Poisonwood Bible entry: Exodus

In class we discussed one of the closing chapters of the Poisonwood Bible: Exodus. The chapter is different than the preceding ones in that it spans many years of the Price girl's lives, rather than focusing on one or two months as the other chapters did.
Orleanna, Leah, Rachel, and Adah flee the village (and Nathan) after witnessing the death of Ruth May. Their journey is a tough one and they almost don't make it. The family separates: Rachel flies away with Mr. Axelroot, Leah stays with Anatole, and Orleana and Adah go back to America. The story continues from the viewpoints of the three remaining children, though they are separated. Leah and Anatole raise a family, and Anatole gets arrested twice. Rachel recieves a hotel in the middle of the Congo (called "The Equatorial") and ends up never marrying, and Adah gets an education and becomes a medical researcher (plus loses her limp).

The main idea of this chapter was change. Starting from the change of location, the three remaining Price girls go through some drastic changes.

Another main idea was the idea of forgiveness. Each of the remaining family members feel guilty in some way for Ruth May's death (well Rachel feels the least guilt). However they all try to recover in different ways (though Orleanna seems to have recovered the least).

We also find out that Nathan died while trying another fruitless attempt to promote Christianity in Kilanga. I think "good riddence" however I cannot help but wonder what was going through Nathan's head as he was burned to death. I wonder if he ever received the realization that Christianity or at least his method of teaching it was not going to work in the Congo, or if he was defiant even in death.

PB entry: The log that broke the camel's back

The well known saying is "The straw that broke the camel's back". Why do I say "log"? Well, when you look at the great turning point that is Ruth May's death in Bel and the serpent, it's pretty obvious that it is no mere straw that forces the Price family (sans Nathan), around the corner. Hence the log.

Here's how it happened. Leah talked about how Jesus got voted out as the "tribe religeous figure", however Nathan refuses to give up even though none of the village leaders really likes him. I suppose that it was bound to happen that Tata Kvudundu (or however you spell it) decided to leave snakes by the beds of the Price Family and, you guessed it, killed Ruth May as a result. It could have been anybody, but it was Ruth May that was killed. It was probably part plot device since her death would have had the biggest impact on the rest of the family emotionally, but it also yet again points out Nathan's ignorance. He just couldn't face the facts that he was not welcome in the village and now has suffered a loss. Yet he still suprisingly, and rather shockingly, seems oblivious to the rest of his family's sadness. I was kind of hoping for Nathan to change back to how he was at some point, but it looks like it is not going to happen. Ever.

PB Passage response

"Until that moment I'd always believed I could still go home and pretend the Congo never happened. The misery, the hunt, the ants, the embarrassments of all we saw and endured--those were just stories I would tell someday with a laugh and a toss of my hair, when Africa was faraway and make-believe like the people in history books... ...Never imagined I would be a girl they'd duck their eyes from and whisper about as tragic, for having suffered such a loss." (Kingsolver, 367)

(This whole thing is a spoiler, highlight to read)

It is Rachel that is narrating here. I think that this is a turning point in the book.
First I'll be blunt: Ruth May dies. A snake kills her.
Now I think that we have gone around the corner and will now proceed to spiral towards the end, with this one event completing the changes that we have started to see for all the narrating characters in one fell swoop. Rachel, for one, now realizes that she will no longer be able to believe that the Congo was all a dream. The tragedy of death now marks them for the rest of thier lives. In this quote, and also in Leah's conclusion narration of "Bel and the Serpent", I think that both of their voices have evolved to be more like that of Orleanna. Since Orleanna's narrations are written as if the events of the Congo happened in the past, I think this could mean that this tragedy affected all the Price girls similarily.

(End spoilers, and also end of post)

Poison Mosquitos of the Biblical Kind

...Start of record...

We watched a movie called "Mosquito Coast" (Which oddly enough, doesn't appear to have anything to do with those bloodsucking vampire bugs that we all hate) in English class earlier. While the setting, characters, and other aspects are different from "The Poisonwood Bible", the book and this movie have their parallels. For a brief overview of "Mosquito Coast", go here:
Well, don't unless you want the movie spoiled...

