“The Poisonwood Bible” by Leah Price

In the novel “The Poisonwood Bible”, Leah Price is described as the most intelligent child in the Family. With her strong admiration to her father’s religious perspective, she tries her best to be in good terms with him. In the “Poisonwood Bible”, Barbara Kingsolver, uses vivid imagery, biblical allusions, and pronounce similes to clearly portray Leah Price’s character as a loyal, intelligent, and strong witted woman who reveals a hopeful attitude towards the traumatic events she discusses in the passage.

Barbara Kingsolver uses vivid imagery to visibly express the surroundings Leah observes of the time of their hardship. The line “nothing but dry crades of white stones” states the dryness of the water in their favorite swimming hole which they rely on to swim. With all the adversity Leah is going through with her family, the line “in a season so dry our tongues went to sleep tasting dust and woke up numb” thoroughly explains one of the many hurdles Leah have to surpass. Even though Leah is going through a tough time, she does not dare to forget to observe the beauty of nature that surrounds her. The line “The dead grass on the distant hills was a yellowish red, not orange but a drier color” demonstrates the becoming beauty of the fall season.

Barbara Kingsolver also uses biblical allusion to incorporate biblical notation and real life situation. Being influenced by her father’s religious beliefs, Leah is very knowledgeable of the Old Testament. The line “preaching on Bel in the temple, from Apocrypha” explains Leah’s fathers strong beliefs of what God is capable of doing. With all the event that happened throughout the passage, everyone prays together for the best outcome with the use of the line “Bel and The Serpent wasn’t so frightening, as it mainly featured the quick wits of Daniel” to make it seem that after all the bad things that happen a pleasant outcome will befall sooner or later. As the other villagers who also happen to be a believer of god, Leah’s fathers praying led to them to the conclusion the he was worshiping the wrong god with the use of the line “this time Daniel was out to prove to the Babylonians that they were worshiping false idols”.

Most of the literary devices that Kingsolver uses are simile. She uses these pronounce simile to compare little details in her surroundings. With the use of the line “ittering the ground like a carpet rolled out for the approaching footsteps of the end of the time”, Leah compares the leaves scattering around as an old carpet covered with footsteps throughout time. As Leah observes her surroundings, she noticed the heaviness of the air that she is inhaling with the use of the line “orange-white, like the haze in the air”. Now that the people are starting to pray in the church for guidance, a revelation about Jesus cannot be avoided. The line “Jesus may have sounded like a helpful sort of God in the beginning” reflects the attitude Leah had when they first moved to Congo.

A faithful woman influenced by her father’s religious philosophies, Leah Price details the importance of god in helping her survive the traumatic events that happens in her life. Barbara Kingsolver successfully develops Leah’s character by using vivid imagery, biblical allusions, and pronounces similes. The use of these devices effectively emphasis Leah’s loyalties to her religious principles which what helped her overcome the obstacles she faces in the passage.