The Poisonwood Bible: Characters Analysis

Although being twins, Leah and Adah have very different attitudes and perspectives. Adah, being the twin with a disability, doesn’t speak often to others but her thoughts reveal a lot about her attitude. She is very open minded compared to her other sisters and isn’t judgemental. She is always calm and doesn’t care to be the favorite daughter of her parents. Her attitude towards the Congo and the different individuals is accepting and thoughtful because she feels justice for her disability. This is because others don’t look at her wheelchair first because many women and children in the Congo have disabilities so she gets the justice she deserves. In addition, Adah also always tends to tell her side of the story by including a palindrome or phrases “that can be sung equally well forward or backward” (Kingsolver 88). By including these different phrases we can assume that she has a different attitude and perspective on events than her other sisters by being creative when telling the story. Leah, on the other hand, has a different attitude and perspective than Adah. Leah is the more outgoing twin and was born without a disability. She wants the attention of her father so she can be his favorite and is always helping him with the garden and outside tasks. “I preferred to help my father work in his garden. I’ve always been the one for outdoor chores…” (Kingsolver 42). Her attitude is different and by wanting to be the favorite she is the most “religious” out of the sisters and in her perspective she mentions sins and the events about the church. Leah can also be understanding of the individuals in the Congo since they both have the same views on gardening even though they do it by different methods the first time and don’t follow the advice about pushing the garden into “rectangular… embankments, exactly the length and width of burial mounds” (Kingsolver 77). Leah and Adah both share in common acceptance of the african individuals even though they are completely different with their attitudes and thinking.

Ruth May is the youngest out of all the sisters but this doesn’t stop her from being educated and aware of certain issues and subjects. She can be described as an active, sneaky child that is interested in other individuals and the african children that would come to play around their area. Ruth May’s upbringing in Georgia has changed her perspective because when she was in Georgia she had the idea that colored people are “different from us and needs ought to keep to their own” because that is what she was taught from the Jimmy Crow laws (Kingsolver 23). As she came to Africa, she became more open minded and her perspective has changed about colored people. Ruth May welcomes the idea of hanging out with them and she forgets about the idea of the discrimination that occured.

Rachel is the oldest sister out of all the Price children and turns sixteen years old a couple of months after they settle in the Congo. She is a tall, blonde confident girl and is said to “think herself better than others” because of her appearance (Kingsolver 62). Rachel can be described as the self-obsessed, judgemental sister as she critiques the other children and individuals in the Congo. She does this by the way they appear by having different clothing and hair types from their culture. She believes others “are all so envious” of her because she has luscious long thick hair that others in Africa do not have (Kingsolver 57). Out of all the sisters, she is the only one that mostly cares about how she appears and acts with her fashion style, hair, and walk. “While we are on the subject, you should see what the Congolese run around in. Children dressed up in the ragbags of Baptist charity or else nothing at all” (Kingsolver 51). She shows criticism about the fashion style of the other children and how the women there are basically naked by how they dress. These personality traits and her arrogance makes her different from her sisters but she also shares few similarities with them. As they first start living in Africa all the Price sisters have a few moments of ignorance as they don’t realize cultural differences and circumstances surrounding the country they are in. As they make ignorant comments at times they also all realize when to stay quiet and take the blame for others. For example, when Methuselah started saying the word “damn” Rachel and her sisters stayed quiet when their father started to question them but when Rachel apologized, impling blame, she did this to protect her mother.

Nathan is the father and he is a baptist that came to Africa for a mission. Out of all the family members he is the most religious and acts as the leader of the whole family trying to be in control. He even orders around Orleanna and the girls mentioned that they have to “once in a great while… protect her” (Kingsolver 83). Nathan believes that Orleanna shouldn’t be “expecting too much” for their daughter as he believes sending any female to college is a waste and loves to say this “as often as possible” (Kingsolver 68). When he first comes to the Congo he is both arrogant and ignorant when certain events arise. For example, when Mama Tataba gave him advice about how to deal with the issue of setting up the garden he was ignorant and didn’t listen to her. But, later on as realized his mistakes he learned new things and took the advice given to him to correct his mistakes. As Adah said, “Our father had been influenced by Africa” (Kingsolver 77).