Moderator

1. What are your thoughts as a reader about which is the one general Song that the three children are singing?

2. Do you think that the songs of the three remaining Price Sisters would differ if Ruth May were still to be there? If so why/how?

3. How have each Character changes throughout the book?

4. How would you translate the quote at the beginning of the section in order to find its deeper meaning?

5. In particular, how has Rachel changed; and why is it that she can’t hold a marriage together?

6. Has Orleanna truly forgiven Nathan?

7. Why do you think Kingsolver still have Ruth May in the book?

8. What is Ruth May trying to get across to Orleanna?

Lit Circle #4: Exodus- Phsycological Critic

Psychological Critic

Leah Price:

As most of us have already discovered Leah has change tremendously throughout the book. In the beginning of Poisonwood Bible Leah was your typical daddy’s little girl; but as the book progressed she began to realize that she to has he own thoughts. She began to question her father. As the book continued Leah began to think more and more as an individual, until finally she totally rebels against her fathers will. In Exodus she states “I wouldn’t see my baby sister again, this I knew. But I hadn’t yet considered the loss of my father. I’d walked in his footsteps my whole life, and now without warning my body had fallen in line behind my mother.” I think this is when it finally hit her that she has completely became her own person

Adah Price:

As long as everyone could remember Adah never verbally spoke. In the beginning she was always the one being walked all over because of her disability. Yet, as the book progressed she felt a need to speak as she stated in one of her books in Exodus. “I have decided to speak, so there is the possibility of telling. Speaking became a matter of self-defense, since Mother seems to have gone mute, and with no one to testify to my place in the world I found myself at the same precipice I teetered upon when entering the first grade: gifted, or special education with the ear pulling Crawleys?” She too has changed; after the death of her baby sister, Ruth May, Adah came to realize that she too can also be similar to her sisters even though she is a “crooked little person”.

A love that will last...

Find someone who calls you beautiful instead of hot; who calls you back when you hang up on them; who will stay awake just to watch you sleep. Wait for that someone who kisses your forehead; who wants to show you off to the world when you are in your sweats; who holds your hand in front of their friends. Wait for the one who is constantly reminding you of how much they care about you and how lucky they are to have you. Wait for the one who turns to their friends and says, "this is the right one."

You're not gonna be his first, his last or his only. He's loved before & he probably will again. But if he loves you now, what else matters? He's not perfect & you aren't either. But if he can make you laugh at least once & cause you to think twice, admits to being human & making mistakes, hold on to him & give him the most you can.

He's not going to quote poetry, he's not going ot be thinking about you every moment, but he'll give you a part of him that he knows you can easily break. Don't hurt him, don't change him. Don't expect more than he can give, try not to over analyze. Smile when he makes you happy, yell when he makes you mad & miss him when he's not there. You love him, & he loves you. Be happy that you even have something as special as that.

Dear Athletes,

People don't play sports because its fun. Ask any athlete, most of them hate it, but they couldn’t imagine their life without it. It’ part of them, the love/hate relationship. It’s what they live for. They live for the practices, parties, cheers, long bus rides, water, Gatorade, as well, as coaches you may hate but appreciate invitational, and countless pairs of different types of shoe. They live for the way it feels when you beat your rival team by only one run in extra innings, and you know those 2 extra sprints you ran in practice were worth it. They live for the way you become a family with your team, they live for the countless songs you sing in your head when you're running ALL those laps. They live for the competition; they live for the friends, the practices, the memories, and the pain. It's who they are. It's who we are. WE ARE ATHLETES.

Bel & the Serpent Class discussion Reflection

In our small groups each group discussed how Orleanna's chapter began differently than in the other books. Also how she talked more about politics this time. Another thing each small group discussed was the different reactions to Ruth May's death that each of the girls, Orleanna, and Nathan had. We discussed how Rachel was more worried about how her mother, Orelanna, would react to Ruth May's death rather then actually worrying about the death of her "baby sister" herself. After this occurred Rachel realized that this was no longer a vacation to the Congo it was a reality and if or when they return to the United States the memories of "the Congo" will not just be something that can be forgotten. We discussed how Leah seemed to be in a state of shock rather than being sympathetic to the loss of her "baby sister." All Nathan Price really worried about was how his other daughters had not been baptized yet. Instead of morning over his youngest daughters death, his mentality of thinking is "Oh well". Ruth May's death came as something other than horrible to Adah. With Ruth May's death Adah came to realize that her and Ruth May are similar. They both seem to be "the eyes" now. Adah created her on palindrome, which is somewhat of a hymn, as a way of protecting herself and Ruth May from the spirits of the Congo. Adah's palindrome is one on the only ways Adah can truly express herself. We also discussed what Bel and the Serpent stand for or means. It was hard for our group to decide weather or not Bel was symbolic for Tata Kuvundundu or Nathan Price. We chose Tata Kuvundundu as a candidate to be Bel because in the Poisonwood Bible the villagers of the Congo falsely worship him. Yet, we also chose Nathan Price because he to in a way wants the Congolese people to worship him. Although he says he is preaching God's word, we, as a class, came to the conclusion that he seems to be doing "his job" for himself not others.

Lit Circle #3

New Critic

Passage (Leahʻs narration):
"YOU CANʻT JUST POINT to the one most terrible thing and wonder why it happened. This has been a whole terrible time, from the beginning of the drought that left so many without food and then the night of the ants, to now, the worst tragedy of all. Each bad thing causes something worse.

