The Poisonwood Bible (1998), by Barbara Kingsolver
Barbara Kingsolver
Barbara Kingsolver is an American novelist, essayist and poet. She was raised in rural Kentucky and lived briefly in the Congo in her early childhood. Kingsolver earned degrees in biology at DePauw University and the University of Arizona and worked as a freelance writer before she beg…
Kwilu River
The Kwilu River is a major river that originates in Angola and flows north through Bandundu Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the city of Bandundu, where it joins the Kwango River just before this stream enters the Kasai River. In the DRC the river flows past the towns o…
Where is orleanna price from?
Though her mother died when Orleanna was still a young girl and she grew up impoverished in Depression-ear Mississippi, Orleanna Price was happy as a child.
What does Nathan price represent?
Nathan Price represents the destructive side of the religion, the side that comes out when people impose their beliefs on others and think they're absolutely right about everything, even things they know nothing about... like living in the jungles of the Congo.
What does Adah price have?
The daughter of Nathaniel and Orleanna Price, and the twin sister of Leah Price, Adah Price is a highly intelligent young woman who's been disadvantaged by the symptoms of hemiplegia, a blood disease that leaves her with limited control of her own limbs.
What happens to Nathan Price in The Poisonwood Bible?
When a boat full of children from the village he was in was attacked by a crocodile, the village blamed Nathan. They tried to chase him out of the village, but he resisted and ended up being surrounded in a watchtower. The villagers set fire to the tower and he burned to death.
What is the significance of the okapi creature that Orleanna Price runs in to?
What is the significance of the okapi creature that Orleanna Price runs in to? Orleanna Price is addressing the daughter that must have died in the Congo.
How does Nathan Price View his family?
He is unable to look outside of his own need even for their sakes. Actually, it seems that Nathan not only lacks the appropriate level of concern and compassion for his family, but that he positively resents them.
Did Adah get eaten by a lion?
Adah, the self-described crooked girl, spends most of her time in the Congo reading books, then reading them again... backward. One day, she's devoured by a lion.
How did Adah change?
Adah changed a lot at this point when she decides to go to college for a medical career. Even when she goes for the interview with Dr. Holden Remile, she was confident on what she wanted for herself and had no problem telling Dr. Remile how badly she wanted this opportunity.
What is Adah religion?
A neurologist friend helps her overcome her handicap. Her cynicism diminishes somewhat as she matures. Adah even finds a religion that she can truly believe in, the religion of science.
Who does Rachel blame for Ruth May's death?
She doesn't blame herself for Ruth May's death; she blames Ruth May's death for her own life. Even though Leah's practically in another country when Pascal is murdered by rival soldiers, she finds a way to take responsibility for his death.
Who is Tata NDU?
Tata Ndu. Tata Ndu is the village chief. He is wary of Reverend Price and his proselytizing, afraid that a move toward Christianity will effect a moral decline in his village. He does not want the people to neglect their traditional gods.
Does orleanna leave Nathan?
Orleanna and Adah leave Leopoldville, returning to the U.S. Nathan is still stationed in Kilanga. Rachel has left with her “devil savior,” Axelroot. Anatole is taking care of Leah in the absence of her other family members.
What chapter does Nathaniel Price appear in?
The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance. Book 1, Chapter 2. ...Betty Crocker cake mix with them, since there would be none in Africa.
Who is the patriarch of the Price family?
Nathaniel Price. Nathaniel Price is the hypocritical, boorish patriarch of the Price family: a proud, arrogant man presiding over a family of women. As a Reverend, Nathaniel sets the plot of the novel in motion when he decides to move his family to the Congo, where he intends to preach the Bible in the tiny village of Kilanga.
What chapter does Nathan and Fowles begin a contest?
(full context) Rachel notices that Nathan isn’t trying to make Fowles feel the least bit welcome in the house, and Fowles... (full context) Book 3, Chapter 35.
Does Nathan believe in the Bible?
While Nathan seems to believe in the truth of Bible with great sincerity, his devotion to the specific rules of Christianity—especially the rules of Baptism—make him indifferent to the pains and feelings of the villagers he’s supposed to be helping (not to mention those of his own family).
Where did Nathan Price go?
When they arrive in the Congo, they are assigned to the village of Kilanga, where the Prices will be the only American family. Soon after their arrival, it becomes clear that they brought the wrong types of supplies and are woefully unprepared to deal with life in such a drastically different culture and climate. Nathan is inflexible in his approach to both the Congolese and his family, and Orleanna and her daughters are overwhelmed by their changed circumstances.
Where does Nelson sleep in the chicken house?
Nelson sleeps at Anatole's that night. The next morning they go to see if anyone entered the chicken house, and they find a poisonous snake there.
Where does Rachel live in the book?
Rachel first lives in Johannesburg, South Africa, with Axelroot and enjoys the society and comforts there.
What does Anatole give Leah?
Meanwhile, Anatole has given Leah a bow and she has been learning to hunt. When Tata Ndu decides to have a huge hunt to procure some food, Anatole argues to allow Leah to participate. The chief and elders of the village are against a woman participating in the hunt. They hold a vote, and Leah's cause barely wins.
What chapter does Adah realize Methuselah has been freed from his cage?
