Explication of theme:
The Poisonwood Bible exemplifies the importance of language, especially foreign languages. It is fairly obvious that language plays a role in this work- an English-speaking white Christian family moves to a rich, multicultural society. This new society has picked up on “easy” English phrases, but also speaks French, and its native African languages.
Language can be seen as not only a sign of knowledge and scholarship, but a sign of close or open-mindedness. Language is associated with imperialism (especially in this novel, and especially relating to the United States). Readers often find that stories about other cultures view the English language as overbearing and unyielding. (English speakers feel that other cultures should learn their language).
Most importantly, however, is the transfer of meanings between languages. (Take the importance of bangala)- this also incorporates the importance of multicultural ignorance. But the transfer of meaning between languages could have helped Nathan Price potentially reach the people of Kilanga- they may have seen Tata Jesus as beloved instead of itchy!
Language plays a huge role in everyday life- connotation, denotation, etymology, idioms- all of these things come into play. We as English-speakers sometimes have trouble understanding certain expressions or accents- imagine the Price family trying to decipher French and Kilangan.
Investigation of scholarly article:
In Alison Phipps’ article “Unmoored: Language Pain, Porosity, and Poisonwood,” Phipps explores the ideas of multilingualism, the “porosity” of language learning, pain associated with language, and The Poisonwood Bible’s connection to these ideas.
Phipps explains the “moored world” as one of comfort...
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...er to question their sense of language superiority and adaptability. The reader is introduced to a huge variety of characters, all with their own attitudes about language. The issue of language, however, is not simply a matter of English, French, or Kilangan. Age plays a role in understanding certain aspects of language, as does attitude- towards others or one’s self.
The idea of language is rarely addressed in classic literature. This makes Kingsolver’s novel all the more valuable in the literary realm. Language is not the main focus of this novel, though. Therefore, the reader must look much, much closer at this issue. Close reading leads to a better understanding of each and every message and theme in Barbara Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood Bible.
Works Cited
Kingsolver, Barbara. The Poisonwood Bible: A Novel. New York : Harper Perennial, 1999, c. 1998. Print.
Harmon, William, William Flint Thrall, Addison Hibbard, and C. Hugh Holman. A Handbook to Literature. 11th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2009. Print.
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.
A language barrier is a major disadvantage to those who are foreign to a particular place or culture. The variances of languages can make it even more difficult for people to adapt to new cultures and environments. The girls raised by wolves in this story face this obstacle as soon as they move from an environment of wild animals to an environment of civilized human beings. In “St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves”, the girls are forced to learn the human language since they only know how to speak “the Wolf”. The narrator, whose English name is Claudette, describes how “we [the girls] were all uncomfortable and between languages.” (Russell 229). According to the narrator, “it took me [her] a long time to say anything; first I [she] had to translate it in my [her] head from...
Language has the power to influence and reshape our thoughts and actions. In Anthem, by Ayn Rand, there is a society which controls the language of everyone in it. Under the World Council, everyone is to follow the many rules put in place and no one even tries to break them. There is no “I” in their language, there is only “we”. With the power to influence and reshape people, language has a big impact on our thoughts and actions.
“Se Habla Español,” is written by a Latin author, Tanya Barrientos; and Amy Tan, a Chinese author, wrote “Mother Tongue”. In both literate narratives the authors write about their experiences with language and how it impacted their lives. In This essay we will be discussing the similarities as well as the differences in the stories and the authors of “Se Habla Español” and “Mother Tongue”. We will discuss how both authors use a play on words in their titles, how language has impacted their lives, how struggling with language has made them feel emotionally, and how both authors dealt with these issues.
Booth, Alison, and Kelly J. Mays. The Norton Introduction to Literature. New York: W.W. Norton, 2010. Print.
English is an invisible gate. Immigrants are the outsiders. And native speakers are the gatekeepers. Whether the gate is wide open to welcome the broken English speakers depends on their perceptions. Sadly, most of the times, the gate is shut tight, like the case of Tan’s mother as she discusses in her essay, "the mother tongue." People treat her mother with attitudes because of her improper English before they get to know her. Tan sympathizes for her mother as well as other immigrants. Tan, once embarrassed by her mother, now begins her writing journal through a brand-new kaleidoscope. She sees the beauty behind the "broken" English, even though it is different. Tan combines repetition, cause and effect, and exemplification to emphasize her belief that there are more than one proper way (proper English) to communicate with each other. Tan hopes her audience to understand that the power of language- “the way it can evoke an emotion, a visual image, a complex idea, or a simple truth”- purposes to connect societies, cultures, and individuals, rather than to rank our intelligence.
...rough language after being unable to become multilingual due to apartheid, and de Houwer mentions how children become bilingual mainly because their environment is bilingual. For Noah, his world forced him to be monolingual despite being raised by multilingual parents. The credibility of this source is questioned since a comedian’s job is to make the audience laugh, not necessarily to tell the truth. It would help if these stories came from a biographical source to see if they are factual. The stories may be suspicious but the ideas presented in his performance are reasonable and not farfetched. More than anything, this primary source gives me a more personal account of the impact of language. I intend to use this source with de Houwer’s to show how raising a bilingual child is much easier and effective than letting one search for his or her identity as a grown man.
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.
Meyer, Michael. The Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed. 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2008. 2189.
Language is an important part of who we are. It influences the way we think and behave on a great scale. However, sometimes it is forced upon us to go in different directions just so we can physically and mentally feel as if we belong to the society in which we live in. Just as we see in Amy Tan’s “Mother Tongue” and Richard Rodriguez’s “A Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood”, both authors faced some challenges along the way by coping with two different languages, while still trying to achieve the social position which they desired.
Murphy, B. & Shirley J. The Literary Encyclopedia. [nl], August 31, 2004. Available at: http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=2326. Access on: 22 Aug 2010.
Tan’s essay does more than just illuminate the trouble with language variations; her essay features a story of perseverance, a story of making a “problem” harmonize into a “normal” life. Almost like a how-to, Tan’s essay describes an obstacle and what it takes to go above and beyond. Mirroring Tan, I have been able to assimilate “the [world] that helped shape the way I saw things” and the world that I had to conform to (Tan 129). Life is a struggle, but what makes it worth it is the climb, not what is on the other side.
...xpressing her Chinese culture. Mastering a second language allows her to articulate her and her mother’s thoughts; it is a foundation for her pride and a foundation to express herself. For Gloria Anzaldua, instead of choosing one language over the other, she chose a mix of the two and fights for it. She realized the value of her language when she lost it and now treasures it. The kind of Spanish she speaks is neither English nor Spanish, but both. It is overflowing with culture from Medieval Spain, France, Germany, etc., just from the origins of the words. It is her pride and a representation of herself, fighting and living. In conclusion, in addition to Lera Boroditsky’s article proving that the structure of language affects how we think, the articles by Eric Liu, Amy Tan, and Gloria Anzaldua show how language is a foundation for a person’s culture, pride, and self.
"Open Book Newsletter No. 1: The Bible and Western Literature by Peter J. Leithart January, 1991." Biblical Horizons » No. 1: The Bible and Western Literature. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Jan. 2014.