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.
1 comment:
Joy,
One thing you ought to seek is whether Ruth May is only the leader in the game, or if the children follow her in other ways. That would be really interesting to think about, yeah?
I found the precision with which you looked at each observation impressive. And I found the idea Ruth May and Lumumba were both stripped of power during their imprisonment insightful--you looked beyond the connection and found something important.
Well written, if only missing words from the novel itself to show your ideas, too.
~Maretzki
Post a Comment