On this same day, Adah follows a trail of feathers and realizes that Methuselah has been “freed” from his cage... (full context) Book 3, Chapter 26.
What is Adah Price's sister's name?
The daughter of Nathaniel and Orleanna Price, and the twin sister of Leah Price, Adah Price is a highly intelligent young woman who’s been disadvantaged by the symptoms of hemiplegia, a blood disease that leaves her with limited control of her own limbs. Because Adah has trouble moving, she tends to be quiet and calm.
What does Methuselah leave to the world?
This is what he leaves to the world: gray and scarlet feathers strewn over the damp grass. Only this and nothing more, the tell-tale heart, tale of the carnivore.
Orleanna Price Quotes in The Poisonwood Bible
The The Poisonwood Bible quotes below are all either spoken by Orleanna Price or refer to Orleanna Price. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one: ).
Orleanna Price Character Timeline in The Poisonwood Bible
The timeline below shows where the character Orleanna Price appears in The Poisonwood Bible. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
What is the story of Leah Price?
The daughter of Nathaniel and Orleanna Price, and the twin sister of Adah Price, Leah is an intelligent, energetic young woman who over the course of the novel grows into a passionate defender of human rights. When the novel begins, Leah is adjusting to her new life in the Congo, where her father has moved to work as a missionary. She slowly begins to educate herself in the ways of Congolese culture, developing a deep respect for her neighbors’ way of life. At the same time, Leah struggles with a strong sense of guilt at being the descendant of Europeans—i.e., the people who enslaved and tortured the people of the Congo for centuries. Leah channels her passion for the Congolese (and, it must be said, her guilt) into a career as a schoolteacher in the Congo. While she continues to feel guilty at being a white American among Africans, she never lets this affect her loving relationship with Anatole Ngemba —an intelligent, equally passionate devotee of human rights.
Where did Leah Price travel?
Leah Price describes how her family traveled from Bethlehem, Georgia all the way to the jungle.... (full context) ...many bags, but she also smuggles some supplies of her own, including nail polish, which Leah considers “Rachel to a T.”. On the plane, Rachel jokes with Adah, her sister.
What chapter does Rachel say Leah is the cause of the prices?
Lately, Leah has also been unimpressed with Nathan’s enthusiasm for the Bible. One Sunday in church, Nathan... (full context) Book 4, Chapter 51. Rachel claims that Leah is the cause of the Prices’ problems.
What does Leah think of the day of the hunt?
Leah thinks back to the day of the hunt—a day that should have been glorious, but... (full context) ...in Orleanna’s arms. Meanwhile, a few of the hunters, led by Tata Kuvudundu, argue that Leah shouldn’t have been hunting at all, in spite of her talent with a bow. When... (full context) ...village taking sides.
What is Rachel Price's first thought?
When Rachel Price arrives in Kilanga, her first thought is that “we”— the Prices—are badly outnumbered: there’s a... (full context) Out of the crowd, Rachel takes a good look at her siblings: the twins (Leah and Adah) and Ruth May.... (full context) ...in a pot. As the locals cook, they sing songs in a foreign language.
What does Nathan criticize in the Bible?
Nathan criticizes these supplies, citing the Bible verse about the “lilies of the field.”. Rachel, one of Leah’s sisters, mutters that the “lilies” don’t need Nathan’s Bible. (full context) On the flight to Africa, the Price family’s baggage is exhausting to carry.
Overview
The Poisonwood Bible (1998), by Barbara Kingsolver, is a best-selling novel about a missionary family, the Prices, who in 1959 move from the U.S. state of Georgia to the village of Kilanga in the Belgian Congo, close to the Kwilu River.
The novel's title refers to Bible errata. The father of the family creates his own "misprint" of the Bible. He concludes his sermons with the Kikongo expression "…
Plot
Orleanna Price, the mother of the family, narrates the introductory chapter in five of the novel's seven sections. The narrative then alternates among the four daughters, with a slight preference for the voice of the most outspoken one, Leah. The four girls increasingly mature and develop differently as each adapts to African village life and the political turmoil that overtakes the Belgian Congo in the 1960s.
Major characters
The Prices
• Orleanna Price – Nathan's wife, and the mother of their four daughters. Born in Mississippi, she is deferential to her husband, but independent-minded.
• Nathan Price – Orleanna's husband. An evangelical (Southern Baptist) minister and a World War II veteran from Georgia, determined to "save Africa for Jesus". He is guilty for having survived the war while his comrades died.
Reception and awards
Writing in The New York Times, Michiko Kakutani called the book "powerful", but said the social allegories were at times "heavy-handed".
John Mullan, reviewing the book in British newspaper The Guardian, said the book was "remarkable not just for its story, but also for its narrative form".
The Poisonwood Bible was selected for Oprah's Book Club in 1999. Additionally that year, the boo…
Adaptations
In March 2019, Bond Group Entertainment – a production company launched by actress Amy Adams and her manager Stacy O'Neil – secured a first-look deal with HBO to develop a TV adaptation of Kingsolver's novel. Adams and O’Neil will executive produce the limited series, while Anya Epstein and Kingsolver are writing the screenplay.
External links
• Barbara Kingsolver talks about The Poisonwood Bible on the BBC's World Book Club
See also
• Congo Crisis
• Congo River
• Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Patrice Lumumba