KOOL ADAH HAD A LOOK

The green grass waves as if on parade
Thick heavy droplets of rain saturate the ground
and my skin as I stand at the cusp of this bizarre new civilization.
This atmosphere doesn't seem to correspond with my own memories of school,
there is nothing even vaguely Mongoloid here.
It all seems so unnecessary to me,
all these building made of cement and metal
This is such a stark comparison to the mud huts of the Congo
Here the people are just as colorful
their clothing various shades of a cascading rainbow
but it seems to me their clothes lack personality
In the Congo, you can identify a person by the article they're wearing
Here in this strange place,
skirts, shirts, jeans, jackets and shoes abound
but I know it doesn't mean as much
when tomorrow they pick out a whole new set of clothes
to carelessly throw on.
I watch everyone scurry about,
ignoring the surroundings
the splendor...

Story Line Connections

In reading The Poisonwood Bible I soon realized that Ruth May's and Lumumba's lives seem to be connected. One of the truly obvious indicators of this connection was the fact that Ruth May and Lumumba both die on the same day, Jan 17. This sparked the idea in my head that Ruth May and Lumumba were leading lives that somehow paralleled each others.
My group and I discussed a couple different storyline connections in the book, but the Ruth May- Lumumba connection was the most prominent. We saw how both Ruth May and Lumumba were leaders for a specific group of people. Ruth May was popular with the little kids of Kilanga. She led them in games, such as "Mother May I?" Lumumba was a leader among the African people, he was elected as their leader, the prime minister. Even though both Ruth May and Lumumba don't seem to fit the bill for the positions they carry, they were nonetheless chosen. Ruth May is a young white girl and Nathan's daughter, but she is basically the leader of the children of Kilanga. Lumumba was a postal worker, not a prominent rich man, but yet he became a person of great power and influence. All though it seems unlikely both Ruth May and Lumumba held positions of relative power.
Another connection between Ruth May and Lumumba is the fact that they were both confined to their houses for a period of time. Ruth May was terribly sick and she couldn't leave her bed. Lumumba was actually under house arrest. For both of them, they were stripped of their power and were quite helpless within their houses. Lumumba eventually escapes, but his daring escapade is cut short when he is recaptured and killed. Ruth may also "escapes", she gets a bit better from her sickness and goes outside to the chicken coops, where she is bit by the green mamba. For both Ruth May and Lumumba, the end of their imprisonment meant their deaths.
Also, Ruth May and Lumumba were both killed as a result of some plot or plan by an enemy. Ruth May was killed by a stealthy snake that was obviously placed in the chicken coop by Tata Kuvundu. Lumumba was killed by the army, he was recognized while giving an impromptu speech and was taken to jail and beaten to death. Both Ruth May and Lumumba were killed by an authoritative entity.

The after affects of the deaths of Ruth May and Lumumba are great. The Price family goes into a state of shock, Orleanna trying to keep her emotions at bay. Lumumba’s death was mourned by a vast majority of the African people. Their deaths (Ruth May’s and Lumumba’s) had resonating effects on those around them.

From this connection, I can see how important both Lumumba and Ruth May were. Lumumba was a leader for the Africans, he wanted independence for his people and he tried to be a good and honest leader. Ruth May was just a sweet young child of six, but she knew her own beliefs and was beloved by all those around her.

The Judges

In the introduction to The Judges, Orleanna talks about what is to come in The Judges, she gives us a mild foreshadowing of the upcoming events. Near the end of Orleanna's narrative, she talks about how Nathan has caged her up in a sense and how she has slowly lost all sense of self
Orleanna tells us how Nathan likes to lay all the blame on her. Nathan has this theory, that all bad things that happen to them are retribution for someone in the family’s sins. The suffering that the family has to go through is because of someone's wrongdoing. In Nathan's mind, the wrongdoing is done by Orleanna. She is to be blamed because she is beautiful. In the text Orleanna says "Nathan resented my attractiveness, as if slender hips and large blue eyes were things I'd selected intentionally to draw attention to myself" (200). Orleanna also talks about how God is always watching, looking at everything that is going on.
This idea that all sins are punished by God is shown in The Judges. Ruth May believes that since she was spying, she broke her arm. She also believes because of all the other bad things she has done (lie, tear up pictures, spy on Nelson, etc...) Baby Jesus is making her sick. She says that Baby Jesus can see everything she has done, and is now making her sick becuase of all the naughty deeds she has done.
Orleanna also talks about how Nathan ignores her and that she feels like she has lost her spirit. At times Orleanna rebels a little, putting on lipstick while Nathan is away, but she loses herself to marriage, so sucked up in the care of her children and the tyranny of her husband.
In a way, the ants coming and swarming all over the village, biting, munching and destroying everything edible in their paths has a correlation to Orleanna’s marriage to Nathan. Nathan is like the ants, slowly bite by bite taking away Orleanna’s freedom, her will power and her sense of self. Nathan has picked Orleanna clean, leaving her raw and empty like the chicken bones the ants left behind.

