne abandons Adah for the sake of saving Ruth May
 * Leah pushes to participate in the village hunt; she is grudgingly allowed
 * Ruth May is killed by the snake
 * Rachel is left with her own hotel to run after marrying two men.
 * Leah remains in Congo with Anatole
 * Adah travels back to Georgia with Orleanne. She makes significant advances in the study of AIDS and Ebola, and finally works past her limp
 * Orleanne finally forgives herself for Ruth May's death


 * Memorable Quotes and their SIGNIFICANCE.**
 * "What is the conqueror's wife if not a conquest herself?" (9)
 * This quote more directly describes the role of patriarchs in //The Poisonwood Bible// as exploiters, rather than irrefutably justified leaders.
 * "My father, of course, was bringing the Word of God--which fortunately weighs nothing at all." (19)
 * Nathan Price is so wrapped up in his moral superiority that he does not express humility in the clash between his Christian culture and the long-standing culture of the Congolese in his village.
 * "We are supposed to be calling the shots here, but it doesn't look to me like we're in charge of a thing, not even our own selves." (22)
 * Rachel learns some sobering lesson from the very beginning of her stay in the Congo. Rachel learns that nothing is given, only taken in the Congo. Moreover, she realizes that dilligence and humility are keys to survival in her new home, even if they are in minute quantities.
 * "Nathan felt it had been a mistake to bend his will, in any way, to Africa." (97)
 * Humility and lack thereof both have significant effect on the lives and behaviors of the Price family in the Congo. Nathan Price and the other members of his family are comparable to the Reed and the Oak in one of Aesop's Fables: Nathan refuses to bend to the storm that is African tradition and is thus broken by the end of //The Poisonwood Bible//. However, Orleanne and her daughters come to understand that they cannot expect the Congolese to completely adopt the culture of the minority.
 * 'Your King Baudouin is living off the fat of this land, is what he's doing and leaving it up to penniless mission doctors and selfless men like my husband to take care of their every simple need. Is that how a father rules?" (166)
 * King Baudouin neglects both the role of the patriarch and the indigenous people of Congo in favor of pillaging the infant nation; he trusts more benevolent characters like doctors or missionaries to project a positive light on invasive behaviors in Congo.
 * "Father wouldn't have held my hand for the world-he isn't like that." (181)
 * The role of the patriarch is to benevolently lead and provide support for his dependents; Nathan Price fails to fulfill his duties as the supposed head of the household because he enjoys lecturing from moral high ground far too much to come down and lead his children in positive directions.
 * "The United States has now become the husband of Zaire's economy, and not a very nice one. Exploitative and condescending, in the name of steering her clear of the moral decline inevitable to her nature." (456)
 * I really like this quote because it comes out and explicitly states what I was thinking about imperialism in Africa as a whole continent as I read //The Poisonwood Bible//, but more specific to the treatment of Congo. The United States claims that its presence in Congo is necessary to save Congo from its own absence of morality and then proceeds to toy with Congolese politics for its own benefit.

In the beginning paragraph of // The Poisonwood Bible, // Kingsolver uses organic imagery to create a scene in which her audience can observe the cycle of life. This cycle is quickly disrupted with the invasion of the Price family, who may or may not deserve the sympathy of Kingsolver's audience, marching in like an infantry unit on a more modern Crusade.
 * Describe the significance of the opening scene.**

The final scene in // The Poisonwood Bible // is so powerful because it portrays Ruth May's soul in the one place she said she would feel safest: the trees. Though she dies the earliest, Ruth May has gone further in coming to terms with Congo than any other member of the Price family. Ruth May is part of Congo, as demonstrated by the village children repeating the phrase "Mother, may I?" when she dies, and Congo is part of her, allowing her to silently beseech and successfully persuade Orleanne to forgive herself.
 * Describe the significance of the closing scene.**

Kingsolver manages to nab all of the most common mindsets from the late 1950s to late 1990s by shifting narration from Orleanne to her daughters. Kingsolver uses different combinations of poetic phrasing and colloquial diction to create five distinct personas who all share the experience of living, learning, loving, and suffering in Congo: long-suffering Orleanne; egotistical, ignorant Rachel; sardonic, reflective Adah; emerging butterfly Leah; the unjustly killed Ruth May.
 * Describe the author's style and provide examples from the text.**

Nathan Price - supposed to be the leader of the Price family, but fails woefully because he is a religious zealot. Orleanna Price - matriarch of the Price family. She decides to leave Nathan, believing that the plight of Congo was not worth losing her family for. Orleanne experiences the most guilt for the death of Ruth May. Ruth May Price - youngest child in the Price family who dies from the bite of a snake planted by a disgruntled village neighbor. Rachel Price - oldest child in the Price family symbolizes western ignorance. I wish she died instead of Ruth May. Leah Price - firmly supports all her father does in the beginning of The Poisonwood Bible. However, her moral and political views shift as she adapts to life in the Congo. Adah Price - comically cynical, "deformed" twin of Leah. Adah's condition permits her to sit back and quietly observe the world around her with unrivaled attention to detail. She perceives things in ways that no other character in The Poisonwood Bible could hope to see them. Anatole Ngemba - One of the few positive products of western involvement in the Congo and husband to Leah. Does his best to serve as an agent of cultural synthesis, but is thwarted time and again by Nathan's insistence on baptism. Methuselah - former pet parrot of Brother Fowles, he physically represents the struggles that the Congolese face before and after independence.
 * List importance characters and their significance.**