The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver: Book Summary

You could say that the poisonwood bible is a story of change. Throughout the novel you read of how the characters transform from their time spent in the Congo. The Price women go from being naive and homesick to becoming a part of the Congo. Spending time in Africa changed them; it changed them so much that some of the girls chose to remain living in the Congo. One representation of change we found interesting in the novel was the change of Orleanna Price. In the beginning of the novel she was quiet and passive, never challenging her husband on his decisions. After losing Ruth May is when we see Orleanna undergo her change, she now knows that the Congo is no longer a safe place, for her girls and since Nathan is too blinded by his mission to take care of his family then Orleanna must step up and save the remaining members of her family. Another character that undergoes change is Leah Price; she goes from being her father’s most loyal daughter to defying his rules to help a friend. Every character was changed in a way throughout the story, Barbara Kingsolver wrote the story in a way that everyone was affected by the Congo. The prices lost their faith in Nathan and quite possibly God; they also experienced the loss of their youngest member of the family, which affected everyone. The Congolese were affected by the Prices in a way that could be viewed as mostly negative. They were constantly badgered by Nathan and: Were brought down to a level where they believed the Prices somehow might be better than them because of the color of their skin as well as their customs. Every character experienced change it's not possible to go through that kind of experience and walk away totally unscathed by the experience especially with someone like Nathan Price.

“After a while she said again “I’m going out there to help Nelson, and Father can go straight to hell.” Quote from Leah page 358