As a first similarity, both medium involve a family moving to an isolated "jungle area" from the comforts of America. The Price family moves to the Belgian Congo while the Fox family moves to the Mosquito coast. The difference is that the Price family moves for religeous reasons while the father of the Fox family shows a distrust of religeon and they moved in order to "start fresh" in life.

I think the biggest parallel is the effects of the fathers (Nathan and Allie) on their respective families. Both of them were the reason that each family moved and both of them show single minded commitment towards the cause that they support. Nathan refuses to waver from his religeous path even if it is at the expense of others, even his family. Allie does likewise with his mindset of rejecting society.

Both of the fathers are asked to turn back by others, and eventually their own families. But both fathers refuse to listen and such a choice makes them pay dearly.

(Highlight for spoilers)

In Allie's case, he dies.

(End spoilers)

...End of record...

Lit circle entry: The Judges. Orleanna and Nathan

Well, spring break is coming to a close, and I think I'll try to get ahead (or catch up, if I'm behind) by posting a lit. circle entry for the third chapter of the Poisonwood Bible: The Judges.

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The Judges starts with this narration by Orleanna (the mother):

"LISTEN, LITTLE BEAST. Judge me as you will, but first listen. I am your mother. What happened to us could have happened anywhere, to any mother. I'm not the first woman on earth to have seen her daughters possessed. For time and eternity there have been fathers like Nathan who simply can see no way to have a daughter but to own her like a plot of land. To work her, plow her under, rain down a dreadful poison upon her. Miraculously, it causes these girls to grow. They elongate on the pale slender stalks of their longing, like sunflowers with heavy heads. You can shield them with your body and soul, trying to absorb that awful rain, but they'll still move toward him. Without cease, they'll bend to his light." (Kingsolver, 191)

Even if you didn't know that Orleanna is the first narrator of each chapter (at least so far anyway), even if you don't read the sentences that are colored green above which give her identity away, it is easy to tell that it is Orleanna speaking. I always have the urge to skip over the Orleanna narrations. I am aware that they have some of the most language rich passages in the book, and that they contain foreshadowing and other details that one may want to examine. But they are also depressed brooding which, while are very poetic, make for very tedious reading. However I do read them and take in the detail.

Orleanna talks about how she was before she met Nathan, how she met him, how Nathan used to be, but most importantly what caused Nathan to become the sort of person that we have seen him as in the past chapters: his guilt. According to Orleanna, Nathan was drafted into World War 2 but because of injuries did not take part in the Bataan Death March: an event that claimed the rest of his regimen's lives. Because of this, he thought that he was a coward in God's eyes and set off on a hard path of redemption. After reading this I have to say that I apologise for some of what I have thought of Nathan in the past. For some, not all. I still think that the path that he chose was not a good one, but I'm not sure that it is entirely his fault that he chose that path. I read "The Things They Carried" last semester for english. It was about the Vietnam war, narrated by a veteran. From that book I could see how war can change a person, make them see things abstractly, differently, in ways that I can not understand. So I think that Nathan's position seems a bit more reasonable than I had thought, though, again, I don't really agree with him (disclaimers, you know).

I feel sorry (more than I already was) that Orleanna is being put in this position. I feel sorry for Nathan's misfortune and drastic personality change, but I'm angry at him for forcing Orleanna to be a spectator to his madness. It wasn't completely clear to me what she was going through when reading the previous chapters, but just by reading that opening paragraph once I can tell how much she has been affected by her husband during their time in the Congo.

Speaking of changes resulting from Nathan, Orleanna's personality took a new turn during Judges. After spending a month in bed, as narrated by Leah, "For one thing, she was now inclined to say whatever was on her mind right in front of God and everybody. Even Father. She didn't speak to him directly; it was more like she was talking straight to God, or the air, or the lizards who'd paused halfway up the walls, and if Father should overhear her, that was his nickle"(Kingsolver, 243),Leah goes on to say how Orleanna had tried to get Mr. Axelroot to fly her and her daughters out of the Congo and then begins to question her father's beliefs. This is an important personality developement for Orleanna and for her daughters because it shows that even though she has been "beat down" by her husband, she can still "stand back up". Perhaps she is trying to break Nathan's shell of ignorance, or perhaps she is just refusing to conform to his influence any longer, but in any case seeing Leah's doubt of her father shows that Orleanna is influencing the daughters as well.

