Found Poem Describing Leah Price

If only I could ever bring forth
All that I knew quickly enough to suit Father.
I know that someday,
When I've grown large enough in the Holy Spirit,
I will have his wholehearted approval.
I know he must find me tiresome,
Yet still I like spending time with my father
Very much more than I like doing anything else.
I was thrilled by the mere fact of his speaking
To me in this gentle, somewhat personal way.
I felt so many different things right then:
Elation at my father's strange expression of tenderness,
And despair for his defeat.
Father had the job of his life cut out for him,
Bringing the Word to a place like this.
I wanted to throw my arms around his weary neck
And pat down his rumpled hair.

EXPLANATION:
Her heart's deepest desire is to have her father's approval. Alas, he quite often ignores Leah. Still, she follows him around and treasures those moments when he opens up to her as a father might. Therefore, it is clear that Leah is clinging onto the hope that he will one day love her as much as she so innocently loves him.

Genesis: Blog #2

There was another connection that I wondered about that was between Methuselah and Africa. One passage described how “curiously exempt from the Reverend’s rules was Methuselah, in the same way Our Father was finding the Congolese people beyond his power. Methuselah was a sly representative of Africa itself, living openly in our household. One might argue, even, that he was here first” (60). At first, I hadn’t understood why Methuselah could be thought of as Africa in any way until I had read to the end of the Genesis book. There the scene is of Reverend Price freeing the parrot from its cage. This happens after the Reverend learns the reason why the Congolese people are hesitant to approach the Kwilu River.

As a result, I saw how the Reverend had symbolically, knowingly, and willingly freed the Congolese people in some way. Just as he had freed Methuselah from his cage, the Reverend had set the natives free from the constrictions with which he had confined them. Maybe now he will be more understanding or lenient in regards to their baptism.

Furthermore, I remembered from the Bible (Gen. 5) that Methuselah was Noah’s grandfather, and I think Methuselah lived the longest of anyone at 969 years old. I guess my question is: perhaps there is a connection between Methuselah the man and Methuselah the bird?

Genesis: Blog #1

As it is a part of the title, it's surprising that poisonwood is mentioned in the very first book (Genesis) on page 39. We learn it is a plant with white sap that “bites” and gives you rashes. But more importantly, I think the title may be talking about something beyond its literal meaning. For instance, I think the term “poisonwood bible” is perhaps referring to how the Christian missionary work (thus the mention of the Bible) is not as painless and satisfying as the Price family most likely first thought; in the same way that the poisonwood can “bite you” (39), the Bible’s message can also be difficult to preach or to be grasped. This is somewhat demonstrated when “for [their] first few weeks in Kilanga, attendance in church had been marked by almost total absence” (45). The Price family no doubt felt disheartened at this lack of response in their “uninformed subjects” and probably wondered why God wasn’t stirring up a desire in these people to hear His Word (the Bible scripture).

In addition, almost as soon as this family comes to Kilanga, they are beset with problems and setbacks. One example is when the Congolese people avoid the Kwilu River, and Reverend Nathan Price doesn't know why. It is only after much resistance on the part of the natives that he learns of the little girl who had been killed and consumed by a crocodile in the river. Since baptism is obviously considered a huge issue in the Baptist church, Reverend Price most likely felt frustration while the Congolese people kept the story of the little girl withheld.

Other examples are with the Reverend’s garden and Orleanna’s cake mix. When the rain drenched the garden and the humidity clumped the cake mix, it was another set of difficulties and hardships the Price family had to endure. They had thought they came to the Congo completely prepared, but this was not so. Their job was more difficult than they imagined, and their trials and hardships were proof of that. Therefore, just maybe the title of this book we’re reading is referring to how the job of spreading Christianity is painful and irking at times and not always rewarding.

DR Congo and Kilanga

This picture shows the location of Kilanga (where the Poisonwood Bible takes place) and Kinshasa, Congo's capital. Kinshasa (previously called Leopoldville) is the largest city of the DR Congo.


The current flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo was adopted on February 20, 2006. The sky blue color stands for peace, red for the blood of the country's martyrs, and yellow for the country's wealth. The large star represents the country's bright future.

The Congo went through six different flags before settling on this one.

You can view these other flags at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_the_Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo


Joseph Kabila is the DR Congo's current president. His father was the one who overthrew the dictator at the time, Mobutu, in May 1997 and who changed the name from Zaire to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. But following his assassination and his son's subsequent swearing into office, the younger Kabila has made several efforts to rebuild the DR Congo's crippled economy after the country's civil war.