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Essay On The Poisonwood Bible By Barbara Kingsolver

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In The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, the idea that “everything you’re sure is right can be wrong in another place” (505) is a theme present throughout the whole book. Kingsolver portrays this idea by having many voices tell the story. What one man thought was right was contradicted by the clearer views of his wife and daughters who learned that the Congo played by different rules than America did. They learned that their view of the Congo was a “mirage of appearances.”
The experience in the Congo hadn’t been what was expected. When leaving, Orleanna said that “[She could] only speak of the things [she] carried with [her], and the things [she] took away” (Kingsolver 10). She wasn’t the only one to take something, though. The Congo took something from her. It took her youngest. Before it took Ruth May’s body, it took her spirit. Towards Ruth May’s end, “[She]… crawled into bed with [mama] and… [didn’t] feel like getting up ever again” (Kingsolver 180). In the beginning of their stay in the Congo, it seemed like they would have an amazing experience while doing some good. In the end, it took away a part of them. …show more content…
She was always with her father believing that he was constantly doing God’s divine work. Since she followed him so closely and studied the Bible she began to feel that she knew everything. Her time in the Congo taught her that she still had a lot to learn about the world, and that “you can’t learn anything when you’re trying to look like the smartest person in the room” (Kingsolver 229). Even Rachel, who focused more on her looks than on her mind, believed that she knew more than the people around her. She thought that in coming to the Congo, she would be the one teaching the Congolese people about something. Even though “[she thought she knew] more about their kind than they know about [hers], which just goes to show you” (Kingsolver

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