The Poisonwood Bible is a novel written by Barbara Kingsolver that tells the story of a white family from Bethlehem, Georgia leaving the delusional fantasies of their world for the harsh realities of another, the african Congo. The family consists of Nathan and Orleanna Price along with their four daughters, Ruth May, Leah, Adah, and Rachel. What is supposed to last twelve months, ends up lasting a lifetime. The Price family soon finds out that what they experienced in Africa cannot simply be ignored or forgotten. Some of the family members choose to leave Africa while others choose to stay, even so, They will carry Africa with them forever. Rachel Rebeccah Price is the oldest of the four price daughters and because of that, is seen by her…show more content… Each character in the novel described her as such in various ways. On page 136, adah expresses, “My sisters all seemed determined to fly, or in rachel’s case, to ascend to heaven directly through a superior mind-set, but my way was slowly and surely to walk”. Even though she often sinned, Rachel seemed to believe her spot in heaven was reserved and lined with gold. She could think and behave how she pleased and none of that would matter because she was rachel price. Another example is on page 301, when the ants are invading, rachel explains, “I only had time to save one precious thing. Something from home. Not my clothes, there wasn’t time, and not the bible-it didn’t seem worth saving in the moment, so help me god. It had to be my mirror”. With this, rachel put an object symbolizing vanity at the top of her priorities, she placed it above necessities, righteousness, and ultimately highlighted to readers that she is still heavily involved with herself in a narcissistic way. Finally, towards the ending of the poisonwood bible, it is clear that rachel’s behavior is painfully consistent, as she frequently expresses that she is on a level that cannot be touched by others. This lack of change and development shows that rachel’s personality was invariable through the trials and tribulations of one’s character the congo had to offer. I feel that her characterization is so constant, you…show more content… In her last appearance in the novel, rachel discusses this saying, “So that’s my advice. Let others do the pushing and shoving, and you just ride along. In the end, the neck you save will be your own. Perhaps I sound un-christian, but let’s face it, when I step outside my own little world at night and listen to the sounds out there in the dark, what I feel down in my bones is that this is not a christian kind of place. This is the darkest Africa, where life roars like a flood and you grab whatever looks like it will hold you up. If you ask me, that’s how it is and ever shall be. You stick your elbows, and hold yourself up” (pages 516-517). She did not have the motivation to deal with what was happening around her or to take action in anything but her attempts to escape Africa. One of the people she dug her elbows into was her third husband, whom passed the equatorial hotel onto her when he died. She was so enthralled in the hotel that she felt devoted to managing it, making it her “own little world”. In the process, she consequently isolated herself in the place she had wanted to escape for so long. In an illusion of paradise surrounded by the darkness of the unknown, she will sit, and she will convince herself that she is content.
In the poisonwood bible, conflict exists inside and/or outside the minds of the characters and their personalities are the root of their