PB entry 4: Main theme- Nathan and control

We are now on the chapter "The Revelation" in the Poisonwood Bible.

From the previous chapter, we have an understanding of the five narrators' personalities (well, we only get a small view of Orleanna). As this chapter unfolds, we see beginnings of character change and development that will no doubt continue through the course of the book, seeing that a major theme in this novel is "change". Anyway, lets take a look at the outsider of this family: Nathan, the only character that isn't narrating.

Nathan is the religiously fanatical father. His one-track mind on religion is a key point in this chapter if not the whole book. One example occurs in Rachel's first entry in this chapter. What happens is that Anataole visits the Price family. During dinner, Anatole says that Tata Ndu feels that Nathan's practices are corrupt.

"Tata Ndu is happy for you to draw the bad-luck people away," he said. "So the village's spirit protectors will not notice them so much. But he worries you are trying to lure too many of the other s into following corrupt ways. He fears a disaster will come if we anger the gods." (Kingsolver, 129)

Nathan, being the one-sided person that he is, is unable to understand how Christianity could be considered corrupt, so he promptly does this:

"He told Anatole he respected and valued his help (meaning: I've had about enough of your lip, Buster Brown) but was disappointed by the villagers' childlike interpretations of Gods's plan (meaning: you are just as big of a dingwit as the rest of them). He said he would work on a sermon that would clearup all the misunderstandings. Then he announced that this conversation had come to an end, and Anatole could consider himself excused from the table and this house." (133)

Nathan shows that he needs control in order to function. In this case he is unable to live with the idea that his practices are being thought of as corrupt. He gets angry when he doesn't have that control and is unable to take an action that contradicts his beliefs with very much self-control, even if it means alienating himself from his family, just as he does following the above incident, when Orleanna tries in her own way to make him understand the circumstances.

"Orleanna, shut up!" he yelled, grabbing her arm hard and jerking the plate out of her hand. He raised it up over her head and slamed it down hard on the table, cracking it in two." (134)

In regards to Nathan's actions when he feels violated in the slightest way, I think that quote explains itself.

Now, I may be coming across as "anti-Nathan", which is partially true. However the way the book is structured forces the reader to lable Nathan as the scapegoat for distaste. At this point I must remind everyone that we are not able to see the events from Nathan's point of view, so I'm sure we have a high amount of bias against him. After all, look at Adah: If we couldn't read her views of the novel's events, then what would we think of her? And with that thought, this mixed lit. entry is at a close.

PB entry 3: Poisonwood walk-In the voice of Adah Price

So, yesterday we took a step outside our English classroom to do a walk activity. We were to imagine ourselves as one of the characters in the Poisonwood Bible and view the surroundings in their voice. I was assigned to take on the voice of Adah Price. So here is my attempt at portraying her rather interesting voice:
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"I see paths, a field, a building. Indoors. Outdoors. Doors out. Doors in. Building a, field a, paths see I. Light not gloom, sound all strewn, colors un-hewn. Early afternoon. A boy throws, card flies, eight of clubs. Clubs of eight, flies cards, throws boy a. I prefer diamonds.
He throws and blunders. 'Oh my god!' he exclaims. Father wouldn't approve. Approve wouldn't Father? Ha! Our Father found the Congolese beyond his control. Oot elpoep eseht lortnoc ot yrt eh dlouw?

On, tluser tnereffid a gnitcepxe dna revo dna revo gniht emas eht gniod si ytinasni?


There are so many pathways at this school, how does one not get lost? Lost get not one does how? I walk. Ada the slow one. Eno wols eht ada. My left half trailing behind me. Stairs that would be given little thought from my sisters are a challenge for limping Ada. I take the long path around, passing another building, another field.

Under a roof now, there is no one else here. Alone. Light in front and behind. Behind and front in light. Alone. But it's not different. Outside I knew no one. I was ignored, ignored was I. Just as my sisters run ahead and leave me behind. Ada the silent, Ada the slow. Yet I walk on. No klaw I tey. Dragging my left foot like an injured dog. God derujni. Ada sees doG. God sees adA. Ada sees doG."

Poisonwood Bible: Lit. Entry 2: What exactly is poisonwood?

So as my second article on The Poisonwood Bible, I want to find and deliver some information on the wood that made the book's title.

