The Analysis of Poisonwood Bible Essay Example

In the novel Poisonwood Bible, Orleanna Price undergoes great changes after moving to the Congos ethically and religiously by learning to stand up for herself and do what she needs to do to keep her family safe and healthy. Her husband, Nathan Price, was a one-way man, and even after the Africans in the Congos rejecting his religious teachings and telling him that it will bring them down, he completely believed he was right and that he could do it. Orleanna agreed with everything he said, as she always does what her husband tells of her to do. through the beginning of the novel, she stood back while her husband kept trying to get the Africans to do what he says. But overtime, she begins to see that not everyone would accept their religious ideas.

Nathan tries to teach Africans of of simple agricultural principles, but that didn't work. He tries to baptize the natives, but they refuse because of a recent event of a crocodile eating a young girl. Nathan listened to no one and ignored the words of the natives, and eventually his wife. The Prices are informed that the Congos are to receive their independence, and that after a leader is elected, purges of all Westerners are expected to happen, and that the Prices should evacuate now. Orleanna desperately tries to convince Nathan to evacuate to keep their family together and safe, but he doesn't listen. After that, she is bed stricken. When she finally recovers, she speaks her mind against Nathan and begins to find a way for her and her daughters to leave.

Through everything the Price family underwent in the Congos, Orleanna finally realizes that forcing another religion onto the natives is wrong, and that not everyone will agree with them. This changes her entire viewpoint and she gains the confidence needed to stand up for her and her family. Through the social interactions with the natives, not only does she see how cruel her husband can be, but that she is not doing anything about it. This causes her to do something and tries her best to convince her husband and find a way out of the Congos.

Overall, this shows that after being exposed to a different environment with different practices and traditions, one can undergo a realization and personal change for the good.