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How does culture influence personal development
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Price Daughters Evolving Faith in “The Poisonwood Bible”
Who you are as a person is based on genetics but also on experiences. Biology of the brain has an influence on personality, however, culture and environment heavily influence personality traits from the beginning of one’s life and experiences continue to do so throughout adulthood. In “The Poisonwood Bible” sisters, Leah, Adah and Ruth May were all raised by Orleanna and Nathan Price—a Christian Baptist preacher from Georgia and were given the same experiences, yet all three girls remain completely different from one another. From living in the United States to becoming full time missionaries in the Congo, the three girls grow and develop into different directions in terms of their faith. In “The Poisonwood Bible”, Barbara Kingsolver displays the differences and affects that Christianity has on Christians in Western society verse living in the Congo through the lives of the
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Characters Ruth May, Adah and Leah Price all raised by southern Baptist preacher have the same experiences, develop varied ideas of faith and beliefs and all abandon Christianity all together. Adah describes the result of faith in the Price family best when she says,
It crosses my mind that I may need a religion. Although Mother has one now, and she still suffers. I believe she talks to Ruth May more or less constantly, begging for forgiveness when no one is around. Leah has one: her religion is the suffering. Rachel doesn’t and she is plainly the happiest of us all. Though it could be argued that she is, herself, her own brand of goddess. (Kingsolver 442)
Nathan Price’s unapproachable and counterproductive attitude towards the people in the Congo have pushed not only the Congolese people away from believing in Jesus Christ but have also pushed his own daughters and wife away from Christianity to believing in
Surroundings have a major affect on humans. It can change who they are right down to the core. If a person puts themselves in a positive environment, they are more likely to be positive, while the opposite happens when placed in a negative environment. While the changes in the person might not be immediate over time the person will adjust to their surroundings. This was accurate in the case of The Poisonwood Bible. While not all of the characters experienced significant change, all of the main characters changed as the story progressed. The longer that she remained in that situation, Leah Price gradually became more and more different than she was in her previous surrounding.
Although I appreciate and enjoyed reading about a world in which I have no experience, the imagery in the book was more than enough to show me that I would not survive a day living in Africa. Kingsolver’s vivid imagery and attention to detail hooked me the first few pages. (Like how the family wanted to bring the Better Crocker cake mix). The different detail from each of the Price sisters presents Africa and allowed me to piece it together. I was also able to identify myself with each of the sisters. I see myself as Rachel, Adah, Leah, and Ruth May.
1. Walter - His dreams of owning a licquor store conflict religiously with Mama's value system. The conflict between Mama and Walter is amplified by the fact that it is Mama's apartment in which the family lives and Walter is unable/unwilling to make decisions because Mama is so domineering. Ironically, it is the one decision that she eventually lets Walter make which nearly destroys the family.
As one can see, Harriet, Dick and Reverend Lewis Merrill, even though they are all minor characters, affect the major characters, such as Johnny and Owen with their identity, or personality. Without these characters, the novel would never be the same. As Alan Rudolph said, “Human identity is the most fragile thing that we have, and it's often only found in moments of truth.”
At an age when other children would be easily impacted by such ideas, one would think that Scout too would be changed, when in fact it is the opposite for her; her stubbornness and defined sense of self respect cause her not to be afflicted. While the young girl is only slightly influenced by these ideas, her perspective of human nature is much broadened as she learns that prejudice is a disease with far reaching roots. Aunt Alexandra’s behavior throughout that book illustrates that while prejudices are natural among individuals, the way that one chooses to assert his own can have a profound effect on
It would be expected that a man who believes in the Christian god wouldn’t view others as inferior, since one of the fundamental teachings of Jesus was loving all persons. Nathan Price on the other hand, is often sexist and racist, viewing women as having lower intelligence then their male counterparts. At one point, Nathan lashed out in a drunken rage on his wife for sexual tempting him, believing that god is watching him constantly, judging his every mistake.
Adah’s alienating experience with American life greatly deviates from the life she builds in the Congo. In Kilanga, Adah is the one seen as normal out of the Price family, as according to Ruth May “they’ve all got their own handicap children or a mam with no feet, or their eye put out” (Kingsolver 53.) Rachel is the one seen by the villagers as the odd one out, as her platinum blonde hair is an irregularity in the Congo. This struggle to adjust to being perfectly ordinary is a new one for Adah, who is simultaneously trying to find her independence. Throughout the novel, Adah stays quiet, choosing to be alone with her thoughts instead of talking with the family that she struggles to relate to. This conscious alienation results in the dependence
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver practically oozes with guilt and it is no wonder that a major theme in the book is how each person deals with the guilt. Nathan still holds on to his guilt from his time in the military. The Price family guilt over the death of a daughter and a sister. They also hold a public guilt of how they played into Africa’s tragedies. The novel tells how each character deals with this burden and offers five ways out of infinity to deal with guilt.
