Kingsolver’s Portrayal of Christianity in The Poisonwood Bible
Kingsolver’s concern with Christianity is evident in the very title of
The Poisonwood Bible. She uses ‘books’ to divide the novel into sections, which, with names like Genesis and The Revelation, reflect the books of the Bible. As the novel progresses, the structure deviates from that of its biblical namesakes: there is a shift in order - Exodus is placed centrally - and new books with titles such as
The Eyes in the Trees are introduced (Kingsolver’s own appellations).
These names present the reader with the idea that Kingsolver is rewriting the central Christian text, adapting it for her own story.
Thus religion is heralded as a significant presence in the book, not just thematically, but structurally.
Throughout The Poisonwood Bible, Kingsolver uses her characters to represent forms of attitudes to Christianity. The primary expositor is
Nathan, who sustains forceful, evangelical beliefs throughout. He has no voice of his own, but all accounts affirm to the reader that he is consumed by his faith. Leah, the daughter who harbours the most respect for her father, initially refers to him only in the context of religion – ‘his tone implied that…[Mother’s] concern with Better
Crocker confederated her with the coin-jingling sinners who vexed
Jesus till he pitched a fit and threw them out of church.’ She is describing the cleansing of the temple in John 2:13-22, but the fact that she can reference it freely, and even put it into her own words, demonstrates that she has been heavily influenced by the Bible.
Kingsolver is perhaps trying to show that religion can be used to control the way people think, and she portrays Christianity as highly potent. Leah continues to incorpo...
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Nathan treats his daughters, or for the religious clash between
Western values and Congolese beliefs. Nathan, with his oppressive dogmatism, encounters obstacles because he refuses to accept anything but his own beliefs, thereby displaying his utter cultural arrogance
‘…the few here that choose Christi-an-ity over ignorance and darkness!’
Kingsolver makes him a slave to an ancient, uncompromising text, depicting his struggle to force it upon people who have no interest in it. Nathan’s personal religion was poisoned when his company died ‘on the death march’. It was not Christianity that made him into (as Leah puts it) a ‘simple, ugly man’, it was a series of tragic events, falling upon an impressionable man at an unfortunate time. Through his downfall, Kingsolver effectively puts across the danger of being rigid and uncompromising about traditional Christianity.
Since its 1998 publication, The Poisonwood Bible has primarily been seen as a statement against American exceptionalism. Upon analyzing the novel it is obvious that subjects such as imperialism, religion, the burden of guilt, and the use of, or lack thereof, voices, contribute to multiple points and themes found in the novel. In Susan Strehle’s current article on American exceptionalism explicitly relating to The Poisonwood Bible, she manipulates the topics and themes found in the novel to support her opinion. Unlike Strehle’s one-sided view, multiple themes and motifs in The Poisonwood Bible combine to form a complex and involved plot, further developed by the use of symbolism and both internal and external conflicts of the characters.
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.
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver is a work of historical fiction. The novel is based the Congo in 1959, while it was still under Belgian control. Nathan Price is a southern Baptist preacher from Bethlehem, Georgia who uproots his family, consisting of wife and three daughters, and takes them on a mission trip to Kilanga. Orleanna Price, Nathan’s wife, narrates the beginning of each book within the novel. Rachel, Leah, Adah, and Ruth May rotate the narration throughout each book. Rachel is the oldest Price child, and high materialistic. She refuses to accept the ways of the Congo, believing that she is better than everyone simply because of where she had her start in life. Leah is the next oldest, and she is a self-proclaimed tomboy. She likes to climb trees and practically worships at the feet of her father. Adah is the handicapped one, with a physical deformity. However, this deformity does not limit her, instead making her the smartest of the Price girls. Ruth May is the baby of the family, and has not yet lost the childhood innocence that she views the world with. Barbara Kingsolver uses a very interesting narrative style in the novel, switching between four narrators between the ages of five and fifteen, who are all female. Kingsolver's use of multiple narrative perspectives serve to amplify life in the Congo during the early 1960s through characterization, religion, and politics.
