Theme Analysis of The Poisonwood Bible by Barbra Kingsolver

840 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Christianity and African Traditional Religion

In the book The Poisonwood Bible by Barbra Kingsolver, she uses motifs and themes such as issues over the western control, religion, and the death and force of nature. In literature authors use themes as a message to create points that will help make the big picture complete. Kingsolver is using multiple themes to connect what she is portraying from her writing to the reader. These themes come in different variations, but help us understand the core of the novel and get the real meaning on what it is about. The entire book is practically based in the Congo of Africa. In the Congo there are the issues of western control and western arrogance throughout the different countries. Kingsolver uses the theme of western hegemony in both the political and local levels. At the local level we see what Kingsolver s trying to get at with religion among the people. Nathan who is the father of the Price family is bringing his family over to Africa with the solemn purpose of converting the native people of the Congo into Christianity. In reality the natives are basing their religion and their beliefs on what god is going to give them the most of. They want their beliefs to be based around how well the gods are going to give them what they need. For instance they are wanting more food and to be protected from diseases. Nathan Price through out the novel doesn’t understand why they natives are not listening to him. He doesn’t understand why they do not want their souls to be saved, but instead are more focused on that surviving is more important to their culture than being saved and having the chances of eternal life. One the other side of the western hegemony theme there is the arrogance factor that plays into role throughout the book. We meet... ... middle of paper ... ...outraged. The natives wanted to belief their own beliefs they wanted to believe on what was going to make them survive and that was not Nathan’s way. Nature is being represented with the fact that is wild and you cant change something that is unpredictable. Change happens all the time, and we have seen that through out history. Kingsolver makes it clear to show that these three themes all connect because is shows that Africa is a huge place where foreigners think they can just come in and make things go their way. Nothing ever stays the same for a long period of time because change happens periodically. In a weird way, the Congo actually destroyed the Price family. The white family thought that they could just come in and tell them that they needed change, but before they could do so, the Congo ended up changing them before they had the chance the make an impact.

Show More
Related

  • Essay On The Poisonwood Bible

    520 Words  | 2 Pages

    Inquiry Contract Research Essay The Poisonwood Bible took place in the Congo during the 1960’s, which was a time of political unrest for the Congolese. The Congo gained their independence from the Belgians in 1960, and elected their first Prime Minister, Patrice Lumumba. Lumumba wanted complete control of the country, including it’s natural resources, of which the United States had “gained strategic stake in” (Nzongola-Ntalaja) because it included uranium mines. At this time, America was in the midst of the Cold War with the USSR, so the control of these mines for America was critical, especially because they believed Lumumba was siding with the Soviets.

    Read More

  • Interpretation of "The Poisonwood Bible" in the Humanities

    2092 Words  | 5 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • How Does Kingsolver Present Religion In The Poisonwood Bible

    1251 Words  | 3 Pages

    Nathan's motive for going to Africa was to try converting some of the villagers from the Kilanga Village to Christianity. Nathan is explaining to Mama Tataba that the citizens are "Broken in body and soul, and don’t even see how they could be healed" (53). Nathan is so fixated with trying to baptize the people of the Congo that he is causing the anger. Many of their conflicts are caused because of race, but here it is religion, the citizens don't appreciate Nathan's approach to baptism. The people of the village do not get along with Nathan, he is ignorant, but since his motive drives him he does not stop.

    Read More

  • Nathan Price: The Poisonwood Bible

    683 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Narrative In The Poisonwood Bible

    1401 Words  | 3 Pages

    At first glance, The Poisonwood Bible is simply a story about a family from Georgia who gets taken on a mission trip to the Congo in Africa. After reading the entire novel and analyzing the text, it is apparent that Kingsolver used things like characterization, religious aspects, and a political allegory to convey what life was really like in the Congo in 1959. Nathan Price, though never actually given a voice, managed to become possibly the most important character, as well as the entire allegory. The multiple narrative perspectives added to the level of characterization, as well as an interesting twist on typical literature. Not to mention, all of the narrators were females, something that is very uncommon for historical fiction.

    Read More

  • Courage in To Kill a Mockingbird

    907 Words  | 2 Pages

    An idea that recurs in or pervades a work of art of literature can be referred to as a “Theme”. Themes often explore timeless and universal ideas and may be implied rather than stated explicitly. Theme is an important part of fictional stories. Several themes are presented in the novel to kill a mocking bird. One of the reoccurring themes in to kill a mockingbird is courage.

    Read More

  • TKAM: Literary Analysis Paper

    596 Words  | 2 Pages

    In To Kill a Mockingbird, the theme plays an important role during the course of the novel. Theme is a central idea in a work of literature that contains more than one word. It is usually based on an author’s opinion on a subject. The theme of innocence should be protected is found in conflicts, characters, and symbols. In To Kill a Mockingbird, a conflict that connects to the theme that innocence should be protected is the death of Tom Robinson.