Analysis:
I thought this was an important quote to the whole text because Leah describes the cycle of life. She links bad tragedy and terrible thing together. She feels that lots of things relate to one another. She says how there is always a reason for almost everything if you just look hard enough for one. Leah also thinks that a person will go crazy if they think that all bad things happen as a way of punishment for his or her sins. She feels that God has given us a lifetime to punish ourselves and that we do not need to be punished.

Passage (Rachelʻs narration):
"I am surprised she hasnʻt tried to shoot an apple off my head, if we had an apple that is. There is not a speck of food anywhere. The ants ate everything people had stored up, which was not much to begin with because of the drought."

Analysis:
I feel this was an important quote to the text because it shows how when they are in the Congo things are not just given to them; they actually have to save up and conserve many things. Rachel talks about how Leah would shoot an apple off her head if the supplies were there.

Passage (Rachelʻs narration):
"Father went crazy. Weʻd always wondered what would happen if we flat out disobeyed him."

Analysis:
This was another quote said by Rachel. None of the Price girls have never flat out disobeyed their father; they had never seen his reaction or even wondered about what it would be. So when Leah decides to go out into the forest with her bow and arrow their father went after him; as Orleanna, Rachel, Adah, and Ruth May waited at home. Terrified of what he might do they locked their selves in their rooms by moving their beds in front of their doors. I think this was a significant quote to the entire text because if shows how no one ever hand the courage to stand up for something they believe is right, instead of just going with what their father says

History of the Congo during 1955-1966 & 2000-2006

The Independence Movement


"In 1955, when demands for independence were mounting throughout Africa, Antoine van Bilsen, a Belgian professor, published a “30-Year Plan” for granting the Congo increased self-government" (internet sorce). Most Belgians, who assumed that Belgian rule would continue in the Congo for a long period of time, accepted this plan. Yet some events proved this otherwise.

Congolese nationalists, notably Joseph Kasavubu and Patrice Lumumba became increasingly strident. They were greatly pleased by the visit of the French President Charles de Gaulle in late 1958 to the neighboring Middle Congo; which is today known as the Republic of Congo. He offered Africans the opportunity to vote in a referendum for continued association with France or for full independence. In January 1959, the Belgians slowly lost control of events in the Congo due to the serious nationalist riots in Kinshasa. In January-Febuary 1960 a roundtable conference was held with included Congolese Nationalists; it was dedcided then that the Belgian Congo would become fully independent on June 30, 1960


Independence and Conflict

The outcome of the ellections in June named Partice Lumumba as prime minister and Kasavubu as head of state. Due to ethnic and personal rivalries the Republic of the Congo, as the nation was once called, soon began to pull apart. These rivalries mainly began because of Belgian interest. "On July 4 the Congolese army mutinied, and on July 11 Moïse Tshombe declared Katanga, of which he was provisional president, to be independent. There were attacks on Belgian nationals living in the Congo, and Belgium sent troops to the country to protect its citizens and also its mining interests. Most Belgian civil servants left the country, thus crippling the government. On July 14, the UN Security Council voted to send a force to the Congo to help establish order; the force was not allowed to intervene in internal affairs, however, and could not act against the Katangan secession. Therefore, Lumumba turned to the USSR for help against Katanga, but on Sept. 5 he was dismissed as prime minister by Kasavubu. On Sept. 14, Col. Joseph Mobutu (later Mobutu Sese Seko), the head of the army, seized power and dismissed Kasavubu. On Dec. 1, Lumumba, who probably had the largest national following of any Congo politician, was arrested by the army; he was murdered while allegedly trying to escape imprisonment in Katanga in mid-Feb., 1961." Interenet source) By the end of that 1960's the Congo was divided into four quasi-independent parts: Mobutu held the west, including Kinshasa, then called Léopoldville; Antoine Gizenga, the self-styled successor to Lumumba, controlled the east from Kisangani, then known as Stanleyville; Albert Kalonji controlled S Kasai; and Tshombe headed Katanga, aided by Belgian and other foreign soldiers.



In Febuary 2000, the United Nations approved a force to monitor the accord but because of the situation in the Congo at the time, it was unstable to permit the force to move in. In December 2000 a new agreement calling for the pullback of all forces was signed; but it was signed without the participation of one of the rebel groups.

In January 2001, Kabila was assassinated. Joseph Kabila, was named his successor. Joseph Kabila's government resumed cooperating on peace negotiations, and ended the ban on political parties.

Beginning in March the forces of foreign nations began pulling back from the front lines and even pulling out from the Congo. "Peace talks began tentatively in October 2001, and in 2002 agreements were signed successively with one of the rebel groups, Rwanda, and Uganda, although no agreement was reached with the largest rebel force, the Rwandan-backed Congolese Rally for Democracy–Goma. By the end of October 2002, most foreign troops had been withdrawn from the Congo. The government and both main rebel groups reached an accord in Apr., 2003, when they signed a peace agreement that called for a power-sharing government led by President Kabila, and an interim parliament. Despite the peace deal, fighting continued in parts of the Congo, especially between tribal groups in the east, and in June, 2003, the United Nations dispatched French-led peacekeepers to E Congo in an effort to restore order."

In that same month the government and rebels agreed on the composition of the new government. The democratic elections were scheduled for 2005. By the time of the government's establishment it was estimated that 3.3 million people had died either directly or indirectly; due to the fighting that began in 1998.

At the end of July, 2006, Congo held elections for president and the national and provincial legislatures. Joseph Kabila won 44% of the presidential vote with a strong showing in E Congo but he failed to win the required majority; his party won 111 [[out of 500]] National Assembly seats and was able to form a governing coalition.
The presidential results caused a spark of violence between Kabila's partisans and those of Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo, the former rebel and interim vice president who was the runner-up [[with 20% of the vote]] and did well in W Congo.


The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.