The Poisonwood Bible and The Mosquito Coast

Our teacher decided that it would be a good idea to watch a movie that relates to the Poisonwood Bible. Fast Forward, and we just finished "The Mosquito Coast". I have to say that the similarities were striking. Both families are led by stubborn and forceful fathers, who have agendas that they must see accomplished. Father Price tries to convert the people in the Congo to Christianity, while the father in "The Mosquito Coast" tries to bring his inventions to the people in Africa. The wives in both the book and movie silently object, but can't do anything about the situation. The plot is driven by the fathers in PWB and "The Mosquito Coast". It deals with fathers who lead their families to unknown areas just to carry out their plans. It ends up in disaster(Ruth May's death, death of Allie Fox in "Mosquito Coast").
There is one glaring difference, however. It is the absence of religion in "The Mosquito Coast". Religion plays an extremely important role in PWB, because Father is a reverend who tries to convert everyone to Christianity. In the movie, Allie Fox is an inventor, and he tries to share his inventions with people who don't live in civilization.

The book and movie were extremely similar, and I think that watching the movie helped me to picture what the PWB might be like if it were to be acted out.

Poisonwood Bible Lit Circle "Judges"

For this book, I decided that I want to try the role of New Critic. This is because I wanted to find the key passages that could help me understand the book and more importantly, the characters better.

In Judges, the Price household is challenged by many obstacles. Some of them include the invasion on the ants, Ruth May's illness, and Tata Ndu's proposal for marriage. These obstacles truly make an impact on the characters, and we can see that they are slowly being weathered down, both physically and mentally. I am going to point out the passages that seemed significant because they pointed to changes in the characters.

1) "That was the last I would ever hear...hard shoe leather"(196)

2) "The Reverend seemed unconcerened about this. He forged...As if she did not know."(217)

3) "Poor tyrannical Rachel...scheme."(222)

4) "Shut up, damn it...threat at all"(242)

5) "I was shocked...of the bargain."(243)

6) "Oh! I suddenly...them."(249)

7) "Rachel went...pay."(266)

8) "Mother stood looking...Congo" (267)

9) "Well, t turns out...ball."(268)

10) "Tata Jesus is Bangala...nobody's business." (276)

A poem for the night

With darkness comes light
apprehension fades into assurance
as the final rays of light dissipate
pain and suffering evanesce into gentle healing and requiescence
darkness illuminates the path to a world that is truly and utterly free
Free from the constraints of an apathetic society
Alas, this world was never meant to be
only existing for a fleeting moment
assurance becomes apprehension
and with the coming of the light comes eternal darkness

(This was written at 1:25 in the morning, and I had just watched Star Wars Episode III with a friend while eating Kimchee Fried Rice. I am not insinuating anything about Kimchee. I also ate some popcorn and oranges. Go figure.)

Poisonwood Bible Lit 8's "Revelation"

Well, since my job was lexicographer, I decided to look up words that I thought were confusing.

vexed:To be irritated or agitated.

precipice: A steep plane/ cliff.

sustenance: means of sustaining life; nourishment.

manioc: A certain type of tree root.

enamel: any of various varnishes, paints, coatings, etc., drying to a hard, glossy finish

I haven't read through the entire book yet, so I don't have many words yet. They will come soon!

Defining Moments: A look at the turning points in The Poisonwood Bible

In class the other day, we discuseed "defining moments", or "turning points". I found this activity pretty interesting because we could take the book and condense it into certain parts or passages that were really significant. I think doing this activity was like killing two birds with one stone. We learn about the significant passages in the book, and through these passages, we can learn about the characters themselves! At least I thought that it helped me to learn about the characters.

Our group came up with two defining moments. They take place during the books Genesis and Revelations. The two passages are actually related through one character: Father. On Pg. 79, Mama Tataba suddenly leaves the Price household. On her way out, she yells at father and gives him a mean scolding. "Naturally it shocked us half to death to hear somebody caterwauling at Father this way." What's so significant about this passage? I think that the mere fact that someone is yelling at Father seems very important. From the beginning of the book, Father was seen as someone who was almighty and powerful. That is, of course, from the perspective of the women of the Price family. We don't know what Father is thinking, but we can see that Father might not be as powerful or as mighty as he looks. The main significance here is that Father is being challenged for once. He is not the dominant person in this instance. This idea might be very important later on.

The second passage is in Revelations. This situation is similar, but in a certain way, it is different. Ruth May broke her arm, and her parents took her to the hospital. While they are there, father and the doctor exchange a few words. This exchange is not friendly at all, and it reveals some more information about Father. "Now, Reverend, this civilization the Belgians and Americans brought, what should that be?" Father said, "Why, the roads! Railroads..."(121). Even though this situation is similar to what happened with Mama Tataba, it goes a step further. The doctor obviously is indifferent to Christianity in general. This is made clear when he talks back to father. In the quote, we can see that the doctor is not just question Father, he is questioning the Belgians and Americans. In this way he is challenging Father to the highest degree. He questions Father's work and his beliefs. I believe that the doctor is the only character to do this so far. It's a turning point because father is shown to not be so powerful as he seems.

This discussion really made me more interested in the events of the book. I'll be sure to keep a watch out for more passages like these!

