After reading the Book Bel and the Serpent from The Poisonwood Bible, our class had a literature circle and discussed the following.
We first talked about Ruth May’s death and how Nathan Price reacted. Nathan Price’s reaction was not as sentimental as the reaction of everyone else. After her death, his main comment is that he wished she had been baptized before she died. We felt that he took advantage of Ruth May’s death as an opportunity to baptize the children of Kilango. We also felt that the daughters felt some resentment toward their father because of his reaction to Ruth May’s death.
We thought that Rachel seemed the most concerned about Ruth May’s death. It is also an earth-shattering event to Rachel because she realizes that she can never just forget or block out the part of her life that she leads in the Congo. We also felt that Adah felt closer to Ruth May after she died because she can see Ruth May’s life like a palindrome. Also that Adah feels closer to Ruth May because they both are like eyes watching the family. This is important for Adah, because she always felt somewhat of an outcast from the rest of her family, but now she can relate to Ruth May.
Orleana’s reaction however was very calm and collected. She completely drew within herself, and it seemed like there was nothing left in her. She had been so drained that she had no emotional drive to kick or scream and she completely gives up. It seems that her experience in the Congo put her through so much that she can no longer feel anything.
We also felt that the Price family learns more in the silence after Ruth May dies, than anywhere else in the story so far.
Important words from this book were bantu, which means people or a group of people, and muntu, which an entity or being (living, unborn, or dead). This is relevant to this chapter because when Ruth May dies, the idea rises of existence, physical, spiritual, and her as an entity watching the family. Another important word is nkento, which means woman. Nelson uses this word to insult Gybene because it is a huge insult in Kilangan culture.
We also brought up religion and politics and the role they play in this book. Nathan Price, in one of his attempt to impress his ideas on the Kilangan people, introduces to them the idea of democracy. However, it backfires at him, when the Kilangan people decide to vote on whether they want Jesus, and Jesus looses. Religion and politics are two important ideas in The Poisonwood Bible and it is symbolic to see that when the two mix, they blow up in the face of Nathan Price.
The title of this book is very significant. In the story Bel and the Serpent, a group of monks create a false idol named Bel. As people give offerings to Bel, the monks steal the offerings and use them for their own means. The people in The Poisonwood Bible follow this story to find the person who is putting fake curses on people using green mamba snakes. We discussed that Serpent could represent the monks as well as Tata Kuvundu, because both create false idols. Bel however could represent Nathan Price, Tata Kuvundu, or Tata Ndu, because all act like false idols.
We first talked about Ruth May’s death and how Nathan Price reacted. Nathan Price’s reaction was not as sentimental as the reaction of everyone else. After her death, his main comment is that he wished she had been baptized before she died. We felt that he took advantage of Ruth May’s death as an opportunity to baptize the children of Kilango. We also felt that the daughters felt some resentment toward their father because of his reaction to Ruth May’s death.
We thought that Rachel seemed the most concerned about Ruth May’s death. It is also an earth-shattering event to Rachel because she realizes that she can never just forget or block out the part of her life that she leads in the Congo. We also felt that Adah felt closer to Ruth May after she died because she can see Ruth May’s life like a palindrome. Also that Adah feels closer to Ruth May because they both are like eyes watching the family. This is important for Adah, because she always felt somewhat of an outcast from the rest of her family, but now she can relate to Ruth May.
Orleana’s reaction however was very calm and collected. She completely drew within herself, and it seemed like there was nothing left in her. She had been so drained that she had no emotional drive to kick or scream and she completely gives up. It seems that her experience in the Congo put her through so much that she can no longer feel anything.
We also felt that the Price family learns more in the silence after Ruth May dies, than anywhere else in the story so far.
Important words from this book were bantu, which means people or a group of people, and muntu, which an entity or being (living, unborn, or dead). This is relevant to this chapter because when Ruth May dies, the idea rises of existence, physical, spiritual, and her as an entity watching the family. Another important word is nkento, which means woman. Nelson uses this word to insult Gybene because it is a huge insult in Kilangan culture.
We also brought up religion and politics and the role they play in this book. Nathan Price, in one of his attempt to impress his ideas on the Kilangan people, introduces to them the idea of democracy. However, it backfires at him, when the Kilangan people decide to vote on whether they want Jesus, and Jesus looses. Religion and politics are two important ideas in The Poisonwood Bible and it is symbolic to see that when the two mix, they blow up in the face of Nathan Price.
The title of this book is very significant. In the story Bel and the Serpent, a group of monks create a false idol named Bel. As people give offerings to Bel, the monks steal the offerings and use them for their own means. The people in The Poisonwood Bible follow this story to find the person who is putting fake curses on people using green mamba snakes. We discussed that Serpent could represent the monks as well as Tata Kuvundu, because both create false idols. Bel however could represent Nathan Price, Tata Kuvundu, or Tata Ndu, because all act like false idols.
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