Sunrise Tantalize

Found Poem: Adah

The pink sunrise suprise
with loose-jointbreaking-point colors
pale hazy blue,
and blossoming rose color

Evil all its sin is still alive
and half my brain
all dried up like a prune
the monster, Quasimodo

tiny flying antlike creatures by the millions
probing for nurture,
then flew away
unsatisfied

together dum-de-dum
i was cannibalized
but i'm not null and void, mongoloid
squealing like the first free pigs off the ark

switchblade renegade
with dark desires
and my own wayward brand of reverence
so thin that the sunlight passes through it




I wanted this poem to show Adah's hurt at being disabled. I also wanted to show Adah's attention to detail as well as her own unique way of speaking and observing. Adah is also very intelligent and rather unlike her sisters. I also wanted the poem to be a bit random because that is the way Adah's brain works, it is a bit random.

Genesis Response 2

One of the interesting things I noticed while reading Genesis, was that there seems to be a lot of tension between Orleanna and Nathan. The girls talk about how they must at times protect their mother or comfort her from both verbal/emotional and physical assault from "Father" (Nathan).
Also, when Father is telling the story about the Mercedes and the fanbelt, it shows a little bit of Orleanna's attitude towards him. She seems a bit sarcastic when she calls him sir, and it says that she sometimes develops a tone of voice, that is not altogether respectful. I believe that Orleanna feels a bit of resentment towards her husband because she doesn't firmly share all his strong beliefs.
I think my favorite character in this book so far is Adah. I like the way her character speaks, and her attention to detail. Adah talks a lot about the habits of the native women, their ability to carry large baskets on their heads, and their manner of dressing. The way Adah describes these things is also more poetic than the observations of her sisters. I like the rhyming and easy flow of Adah's words. For example, "Clumps of children stonethrowing outflowing rush upon terrified small goats, scattering them across the road so that the goats may tiptoe back and be chased again." (31) Adah also seems to be exceptionally bright, with the ability to add up receipts and her love of palindromes. I find Adah to be the most interesting, and cleverest of all the sisters.
Another kind of funny thing that occured in this part of the book so far, was the whole business of the garden. Mama Tataba warned Father about the poisonwood tree, and that it would bite, but he didn't understand/listen. Father ended up being covered in pus and with painful welts all over. Also, Mama Tataba told Father about making hills, but he brushed her comment off, believing that he knew best. He even flattened the earth after Mama Tataba went to the trouble of making the hills for him, But, the rains came and washed all the seeds about, wrecking the garden. Father then had to go back and make the hills himself, all the while not admitting that Mama Tataba had told him so. I find this all rather hilarious yet sad because Father has come to the Congo with preconceived notions, and it takes a lot for him to change his mind.

Genesis Response

Basically what seems to be going on in the book, The Poisonwood Bible the Price family has moved to the Congo to serve a year a missionaries. I find it very interesting that the family is composed of five girls and a father. The father in this story, Nathan Price, is a baptist preacher and he has decided the whole family should live in the Congo. It is very intriguing to me to see how each of the girls reacts differently to the drastic changes that occur in their lifestyle. Through the different points of views about their living conditions, we learn about the girls themselves as well as about life in the Congo.
Rachel is apparently the vain one in the family, she prides herself in her white blonde hair and even worries about running out of her special shampoo. When Rachel is speaking, she talks a lot about the attire and appearances of the men, women and children of the Congo. From this, we can infer that Rachel cares a lot about outward appearances. Another one of the daughters, Leah seems to me to be desperately trying to gain her father's affection. She is thrilled when he speaks to her, and tries very hard to please him, wanting to follow all his rules and to get into heaven. Leah wants terribly for her father's approval. We can see this when Leah and her Father are out in the garden tending the plants, the way Leah describes the interaction shows how much she yearns for a closer relationship with her dad.
A lot of the stories and glimpses of the Price family's expriences in the Congo show how unprepared they were. Nathan brought a hammer, which is useless there, Orleanna and the girls brought cake mix, which hardens in the humidity etc. Also, I feel as though the Price girls, are all longing for home, or at least missing the quality of life they had back in America. Even Leah, who strives to be the most like their father, longs for America. When Mr. Price is speaking about the parable of the mustard seed, Leah's mind jumps to the mustard bottles that were so common back in the states. From what I have read in the book so far, I think all the Price women miss America.

DROtC

This is a map of the Democratice Republic of the Congo. It shows some of the important areas as well as the geographical layout of the country.





Here is a interesting site about the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It gives quite a bit of insight into country politics as well as the history of the country.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/country_profiles/1076399.stm