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The Dangers Of Imperialism Exposed In The Poisonwood Bible

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The Poisonwood Bible , despite mainly being centered in Africa, has broad and deep messages that still apply to today's modern world. This global perspective encompasses the cultural arrogance of the West, as evidenced by the interference of colonial powers in the internal workings of a nation neither cared about nor understood by the same Western powers, the backwards, negative effect that sexism and a one-sided, limited, patriarchal view has on a society, and the backwards, negative effect that sexism and a one sided, limited patriarchal view has on a society, and the harm that can be caused by enforcing a gross misinterpretation of a religion on society. All of these themes are shown through the journey of on Christian, American family who …show more content…

It was imperialism that prompted the Belgians to take over Congo, strip it of its resources, turn it into a company focused on making profits, but not caring for its workers. To say they were mistreated under Belgian rule would be a huge understatement. They were brutally killed, tortured, systematically murdered for not meeting the impossible standards and demands of their Belgian Overseers. The occupation of Congo by the belgians oversaw a genocide, and their sudden withdrawal led the way for power grabs, since they left no structure or government or people behind to guide the Congo once it was independent. Despite this, Kingsolver is saying that it is the tendency of the oppressed throughout history to inevitably rebel and fight back. There are just too many good people like Anatole for tyranny to rule. This is seen at the end of the novel when Mobutu the american-supported dictator is dying, and America is withdrawing its troops-and influences out of Congo. Despite the dominant presence of the negative effects of imperialism and Western greed in this book, Poisonwood Bible ends on an optimistic note that tyranny and imperialism will never prevail in the long run and will always be fought wherever they are

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