Adah Price

I enjoy reading Adah’s entries because of her engaging insights to the atmosphere of the Congo and to her own development there. She is an interesting character who thoughts and physical deformation play a central role in the moral of the story.
The first thing which is apparent about Adah is her sensitively to the sensations of the world. She has a similar curiosity about her surroundings as Leah does and she describes the world as being “a-boggle with colors and shapes” (30). This sensitivity suggests that she does not view her self as being as separate from her surroundings as the other characters in the story do. This is conveyed by her tendency to equate human actions and emotions with a state of nature. She states how the “sky bleeds” (30) and also characterizes people with animal or nature characteristics. For example, when she is describing the way the woman of the village wrap and unwrap a piece of cloth around their bodies, she states that “they resemble flocks of butterflies opening and closing their wings”(137). When she describes the Pygmies and their movements, she describes how they “grow still as tree trunks” (137) when they notice someone they don’t know. Despite her non belief in her father’s version of God, she does seem to have a spiritual understanding that is similar to brother Fowles, whose love and appreciation of nature and knowledge are similar to her own. She sees everything as having some kind of life force and this idea of non-separateness becomes clearer to her as the story progress. A particular instance where this happens is when she is describing the idea of nommo, muntu, and the significance of the Congolese words having multiple meanings and its connection to the idea of unity. This idea is shown when she states, “Here in the Congo…..there is no special difference between living people, dead people, children not yet born, and gods - these are all muntu…it would be simple [to understand] except that being here is not the same as existing”(209).
Another ways which Adah is similar to brother Fowles is an idea that is central to one of the main themes of the novel; the issue of translation and the danger of miscommunication. When Brother Fowles is talking to Nathan about scripture he asks allowed “who translated this?”(251). It is this question which Adah contemplates and physically represents with her emphasis on not speaking. There is a well known saying in Christianity which states “do not take the lords name in vain.” This is usually associated with an emphasis on not swearing but perhaps serves as a kind of warning as well; one that urges not to be so quick to associate one’s own thoughts and actions with Christianity, least one miscommunications the teaching and creates a misunderstanding that could be very dangerous. There is a similar warning expressed in Buddhism which Shunryu Suzuki describes stating that “The more you understand our thinking, the more you find it difficult to talk about…. the best way is just to practice without saying anything…there is apt to be misunderstanding” (90). This seems to be very similar to Adah’s view on translation and communication as she says of her self that “It is true I do not speak as well as I can think. But that is true of most people, as nearly as I can tell”(34).
In conclusion, Adah is a vital part of story as many of her insights, experiences and her physical state point to larger themes and morals in the novel.

Work Citied

Kingsolver, Barbara. The Poisonwood Bible. New York, Harper Perennial, 2005.
Suzuki, Shunryu. Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind. Boston and London, Weatherhill, 2007.