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.