Kingsolver's Construction Anonymous 12th Grade

Introduction

"The Poisonwood Bible," by Barbara Kingsolver, uses the character of Nathan Price to address the effects of western supremacy and one's personal superiority, specifically fueled by religion. The Price family travels to the Congo on a mission trip, is only a year before the country secedes from Belgium, leaving them in great need of assistance. Nathan was determined to give them this help by will or by force, all while dragging his family along with him. The way each child handles this is dependent on their personality and viewpoints. Kingsolver uses Nathan's three daughters and their personal perspectives to address the dangers of disregarding others' viewpoints with the idea of one's own superiority.

Leah’s Perspective

The morality of imposing one's personal values onto others without regards for opposing viewpoints creates a toxic circumstance that can lead to closed minds forming dangerous misconceptions. Kingsolver addresses this by using the narrative structure of switching between perspectives to make the toxicity of superiority evident throughout the text. However, she specifically leaves out Nathan’s perspective so that readers can see how his behavior affects different types of people. Nathan Price is...