Adah, Poisonwood Bible Essay Example

In The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver presents a continuum of characters. Varying from the self-absorbed and eldest daughter, Rachel Price, to the fun-loving, sweet, and youngest daughter Ruth May. Imbetween there are the twins, Leigh and Adah. Leigh is adventurous and exceedingly obedient to her father who shows neither her nor the rest of their family any respect. On the opposite side of the spectrum is Adah Price. She is quiet, poetic, and an introvert. Although Leigh and Adah are identical in intellegence, Adah was born with Hemiplegia; meaning, only half of her body functions properly. Because of her disablity, she sees the world differently than the rest of her family. Her judgement, feelings, perspective, and life are all altered due to her illness. This stimulates an interesting and inquiring voice for the novel. This book was set in 1959, meaning segregation was still prevalent. For a white family of six to travel deep into the Congo during this time was unthinkable. As each member of the family develops a negative outlook on their new surroundings, Adah is quickly becoming intrigued with the Congo's culture. When the Price family expresses their uncertainty of their new home, Adah says to herself "And so the Price family passes its judgements. All but Adah. Adah unpasses her judgements. I am the one who does not speak" (32). I find this to be one of the most compelling aspects of Adah. The way she doesn't conform with even her family in a place that she is hardly accustomed to. Another influential part of Adah that caught my attention was her perspective on things. Not only did she view the world from an entirely different angle than the rest of the Congo, but she saw other people's sides, too. She understood the difference between things that most people would rather ignore than try to comprehend. It's almost as if she had the hidden meaning to everything. When thinking about misunderstanding, she states that it is her "...cornerstone." She