Poisonwood Bible Snapshot
By Khunal Parkash
MLA Citation
Novel Settings
The Price's leave Georgia for the Congo. It is a major part of what the girls talk about.
Kilanga, Congo.
The main location for most of the book. This is the village where the Price family has their "mission".
Johannesburg, South Africa.
This is where Rachel Flees to with Eben Axleroot.
Kinshasa, Congo.
This is where Leah resides with Anatole after Orleanna and Adah leave her.
The Equatorial.
The hotel Rachel owns and resides at.
Motif: Bible Quotes and Passages
Major Plot Points
- The feast upon the arrival of the Price Family
- The first meeting with the Underwoods
- Lumumba is elected as president
- The Price family's stipend is lost
- Nelson starts working for the family
- Ruth May gets malaria
- Ruth May dies from a snake bite
- Adah and Orelanna leave the country
- Rachel flees with Eben Axelroot
- Leah stays and raises kids in the Congo
Textual Character Web
Orleanna Price- The mother of Ruth May, Adah, Leah and Rachel.
Ruth May - The youngest of the Price Family who dies the earliest.
Adah - The crippled twin of Leah, she is a daughter of Nathan and Orleanna.
Leah - The twin of Adah and the daughter of Nathan and Orleanna price. She befriends Nelson and marries Anatole
Nelson - The household aid for the price family and student of Anatole
Anatole - School teacher and political activist who marries Leah
Rachel - The eldest daughter of Orleanna and Nathan Price. She marries Eben Axelroot.
Eben Axelroot - A pilot with ties to criminal activity.
Allusions
Historical - The book takes place in the congo during a time of actual upheaval such as the murder of Patrice Lumumba.
Literary - Ruth May reads Donald Duck Comic Books and references to Robin Hood.
Connections:
Symbol + Meaning
The Poisonwood Tree - Even the most pleasant looking thinks can and will hurt you.
Crocodiles in the river - The Congo's rejection of the Price Family and the religion they preach.
Nathan's failed garden - The world does not always submit to one man's will.
Rachel's Shattered Mirror - The mirror that Rachel attempts to take with her on the escape from the village shatters to show the weakness of vanity.
Thematic Subjects
Innocence does not survive. - The innocent of the Price Family is the first to die. The naive thoughts that the Price family had when coming into the nation quickly changed.
The beliefs you hold are not always true. - The Daughters of the Price family all quickly change their ideas on religion, the congo, and on their family.
Meaningful Quotations
"In a burst of light Methuselah opened his wings and fluttered like freedom itself" - Genisis, Things we carried, Leah
"In the beginning we were just about in the same boat as Adam and Eve." - Revelation, The things we learned, Leah
"Feathers at last at last and no words at all." The Revelation, The things we learned, Adah
"You can't just point to the one most terrible thing and wonder why it happened." Bel and the Serpent, What we lost, Leah