Many cultures make clear distinctions between the social status of males and females. In most places, the man is the one who carries leadership roles and the woman is the one who supports the man, but even so, the future is not always guaranteed. The woman will always have a little bit of want for freedom and need for acknowledgement within her heart. In Barbara Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood Bible, Nathan Price, the male authority figure of the household, limits the Price women’s ability to aim for higher goals in life, which includes a better living environment and education.
Kingsolver was born April 8, 1955 in Maryland, but grew up in Nicholas County, Kentucky (Wagner 8). After one of her first major works The Bean Trees was published; her
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Relations between African leaders and the President of the United States at that time, John F. Kennedy, were similar to that of a teacher and student. John F. Kennedy’s campaign was to ensure that African nations would look up to the U.S rather than to a communist country like the Soviet Union (Amin 559). During the aid campaign that was aiming for success and development, communications between Washington officials and the leaders of African nations became full of difficulties and it often failed (Amin 559). African soil not only changed American sociopolitical interactions with Africa, but it also changed the lives of missionary families and individuals themselves just like the Price family. “Africa, in various ways, overcomes them, destroys the family they had been, and changes them all in ways they never could have foreseen” (Jean, The Poisonwood …show more content…
Kingsolver uses this strategy to produce the overall voice of The Poisonwood Bible, but this is not the only reason why she uses this strategy; she also uses the opportunity to take a step further into the foreign land of Africa and its many wonders. “With The Poisonwood Bible, Kingsolver clearly enters a new phase of her career, stretching her goals to the creation of a major and very complex novel which considers political issues of worldwide significance” (Jean, Life and Works 17). Surely enough, “Kingsolver’s origins in rural Kentucky affected her in two principal ways, giving her a deep love for nature and an understanding of the hills and woods she grew up in and demonstrating to her the cruelty of a culture in which divisions by race or class are made” (Jean, Life and Works 3), so she takes all these factors into account, and it is quite distinctive how she still managed to look another way than into her hometown’s teachings. In the article, DeMarr says that “Kingsolver’s latest novel, The Poisonwood Bible, published in late 1998 is a striking departure from her earlier fiction in that it is set in Africa, far from Kingsolver’s usual North American Southwest”
In Barbara Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood Bible, Anatole proclaims that “there are more words in the world than no or yes” (310). He truly shows his wisdom by fully accepting that there is always something that can be more deeply understood. Anatole understands that accepting a new culture requires an effort to understand the differences and that is something that he truly proves to the Price family. Anatole grew up in the Congo with the culture that the Price girls find so strange. When the Prices start living in the Congo, Anatole starts to translate Nathan’s sermons. Once Anatole begins translating the sermons he sees Nathan’s and his family’s intolerance. Throughout the novel, this statement is demonstrated and is disregarded by many characters in many different situations and it completely illuminates the themes of cultural ignorance and global justice.
The Poisonwood Bible is the story of an evangelical Baptist preacher named Nathan Price who uproots his wife and four daughters from the modern culture of America and moves them to the Kilanga Village in the Belgian Congo as missionaries. He is bullheaded and obstinate in all his ways. His approach is inflexible, unsympathetic, and unaccepting of the culture and customs of the people of Kilanga. Nathan Price exemplifies the words of Romans 2:4 that says, “Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing the goodness of God leads you to repentance?” He did not share the goodness of God, but sought to spread his uncompromising pious agenda. Instead of leading people to God he turned them away.
Perkins, George B., and Barbara Perkins. "The Beast in the Jungle." The American Tradition in Literature (concise). 12th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2009. 1148-1177. Print.
Baym, Nina, and Robert S. Levine. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. 7th ed. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2007. 348-350. Print.
Meyer, Michael. The Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed. 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2008. 2189.
The book Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe details the account of an African tribal named Okonkwo as his life goes from great to horrible. While this book has many lessons that can be learned, I will be primarily focusing on the effect that Christianity had on the population of the African tribe. While Christianity is a religion of peace, its followers often do not follow this basic tenant. The first missionary, Mr. Brown, practiced compromise and tolerance. His replacement, Mr. Smith, was much more aggressive in his tactics. In Things Fall Apart, Achebe shows through the characterization of Mr. Smith a shameful and harmful look at the spread of Christianity during the British empirical period.
History shows that both Africans and African Americans alike faced unique problems prior to and during the 1800's, particularly prior to 1865. One such problem is the issue of Diaspora and how culture and slavery has affected the choice of religion. It is the purpose of this paper to expose comparatively the extent to which individuals have been influenced by these issues. One such individual is Olaudah Equiano. By following and analyzing some of the key moments of faith in his life, this paper seeks to expose the extent to which the series of controversial dialectical incidents that happen throughout his early life, i.e., his cultural African religious traditions (thesis), and Christianity as taught by his slave masters (antithesis), had a direct influence in developing his own understanding of religion (synthesis). Furthermore, this paper will demonstrate Olaudah Equiano's decision was based on the impact of both the influences of culture and slavery, and a personal experience based on his perspective of divine intervention.
In Kevin Gaines’ book, American Africans in Ghana, Gaines combines both African and African American history together unlike others have done in the past. Gaines’ book gives his audience insight on the relationship that many prominent African Americans in the Mid-nineteenth century had with Africa. Gaines tackles many issues that were prevalent during this time period, for instance, he tackles race, class, citizenship, independence and freedom. Gaines does this to change the narrative that existed about Africa. Many Black Nationalist, had romanticized Africa to be this place that once had thriving empires but lost everything due to colonization, and westernized blacks needed to go to Africa to help liberate it. Gaines dispels these myths, and
... Print. The. 2003 Hartman, Louis F. & Lella, Alexander A. The Anchor Bible, The Book Of Daniel. New Haven & London: Yale University Press. Print, 1978 Cook, Stephen L. Apocalyptic Literature.
Imagine a group of foreign people invading your home, disavowing all your beliefs, and attempting to convert you to a religion you have never heard of. This was the reality for thousands and thousands of African people when many Europeans commenced the Scramble for Africa during the period of New Imperialism. A great fiction novel written by Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart, highlights the responses to missionaries by African people. The African natives responded to the presence of white missionaries with submission to their desires, strategic responses to counteract them, and with the most disruptive response of violence.
Baym, Nina, and Robert S. Levine, eds. The Norton Anthology: American Literature. 8th ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2012. Print.
Perkins, Geroge, and Barbara Perkins. The American Tradition in Literature. 12th ed. Vol. 2. New York: McGraw Hill, 2009. Print
Klinkowitz, Jerome and Patricia B Wallace. The Norton Anthology of Americal Literature. Seventh. Vol. Volume D. New York City: Norton, 2007, 2003, 1998, 1994, 1989, 1985, 1979. 5 vols.
Davidson, Basil. Modern Africa A Social and Political History. Ney York: Longman Group UK Limited, 1983.