In the first chapter of The Poisonwood Bible, Genesis, Orleanna speaks of when she came across an Okapi by a stream. An Okapi is an atypical animal that lives in the Congo in Africa. Okapis are a rare giraffe related animal that are non social and live in large secluded areas. When the Price family moves to Africa on a church mission trip, the family finds adapting to the Congolese culture difficult. Much like the Okapi, the Price family reserved themselves to an area of Africa where they resided in a home in an isolated area. Multiple environmental and cultural dilemmas indicated clues that the Prices weren’t able to fathom the Congolese culture, and step out of the family’s perfect world. At the Price’s house, Leah and her father were “constantly [breaking] off branches” and altering the features of their home, “trying to win back [their] ground.” When the father was planting a garden, Mama Tataba said that “hills must be built” in order for the plants to grow. Of course, Reverend Price didn’t listen and accept the way tasks must be accomplished in Africa, and soon found out that hills must be built or else the rain would wash the seeds away. Soon the father realized that the plants wouldn’t grow, because he and Leah planted the wrong type of seeds for the African environment, and the right species of “insects weren’t [there] to pollinate the garden”, again showing the lack of knowledge and adaption to the new environment. The garden that Reverend Price plants equates to the Garden of Eden, in the way of failing to listen and accepting a certainty different to one’s own. In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve failed to listen to God, and were tempted to eat off the Tree of Knowledge. Reverend Price refused to listen to Mama Tataba when it came to building mounds to produce vegetables, and when it came to avoiding the Poisonwood tree. Therefore, Reverend Price produced a garden with no vegetation and had a negative reaction to the Poisonwood tree, ultimately showing the stubbornness he has toward accepting the African ways of culture.
Along with failing to adapt to the environment, the Price’s failed at accepting the culture and value of the Congolese people. Reverend Price was determined to take the Africans down to the Kwilu River and baptize them however, the “men said no, that was not meant to be” and the “women were opposed to getting dunked in the river” and even “kept their children extra far from the church that day” for fear that Mr. Price would try to baptize them. By desiring to baptize the Africans, Mr. Price tries to purify and make the Africans something that they are not—trying to make the Africans “perfect.” In all Mr. Price’s attempt for the village to be impeccable, he never asked as to why no one wished to be purified, and soon learned that “a little girl was killed and eaten by a crocodile” in the river. Pushing the Africans to be baptized is not just showing the religious views, but also portrays the motivation that Mr. Price has at being a perfectionist.
Other clues that signify how the family can’t comprehend and fit into the countries culture is the personality of the girls. Ruth, the youngest of the girls, has a personality of being gullible and naïve, symbolizing the naivety that the Price family exhibits towards African culture.
Rachel is a daughter that relies on materialistic items. When the Price family packs necessary items to take with to Africa, Rachel relies on her “beauty aids”, for Rachel “cares for naught but appearances.” Rachel portrays an egotistical girl who fails to comprehend the culture of Africa, and doesn’t understand why the women “have no hair” and wear “bright clothes with non matching patterns.” Rachel symbolizes the vain people in society that believe appearances are the utmost importance.
Leah and Adah are identical twins, yet far from being distinguishable on the inside. Leah takes after her father, relying on religious aspects and saintliness. Leah was always the leader of the girls, “Goddess of the Hunt”, being the mature one. On the other hand, Adah brings up the end, “dragging her right side behind her left” for Adah has Broca’s Aphasia. Broca’s Aphasia is a loss of the power to use and comprehend words. Adah enjoys reading, and is brilliant at reading backwards, and also making palindromes. Although Adah has Broca’s Aphasia, she is still willing to challenge herself, and enjoys doing so. Ironically, although Adah is known as the “handicap one”, Adah is the only one out of the family that “doesn’t pass judgment.” While Rachel is scrutinizing the dress of the Congolese, Adah finds the clothing they wear “more festive” and believes the clothing make the women look “less exhausted.” While Adah’s father and twin sister Leah find it offensive that the women leave their “bare breasts” uncovered, Adah notices that the women all “cover their legs right to the instep of their feet”—noticing the African culture finds revealing and hiding different parts of their body diverse from American beliefs. Adah accepts and doesn’t criticize the African way of life, even though it differs from the usual.
Although the family moved to Congo to aid the people, the Price family is learning that they are the ones that need to be helped. Reverend Price came in hopes of preaching the word of God and righteousness, soon to find out that Mr. Price isn’t as saintly as he comes to believe. Hopefully the Price family can step out of the ideal world the family has imagined, and learn something about the African people and ultimately themselves.