On page 39, Nathan Price (the father) tries to create a demonstrative garden to be, as Leah says, their "first African miracle: an infinite chain of benevolence rising from these small, crackling seed packets." (Kingsolver, 36). Nathan, who is used to American farming techniques but completely ignorant of the differences in the Congo, tries to cultivate the soil with "American techniques" and receives some correction from Mama Tataba, their helper, on the Congolese way to cultivate soil. She warns him about the consequences of pulling a certain small tree out of the ground with bare hands for example:

"'That one, brother, he bite,' she said, pointing her knuckly hand at a small tree he was wresting from his garden plot. White sap oozed from the torn bark. My father wiped his hands on his trousers. 'Poisonwood,' she added flatly, emphasizing the descending syllables as if she were equally tired of all three." (39)

Her advice goes unheeded however and Nathan wakes up with rashes and a swollen eye caused by some contact with the poisonwood. So what is poisonwood anyway?

There is an actual tree called the Poisonwood tree, which is related to the poison oak. Like the Poisonwood tree in the book, the real tree will cause skin irritations upon contact. It is the sap that causes these rashes so if the two poisonwood trees are the same, then the sap is what caused Nathan Price's troubles the morning after trying to pull up the tree. The sap may be contained in any part of the tree, so handling of the tree should be done with extreme caution.

All the information is found at: http://www.sfrc.ufl.edu/4h/Poisonwood/poisonwo.htm

This image is from: http://www.samford.edu/schools/artsci/biology/belize/belizeplants.html

It was interesting to find that while I searched for information on this tree, many of the things that came up were on The Poisonwood Bible.

The Poisonwood tree that is pulled up in the book is a symbol of ignorance of the Congolese culture. In the scene that it appears, Nathan Price shows that he doesn't want to listen to Mama Tataba's advice, though she is more familiar on the Congolese culture than he is.

Poisonwood Bible: Lit. Discussions: Job=Engineer

Hello, we have been reading The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. It is a very dense (information-wise) book, with plenty of descriptive passages and multitudes of metaphors. I think Kingsolver does an excellent job of providing the reader with the information needed to "paint a picture" of the happenings, while not "Ivanhoe'ing" (distorting plot details with too much fancy language). As the engineer of my Lit. eight group, my job is to recognise the physical and/or logical structures that help hold this book together.

But first some background information. The Poisonwood Bible takes place in the Belgian Congo in the year 1959. The main characters are the Price family, from America, who have traveled to the Congo on a Christian mission. The four daughters: Rachael, Leah, Adah, and Ruth May are the primary narrators in the book, each with their own personality and voice. The father is a strict Baptist minister who conforms with the contours of his religion with an (often unnecessary) iron grip, while the mother takes a more moderate view.

Now on to the physical stuff. While in the Congo, the Price family have to live in third world conditions. Therefore one of the main plot ideas for at least the book's first chapter is the change from American to Congolese life.

Malaria is a big cause of death in Africa, and the danger is understood by the villagers and the family. Mosquito nets are used and given to the family upon their arrival, and also the Price family takes pills to prevent the disease. For more information on nets, you can go to "nothingbutnets.net".

Transportation is done on foot, given no access to vehicles, and the paths are made of dirt. The houses in the village are small huts made of mud and thatch. They are only one room large, except the Price's which has more room, and their inhabitants often sleep outside.

Two of the most important physical aspects of the surroundings that affect the Price family are the lack of electricity and running water.
Electricity is very important in 1959 American life. Among the consequences of not having electricity is the inability to cook with an electric stove. While this is daily life for the Congolese, it serves as an inconvenience for the Price family. Instead of an electric stove they use a wood stove with a firebox; it is basically just a hole with a fireplace under it. It is an unfamiliar cooking style for the Price family: "Mother has figured out how to make bread "by hook or by crook," she likes to say, but the stove doesn't really have a proper oven. In fact, it looks less like a stove than a machine hammered together out of some other machine."(Kingsolver, 65).
There is no running water in the village so all water needs to be retrieved from the river, which fortunately runs along the village. For safety reasons, the water must be boiled before use. Water is needed not only for drinking, but also for cooking, farming, and bathing. So it is important that the villager's huts run along the riverside.