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Leah's Life In The Poisonwood Bible

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“ And, after all, our surroundings influence our lives and characters as much as fate, destiny, or any supernatural agency,” Pauline Hopkins, Contending Forces. Starting off in the non realistic novel, a family, the Price’s, move to the Belgian Congo from Bethlehem, Georgia, in 1959 due to missionary. The Poisonwood Bible is based off of being told from different perspectives of how the life is living in the Congo. Mainly from the mother and her four children point of view. A character within the novel has been shaped by cultural, physical, or geographical surroundings. Development for someone can occur in different ways. It is possible that your surroundings can make who you truly are. Through trials and tribulations for this specific character, …show more content…
Throughout the struggles within her life that has to mainly deal with her family, overall
Leah develops strength. While living in the Congo, her life starts to get centered around the political situations within the community. Leah then realizes that the political situations is what really brought her family to the Congo when she was younger. She was influenced by everything that has been happening. Leah develops a strong mentality like her mother did dealing with her father. Leah and Anatole’s relationship was not always the best of things. Leah put being a mother first before anything. When Leah was younger, she wore the pants in the family. She took care of almost everything and made sure it was alright. “ Lea is the Kikango word for nothing much.” Anatole called her beene-beene which meant as true as the truth can be. Leah was always true to herself and everyone else that surrounded her. She truly related to the
Congolese community. She understand Africa and what it was deeply made of. She is open-minded and more considerate of things. Leah being sensitive with everything happening in the Congo is what caused her to become an activist for human rights. The Congo is what …show more content…
This relates to Leah because the more she grew, the better she understood herself.
Another theme would be over the topic of religion and faith due to the fact that the purpose of the family moving to the Congo was for missionary. Also Leah begins to become more focused on political things within the community that she begins to lose faith in what her and her family believed in their whole lives. Another theme in mind for this novel would be over the culture.
Moving from a diverse culture to almost a African American dominant place, the Price family had to adapt and make some changes. They had to realize for a short period of time that their family was going to be the odd ones out for a while. Leahs development in some areas were not a as troublesome. When arriving within the Congo,she could already relate to some of the community by loving the outdoors and nature. By the end of the novel, Leah has been developed into a strong believer and a mother who wants equality for everyone within the Congolese community. She becomes thoughtful and hard-working. Leah tries to raise her children to treat everyone with equality. She has been developed better than her father has. Leah takes after

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