Poisonwood Bible Thesis

Cultures from around the world open us up to a new way of living that can provide us with ways to improve our lives as well as those around us. Barbara Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood Bible was published in 1998, and vast majority of the book takes place in the Belgian Congo, close to the Kwilu River. It is a novel that shows how going from a thriving developed country to a third world country can drastically affect any family. The Price family moved to the Congo from Georgia in 1959 after Nathan, the husband and father of the family, decided to take his family overseas to be missionaries.
Kingsolver uses the novel to break down how physically, mentally, and spiritually tough it is for someone to be dragged like a mop around the world and expected to do everything their husband tells them to. Yaël Simpson Fletcher took note to of this and began to depict how Nathan's actions caused his family turmoil. His article regarding The Poisonwood Bible deals with how over time Orleanna and the four daughters were hindered by Nathans carelessness and selfishness.
He could not have done it without the outstanding Kingsolver as she used multiple techniques to further her book beyond what was expected. Her use of tone, syntax, theme and diction allowed for a more indepth study of how each of these can affect characters as well as those around them. Adelle John’s poem “This House Cannot Hold Me” also ties into Orleanna struggle to break free from Nathan's captivity by providing her own personal testimony of how being an addict kept her from being who she truly was. Fletcher and John had amazing choice of words that enhanced the mood of The Poisonwood