The Poisonwood Bible Summary

Barbara Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible examines the culture and tragedies faced by the Congo in 1959. Narrated by the wife and 4 daughters of Baptist preacher Nathan Price, Kingsolver vividly displays how the family is impacted and change as a result of moving to the Congo. Growing up in Atlanta Georgia, living in Africa is a whole new experience completely different from home. Rachel, Adah, Leah and the Congolese all explore the importance and impact of faith, and a religion based on their own private beliefs. Rachel the oldest of the Price daughters is motivated only by comfort and how she looks. Rachel is a 15 year old whiny girl who "cares for naught but appearances," and only thinks about what she misses, such as "the five-day deodorant
She has no deep connection to Christianity and as a result her relationship with God never develops. Rachel with no intention of religion provides a contrast to Ruth May who even as a child recognizes the necessity to live according to the Bible. Ruth May has a clean slate, starting fresh with her ideas about faith and religion. She is influenced by what Nathan teaches her but she is not mature enough to contemplate what she learns. Ruth May takes the scripture word for word, but Adah looks deeply into it grasping the meaning behind the words. Based on Adah's personality traits she requires a more factual look at religion and when her teachers at Church do not provide good enough answers she starts to stray from that form of strict Christianity. Adah is able to find comfort when she combines science and her faith. Adah is confident in the new faith she has found, just as the Congolese are contempt with the religious customs they have been practicing their entire lives. The Congolese live a certain lifestyle that they learned as children and will continue to pass along to further generations. Their form of life has spiritual aspects that are similar to Christianity and are their own personal