Use of language and linguistics in The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

While reading The Poisonwood Bible, I was fascinated by Kingsolver's extensive use of Lingala, the language used in the region of the Congo where the Price family lives. Lingala is a language in which each word has several meanings, and Kingsolver has the characters in the story use language to reflect themselves. Kingsolver also masterfully wields words to connote subtle ideas throughout the novel. <Tab/>Throughout the novel are sprinkled many …

…beliefs and view of the world around her, however, Ruth May's untimely death seemed to be the climax of the story. Following that, the narrators, Adah, Leah, Rachel, and Orleanna Price, seemed to be mouthpieces that, in their own voice, broadcasted the political and social views of the author. The two halves of the book were as similar as the twins, Leah and Adah. Unlike Adah, the second half of the novel never really revived.