Barbara Kingsolver is the author of many well-written pieces of literature including The Poisonwood Bible. This novel explores the beauty and hardships that exist in the Belgian Congo in 1959. Told by the wife and four daughters of a fierce Baptist, Nathan Price, Kingsolver clearly captures the realities this family and mission went through during their move to the Congo. The four daughters were raised in Atlanta Georgia in the 1950’s therefore entering the Congo with preconceived racial beliefs, and a very different way of life than they would soon experience. Throughout The Poisonwood Bible Kingsolver explores the importance and impact of faith, and a religion based on your own private beliefs.
his own voice leads to his constant babbling. Scholars have been analyzing the character of
Adrienne Rich argues for a “cluster of forces within which women have been convinced that marriage and sexual orientation towards men are inevitable – even if unsatisfying or oppressive – components of their lives,” a concept known as “compulsory heterosexuality” (Rich 290-291, 289). In The Poisonwood Bible, Nathan Price enforces this view of compulsory heterosexuality, leading his daughters to believe that a woman’s only purpose in life is to become an obedient wife. He breaks down the power and independence of his daughters in an attempt to enforce his will. Because of his household tyranny, his oldest daughter Rachel becomes completely dependent on the power of men such as her father and her first husband in order to survive. Left alone in Africa by her family with no female companionship, she finds solace through herself and ultimately rejects compulsory
The study of textual criticism is important when talking about any historical manuscript or text. In particular, when talking about something with as much impact and influence as the bible, textual criticism is a necessary part of scholarship. Brad Ehrman does an excellent job in explaining the basics of textual criticism and how it can be used to determine the accuracy of biblical texts and manuscripts. His book, Misquoting Jesus, serves as a primer to the study of historical biblical manuscripts. As Ehrman states in his introduction, the thesis explained in the text is that biblical manuscripts have been changed throughout history, both intentionally and non-intentionally, and that those changes were affected by the attitudes and beliefs of the scribes.
In the novel, The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, the character Leah Price’s psychological and moral traits were shaped by her psychical and geographical surroundings. The African Congo impacts Leah in ways only one could imagine. Leah’s character sifts through life hanging by the seam of others coat tails until she examines herself from the inside out and no longer lives through others but now lives for herself.
Introduction:A careful reading of the opening passage from The Poisonwood Bible indicates that Kingsolver’s characterization of the life, both human and animal, conveys a tone of malignancy and frailty, which suggests a very hostile environment for which you need to be wary. Therefore shows a juxtaposition of the infirmity of the peace given by the Okapi in the final chapter.
In the novel, The Poisonwood Bible, the author, Barbara Kingsolver, conveys that not everyone tries to colonize for the right reasons. Nathan is one of these people because he only wants to “help” the people of the Congo for the guilt he feels about something else. Just as the Duke of Norway tries to colonize them for profit and no one really stopped him from doing so. Like, the girls are unable to persuade Nathan to stay home and not go to the Congo.
5. Speaker: Bill Bryson is the narrator, and he writes in first person. This demonstrated when he give examples from his life and using sentence referring to himself. For example, “I am delighted that you could make it” (1).
readers can rely on to tell the truth, as he sees it. However, not only the
The Bible is the inspired Word of God. It presents salvation history as how God reveals himself, his plan for redemption of fallen mankind. His Divine plan starts with the creation of the world. The Bible is made up of both the Old and New Testament. The Old Testament pertains to God’s creation of the world and his Word to Israel. It is written in Hebrew Scripture except for a few written in Aramaic, and is composed of the Law(Torah), the Prophets, and the Writings. It was preserved in three languages: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek.
There are many places where the character talked about himself, the first part of the prologue. In the ending to his tale he flagrantly shares with the party that he is aware that he sells false salvation through fake pardons and worthless relics comprising of sheep bone and ragged clothes, yet boats how successful he is at fraud. (quote) The characters in his tale display arrogance as well. Their plan of “brotherhood” began to deteriate as soon as the split up. Once alone, each thought that they were more worthy than the other for the money. They conclude that they deserve to have the money more than their counterpart.
the author’s own voice, so-called direct authorial interventions (these are passages in which the author’s own voice can be clearly heard commenting upon the action or articulating some moral sentiment that may have little to do with the progression of the plot itself);