Matthew Richard Schlimm, who wrote “This Strange and Sacred Scripture” raises a plethora of questions to sections of the Bible people have always thought to have had answers too. As someone who has always taken the Bible at face value and believed everything to be true; both the Old Testament class and Schlimm’s book make me question what I truly know as a fact from the Bible. Both the class and the book make me wonder why God did certain things in a particular way too. One of the first topics of Schlimm’s book that we discussed in class was, is it okay to have doubts and ask questions about the Bible? Which was a really hard topic for me to comprehended at the beginning of the class, but know my perspective on the question has completely changed.…
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver tells a story about a family who moves to Africa as missionaries in hopes to be able to help the village they stay at, Kilanga. During their time in the Congo, they will go through some unexpected troubles that will forever change the Price family. Throughout the book, the author uses some biblical allusion that helps relate the story to the Bible. In the novel, Leah states that her "father [was] as tall as Goliath and pure of heart as David" (Kingsolver 49).…
The author wrote the novel as a way to understand her past, as well as share it with others. The Carriers that she described in her book are based on what she knows about her ancestors involved in the Salem Witch Trials. Their names were the Carriers as well. However, Kent also wrote the novel to share a different perspective on the events. Most historical documents and fictional retellings focus on the main people involved in the trials: The girls and the accused from Salem.…
The reason that there are so many cultures around the world is because every single place on earth is different. From the Sahara Desert in North Africa to the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil, people have developed their own cultures in order to survive. In The Poisonwood Bible, the Price family moves to the Congo as missionaries. By including Ruth May’s childish outlook, Kingsolver gives the reader a straightforward point of view of Nathan Price’s single-minded mission to convert the Congo to Christianity. Ruth May describes the new world around her, and notices that many, if not all, of the Congolese have some sort of injury.…
In Barbara Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood Bible, Leah has a reveals, “God doesn’t need to punish us. He just grants us a long enough life to punish ourselves”(327). This relates directly to Nathan’s life, as his life begins a long downward spiral to his own demise. The Poisonwood Bible shows how stress from war can affect human relations and cause deep emotional problems. The book begins with the Price family going to the Congo unprepared, and trying to convert the locals.…
In One Foot in Eden, by Ron Rash a young man named Holland Winchester has disappeared without a trace in a small North Carolina town. Throughout the many narrations of One Foot in Eden, the novel lacks the most important, the victim who has been unfairly murdered. There are five other narrators that tell their own story in the timeline, which include: Sheriff Alexander, who is investigating; the husband who committed the crime; his wife; their young son; and the deputy aiding in the investigating. Throughout these narrations, Holland Winchester is told to be a trouble delinquent who has recently returned from the Korean War. Everyone is the town believes Holland Winchester is trouble, causing them to carry a deep grudge for Holland.…
Courage Nelson Mandela once stated that, “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it”. In Ernst Gaines’ novel, “A Lesson Before Dying”, the most important lesson to learn before dying is courage. The novel shows this through the characters Tante Lou, Miss. Emma, and Jefferson. First of all, Tante Lou shows courage by being with Miss. Emma, working hard to get Grant through university, and she believes God will help everything.…
Poverty, Violence and Exploitation Dominating the South and the North in William Attaway 's Blood on the Forge Blood on the Forge is a gripping and tragic novel by William Attaway that tells a story about three brothers who face the violent oppression and hyper exploitation in their migration from the rural South to the industrial North of America. When Attaway was a child, his family was part of this population shift, thus this story wholly illustrates the tragedy and hardships of many African-American immigrants in those days. Blood on the Forge is considered a work of social critique as this novel protests poverty, violence and exploitation being put under the influence of capitalism in the South and the North during the Great Migration. What first catches the readers’ eyes is the poverty of the Mosses’ family being acutely expressed in terms of hunger. Perceivably, the novel opens to Melody playing “the hungry blues” on his guitar in an attempt to suppress his hunger cravings.…
In The Scarlet Letter biblical allusions, are used, to contrast how Hawthorne’s characters view sin. First, in Chapter VI the reader can pick out the first biblical allusion. “But she named the infant “Pearl,” as being of great price, purchased with all she had, -her mother’s only treasure” (Hawthorne 61). This allusion relates to Matthew 13:45-46. By naming Pearl the “Pearl of Great Price” Hester implies, that Pearl was expensive, and that Hester went through much together.…
In Poisonwood Bible and Things Fall Apart, we experience characters that leave home and have to find home in another place. This change in anyone’s life is significant and the transition shows a lot about your character. In Poisonwood Bible we look at characters such as Nathan, who went to war and survived, and the daughters, who were partially raised in a foreign country. In Things Fall Apart we analyze characters such as Ikemefuna, the boy who was forced to move villages, and Okonkwo, who does not quite understand himself fully. All of these characters have reasons why they behave the way they do and that may all tie back to their home.…
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver is a political allegory that depicts racism in both America and Africa. A political allegory is a story that has a hidden meaning which encourages the readers to question political normalities (“What Is a Political”). The preeminent obstacles faced by African…
Literary Analysis - The House of the Scorpion Matt is a clone, property of Alacrán Estates a refugee in Atzland, and a drug lord of opium. In The House of the Scorpion Matt, a clone lives life at the fullest with Celia and the person He was cloned from, El patrón. At the age of 7 Matt get’s a bodyguard Tam Lin. Tam Lin takes care of Matt and El patrón.…
The Power of Sin Maya Nassif Since the beginning of time, people have always been interested in learning about sin and its effects on a person. Whether it’s seeing the effects in a movie character or reading about one in a book, sin plays a great part in much of the characters downfalls, and in those moments they reveal their true characteristics. The characters Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth in the novel The Scarlett Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne are no different. Throughout the novel, the reader witnesses how sin affects these three and teaches the reader about how sin can affect our human nature. Hawthorne suggests that a person’s authentic character is proven when they find themselves in difficult situations…
Barbara Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood Bible discusses how cruelty can often act as the driving force for social or political change. It does so by introducing Nathan Price, a missionary from the state of Georgia that exhibits various negative character traits. His ignorance and stubbornness is displayed in “Book One: Genesis” when Nathan disregards Mama Tataba’s advice and cultivates a garden with Leah his own way. He classifies her wisdom as native stupidity and believes it to be evidence of how much help is needed in the Congo. Nathan also shows his capacity for physical cruelty when Orleanna, his wife, tries to help bandage his wounds and he “batted her roughly away.”…
Edward Said, literary theorist and cultural critic, described exile as strangely compelling to think about but thrilling to experience. “The Poisonwood Bible,” by Barbara Kingsolver, is a novel that illuminates the alienating and enriching concept of exile. Leah Price, second oldest daughter of Nathan Price and Orleanna Price, from a young age of 14 learned the frustrating, bewitching and nullifying abstraction of exile, and continued to learn in her aging years. Leah Price exiles herself from her family, her home and her faith in her religion and becomes the woman she is today.…