...In this chapter of How to Read Literature Like a Professor, it becomes apparent that everything has the capability to be a symbol so defining something as representative of a singular meaning deprives it from delivering its full message. One of the most accurate symbols in the book The Poisonwood Bible is the mouthy parrot Methuselah. He could be described as a symbol of independence explaining how Nathan loathes this bird just as he does anything that speaks or thinks for itself. In his heated stupor Nathan flings Methuselah from his cage, and the parrot “opened his wings and fluttered like freedom itself” (Kingsolver 82). However Methuselah is not simply a symbol for independence and freedom, but for the consequences that freedom can reap...
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...Human rights are a set of principles used to bring the world to freedom and equality; consequently, if they are not followed, injustice and imparity plagues the world. In Barbara Kingsolvers’ The Poisonwood Bible, there are key moments where an individual’s freedom of religion, opinion, and expression are denied, suppressing people’s ability to join society openly. This can also be recognized in 1984, a dystopian novel by George Orwell, where the citizens living in its world face restrictions to their right to life and liberty, and freedom from inhumane treatment, all taken by their very own government. The fact is that individuals, or a group of individuals, seek authority by taking the human power of rights and freedoms, ultimately taking...
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...The Poisonwood Bible is definitely a universal parable of enlightenment rather than a profoundly American parable of Enlightenment or a story about the Congo. Although the five narratives within this novel are from the perspective of Americans, the messages that transpire are themes that circulate in various cultures despite the difference in location. Like people before them and after them, the Prices go through a series of issues within the family and outside the family that result in tremendous changes for the future. The problems that arise within the Congo itself, illustrate the struggle of independence. The five girls eventually learn to let go of the past in order to create a better and brighter future for themselves. By escaping the destructive...
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