In Barbara Kingsolver’s novel, The Poisonwood Bible, Orleanna Price’s life is presented as a neverending struggle for freedom, whether it is freedom from her husband or freedom from her guilt over her youngest daughter’s death. Orleanna’s trials in the Congo show the extent of the love she has for her daughters as well as how she betrays them.
Her continuous references to the Bible, Jesus, and praying, makes it appear if she is a Christian lady, but while in the car the she displays some very un-Christian ethics. She tells the children, “Oh look at the cute little pickanninny. Wouldn’t that make a picture, now?” (278). These are racist words, which are unbecoming of someone who believes in God. She is also good at lying and being manipulative. When she is losing the battle about taking the trip to visit the old plantation house, she has no absolutely no reluctance in resorting to untruthfulness. “There was a secret panel in this house,” she said craftily, not telling the truth but wishing that she were, “and the story went that all the family silver was hidden in it when Sherman came through but it was never found… (281). The word crafty shows her careful selection of her words so that it would have the most controlling effect on the children’s mind. As much as she may have wished for it to be the truth, it is a grave lie. She knew that the allure of hidden treasure would get the children on her side. In light of a woman who views herself as a Christian, and who wants to project just the right appearance, it’s clear that the grandmother is a hypocrite who is really far from living a life as Jesus would want. The grandmother is a picture of anyone who doesn’t really know Jesus and who goes through life giving the
Dimmesdale twisted the word of God and the Puritan beliefs into what he saw appropriatefor himself, which truly went against Christian belief. This religious doctrine was changed in his head as he still thought the he should teach the word of God. He doubted his beliefs due to his sin but still had hope of attaining salvation through faith and the sacrifice of Jesus. In Puritan society, the smallest of sins were punished very severely. Dimmesdale, himself, was a sinner yet only received punishment from himself. He did repent for his sins but within the strict rules of society he was still not forgiven of his sin. Dimmesdale is aware that he has not be fully forgive of his sin yet continues with his twisted version of religion. Due to his high
Here in the US we have several different religions being practiced everyday: like Zoroastrianism, Shinto, Muslim, Buddhism, Hinduism, and as well as Judaism and Christianity and even newer beliefs like scientology. Religion is a very important thing to people because it helps us find answers to some very difficult questions, namely what are we and why are we here. This is very important itself because knowing who we are is the basis of our beliefs and the foundation to everything that we do. (Neusner, 2009)
Over the course of the novel, Jane has trouble finding the correct balance between her moral duties and earthly pleasures, between obligation to her spirit and attention to her body. She meets three main characters that symbolize different aspects of religion: Mr. Brocklehurst, Helen Burns, and St. John Rivers. Each person represents a part of religion that Jane eventually rejects because she forms her own ideas about her faith.
What makes us who we truly are? Some say our decisions define us, others our experiences, and still others believe our identities are all predetermined by our genetics. A simple story I have heard offers an answer to this controversy. If a person throws an egg, a carrot, and a coffee bean each into a pot of boiling water, the outcome is different for each of them. The egg will harden, the carrot will soften, and the coffee bean will change the water it was in. The water in this analogy symbolizes adversity. All of the objects faced the same adversity, but each responded in a unique way. Similarly, some people’s hearts are hardened by their negative experiences, but others take those experiences and transform them into learning opportunities.
Religion is commonly defined as a group of beliefs concerning the supernatural, sacred, or divine, and the moral codes, practices, values, institutions and rituals associated with such beliefs (Wikipedia, 2006). Most of the major religions have evolved over the centuries into what they are today. In many cultures and times, religion has been the basic foundation of life, permeating all aspects of human existence (Fisher, 2002). Religion is passed on from generation to generation. My religious beliefs were passed on from my relatives on my mother's side. My family has believed in the Catholic faith for many generations. Since I grew up in the Catholic faith I went to Catholic schools my entire childhood. My personal experiences and the Catholic faith made me into the person I am today. Without a religious upbringing I feel that there would have been something missing in my life.