    Read More

  • The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

    915 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout a lifetime, many things are gained; experience, wisdom, knowledge, as well as a sure sense of self. But along with all these great things come regret, guilt, and shame of past events. Everyone deals with these in different ways, sometimes turning to religion and denial as coping mechanisms. In the novel The Poisonwood Bible, By Barbara Kingsolver, each member of the Price family deals with a personal guilt either gained while on their mission in the Congo or long before. This novel exemplifies the different types of guilt the Price family experienced throughout their stay in the Congo, and shows various means of reconciliation and forgiveness as the guilt is absolved.

    Read More

  • Analyzing Power's Arrogance: Fulbright's 1966 Perspective

    797 Words  | 2 Pages

    In this situation, the author uses the emotional appeal of pathos as well as logos, to logically explain how arrogance of power affects the thoughts and actions of American travelers. According to Fulbright, “Foreigners frequently comment… in our own country, they say, we are hospitable and considerate, but as soon as we get outside our own borders something seems to get into us and wherever we are we become noisy and demanding and we strut around as if we owned the place “ (3). In many countries, American companies have a strong presence in the economy and American hotels and restaurants are available to protect and cater to American travelers. In some instances, the American military may be stationed in a country or at the very least, its population may be aware that their survival is dependent on the “wisdom with which American uses her immense military power” (Fulbright 3). Therefore, when an American travels, he or she may unconsciously be affected by this knowledge as were “Greeks and Romans, …Spaniards, Germans, and Englishmen, in the brief high noons of their respective ascendancies” (Fulbright

    Read More

  • Theory Of Justice In Leah Price's The Poisonwood Bible

    1899 Words  | 4 Pages

    The actions of our ancestors precede us thus making it impossible to change the impact they imprint on our lives. Whether it be acts of heroics or conflict that lead to destruction, everyone is marked by their predecessors at birth. This is Leah Price’s burden. Leah, a character from the novel The Poisonwood Bible whose father seeks to revolutionize the Congo. From the first step off the plane his actions had already affected her reputation to the native people. At the beginning she accepts this status that is placed on her by her father and blindly follows his every step. She admires his ideal of justice of a white man civilizing the Congo and she steals from this. Her theory of justice ,the one of bringing the barbaric Congo on its knees

    Read More

  • A Critical Analysis of John Demos' The Unredeemed Captive

    262 Words  | 1 Pages

    The major themes of the book are directly related to the themes which John Demos uses to tell this story. The storyline moves on though the evolution of one theme to the next. The function of these major sections is to allow the reader to relate to John Williams overall state of mind as the story unfold. By implementing these major themes into his work, John Demos make it possible for the reader to fully understand the story from beginning to end.

    Read More

  • Lanval and Sir Gawain and The Green Knight

    1161 Words  | 3 Pages

    Themes are known to characterize the main idea or the many conflicts that occur within a storyline. They are the hidden foundation that the storyline follows. It is clear to say that both of these outstanding pieces of work have similar themes such as nature v. humanity, man v. man, and man v. himself. Nature v. Humanity is presented in the short narrative of Lanval through the characters of the Queen and young beautiful woman who stole Sir Lanval’s heart. The reason why this can be displayed as nature v. humanity is because the queen represents humanity. She is the one who is made through flesh and blood, and she is viewed and portrayed as the key

    Read More

  • Themes of Ordinary People by Judith Guest

    427 Words  | 1 Pages

    There are many themes that occur and can be interpreted differently throughout the novel. The three main themes that stand out most are healing, communication, and relationships.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Imperialism In The Heart Of Darkness By Joseph Conrad

    1169 Words  | 3 Pages

    In The Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, a seaman named Marlow examines European imperialism before his very eyes and how it is affecting the natives in the area they are imperializing, which is the Belgian Congo. Conrad conveys to the reader that multiple people have multiple views on the natives and their habitat. On the other hand, Conrad also displays how the natives have different feelings for the Europeans that are intruding on their land. Through Marlow’s eyes, we see a very prospective view as he speaks of how he does not favor the treatment of the natives yet he does nothing to stop it. However, we are also able to see the viewpoints of others. Conrad shows us that the Europeans do not have feelings for the natives and their main motive is to gain more ivory.

    Read More

  • Things Fall Apart Theme Essay

    1621 Words  | 4 Pages

    Achebe shows us a culture that is on the verge of change. Within the story we find out how the reality of change is brought upon several characters, and what their actions follow. Just like how African’s resisted the white’s over taking their country in reality, Achebe implements the same idea with the use of several characters. Okonkwo, for example, is completely opposed to the new political and religious upbringing that has come upon his clan. He feels that a real man does not change his views and beliefs for another mans views and beliefs. He see’s it as a sign of weakness. As we see throughout the novel, Okonkwo’s fear of losing his title and status, drives him further away from the idea of changing and adapting to the new religion. Achebe shows us how there will always be those that fight against the change, but in the end the stronger religion will over take and turn the others. Unfortunately for him, Okonkwo finding out his clan is converting is heart aching and he finds complete weakness in his clan. Achebe ties both themes of change and masculinity very well, and both themes support each other in every way. In reality, many Africans resisted the colonizers trying to destroy their religion, but the colonization wasn’t as severe as Achebe presented in her novel. “Groups strongly resisted the coming of European

    Read More

More about Theme Analysis of The Poisonwood Bible by Barbra Kingsolver

Open Document