A Walk through the eyes of Leah Price

In class, we decided to walk around the campus. This sounds boring, right? Well, throughout this walk, we were told to look at our school through the eyes of a certain character from The Poisonwood Bible. I think that this exercise proved to be an effective way of learning about the main characters. It's different from just analyzing the character in class.

Lord, what a sight this is. Father has decided to move us from Kilanga all the way to Honolulu. Our new school is this place, well God knows that I can't pronounce the name. Rachel is complaining again about how hot this place is. She never really understood how to appreciate God's natural beauty. As for me, I cannot begin to express what I am feeling. The grass is glistening with morning dew. The birds are flying around and singing melodious songs. This is truly God's Kingdom in its pure, unenlightened glory. I find it hard to believe, but the gardens around this campus are even more glorious than our garden back at home. I'd like to learn how they grew such bountiful gardens.

As for the students here, I am still dumbfounded. Father always says that women should cover themselves in the presence of God, who is always looking. Father would say that these girls are sinners and they will burn in Hell. If they were in my place, father would give them the Verse twenty times. The thought of the Verse even makes me feel uncomfortable! Father will probably take it upon himself to save them from their sins. He will bring salvation into the dark.

Poisonwood Bible Lit Circle Post 2

As a moderator, I came up with a few questions that I thought were important.



1. What role does father play in each of the girl's lives?

2. Do the essential questions also play a role in the book? (On Pg.9, the questions "How do we live with it?" was asked).

3. When Father asks about who taught Methuselah to say Damn, why do the girls immediately protect their mother? Would Rachel actually be willing to take the blame?

4. What are your thoughts on Nathan Price? Since he is not given a voice in the book, what are your inferences on him?

5. There has only been one reference to Poisonwood so far. Does this mention have any significance? Father's hand developes a rash because of the sap of the poisonwood.

6. Does Father letting Methuselah go have any significance?

What was I doing this Saturday?

I decided to edit this post to make it more concise.


My Saturday morning was spent at Roosevelt HIgh School. Why would I be there in the first place? Well, I was timekeeping for the debate tournament. This was also for extra credit, so that was another reason I was there. At first, the thought of listening to the same debate over and over didn't seem too appealing. I was proven wrong.

The first debate was a policy debate. The topic was: The U.S Government should establish a policy which increases the number of people in one or more of the following national services: Americorps, Medicorps, Learn and Serve America, and other national service programs. This was a very interesting debate. The first debate talked about how whether funding for Medicorps should increase or decrease. Both teams have interesting viewpoints. While I was listening, I actually think that I learned about speaking in general. I know, it sounds like a far fetch, but listening to these speakers improved my speaking skills. People have told me that I mumble. I didn't think twice about this because it didn't seem to be very important. The debate changed my view. When people mumble, it is extremely annoying. I wouldn't want people to be annoyed with me!

The second debate was better than the first one. The speakers spoke in a fluid fashion, and they were easy to understand. I actually enjoyed listening to this debate. Both teams were prepared, and they were confident. Their viewpoints were very different, but they made sense. I think that the largest difference between the debates was that the debaters in the second team knew what they were doing. You should always be well prepared.

The third debate was, in a word, great. The debaters took the art of debate to the next level by successfully attacking their opponents points with evidence and logical thinking. The debaters showed their skills as tacticians. Listening to an excellent debate is a real treat!

When I arrived at Roosevelt High School, I was expecting an extremely boring morning. However, I left with a deep appreciation for the art of debate.







My Saturday was spent at Roosevelt HIgh School. Why would I be there in the first place? Well, I was timekeeping for the debate tournament. This was also for extra credit, so that was another reason I was there. At first, I thought that it would be really boring, but I was proven otherwise.

The first debate was a policy debate. The topic was: The U.S Governement should establish a policy which increases the number of people in one or more of the following national services: Americorps, Medicorps, Learn and Serve America, and other national service program. This was a very interesting debate. The first debate talked about how whether funding for Medicorps should increase or decrease. I have to say that I found their viewpoints to be very interesting. While I was listening, I actually think that I learned about how to speak in public. I know, it sounds like a far fetch, but listening to these speakers improved my speaking skills. i learned that I shouldn't mumble. It is very annoying. Secondly, I should always enunciate. it is extremely annoying to listen to someone who does not enunciate. I also learned that I should be well prepared.

The second debate was better than the first one. The speakers spoke in a fluid fashion, and it was easy to understand. I actually enjoyed listening to this debate. Both teams were prepared, and they were confident. Their viewpoints were very different, but they made sense. I even sided with one of the teams!

The last debate was even better than the previous two.

The Saturday was a great way to learn about speaking skills. I look forward to going next time!

Literature Circle meeting #1

So far, we have red up to Rachel in "Genesis". Sam, our lexicographer, looked up very interesting words, and this helped to further our understanding of the book so far. We decided to focus upon some of the larger questions so far. one shrewd observation made was that on Pg. 9 of Genesis, the question: "How are we supposed to live with it?" is asked. Our group wondered if this question would have more significance later on in the book. This relates to us because this is basically one of our essential questions. How do we live in this world? Maybe Poisonwood Bible will give us the answer, or at least the characters answers. This could help us answer our own essential questions. After that we talked about the direction we were heading, and we finished our meeting.