Oprah's Book Club Essays

II. Postfeminism Feminism is “a troublesome term” (Beasley, ix). It is a complex notion which deals with social, political, cultural and individual concerns. Consequently it does not possess a universally agreed, clearly defined ideology. Hollows defines feminism as “a form of politics which aims to intervene in, and transform, the unequal power relations between men and women” (2000, 3). However it should be added that since it is a multi-faceted movement, many forms of feminism exist. Feminism

“Their Beauty Has More Meaning,” written by Robinson Jeffers is seventeen lines that all flow with admiration for nature. Jeffers introduced the poem solemnly with the title referring to a their, leaving the audience wondering to whom Jeffers is referring to. Throughout the poem, Jeffers focuses on five forces: storms, the moon, the ocean, dawn, and the birds. There are certain words that are structured differently to show emphasis and the importance of these words to the author. After carefully

The writing “We Choose Honor” has a very moving subject that includes a variety of syntax, diction, imagery, and tone to achieve its claim. The subject itself is 9/11, the catastrophic disaster that moved the United States in a way it hadn’t in decades. With such a large topic at hand, Elie Wiesel takes the disaster and shapes it into a writing that emotionally captures millions of readers. The all-around purpose of this writing is to empower and inform the people reading; Unfortunately, such an

their mother on how their father/husband took them to the Congo in 1959 on a mission on spreading Christianity. The father’s goals was to convert the Congolese into Christians and baptize them into this religion. Throughout the book, the family faces many obstacles. The book is narrated starting with the mother, Orleanna, and then alternating among the four Price daughters, Rachel the oldest, Adah and Leah the twins, and Ruth May the youngest. As the story goes on the four girls and their mother develop

In the Poisonwood Bible, Nathan, much like many real missionaries of this era, believed that it was their duty to civilize the uncivilized, in this case, their Kilanga neighbors. Orleanna believed that the Kilanga people survived on their own before, and should be able to keep some of their culture, however, Nathan is more persistent in making them no longer savage and now Christian and proper. The Poisonwood bible is a story of a Christian family traveling to Kilanga to baptize and civilize the

The Poisonwood Bible Readers Response #1 : In the Poisonwood Bible, Kingsolver uses 4 different voices for each sister in the family. It gives each girl’s narration style its own traits which allows for each sister to have a distinct voice. There is Rachel Price who always seems to mispronounce words, thats a big trait that sets her apart from others. Leah Price admires her father deeply and is very open minded and sincere. She has a big heart and tends to focus on the issues that reside in Africa

Sometimes a father is not the best influence on their daughter. Barbara Kingosolver’s The Poisonwood Bible explores Reverend Nathan Price’s religious dreams and his journey deep into the heart of the Congo with his loyal wife Orleanna and their vastly different daughters, Adah, Leah, Ruth May, and Rachel. As the story opens, Leah Price works the most to gain her father’s attention and does all she can to mimic his actions and opinions. In a turn of events, Leah grows up and develops a new admiration

After I have read the Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. I realized that there were multiple different symbols that helped convey complex ideas. For me I have found that in the Novel there are three important symbols that help shape the plot of the story and these are Methuselah the Parrot, Palindromes: Which is Ada’s journal, and lastly the green Mamba snake that killed Ruth May. The significance about all of these symbols is that they tend to add a meaning and depth to the story. After all

In Barbara Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood Bible, Adah’s birds eye view of the world and descriptive voice brings a different view to the events that occur in the Congo. Her character demonstrates this through her genuine compassion towards the Congolese women and by saying that her father’s assessment of the women was illogical through her diction and point of view. Adah’s attitude towards the Congolese women is shown to be compassionate through her diction when describing the mourning women. She used

The Price family, mainly Nathan, see it as their duty to “civilize” the people of the Congo, considering that they are in Africa to solely to teach the people about Christianity. Throughout the book, Orleanna and the girls are more connected to the African people and better understand their differences. Nathan, however, sees their practices as wrong, and believes they must be humanized. The Poisonwood Bible is a realistic fiction story written by Brenda Kingsolver in which a family from Georgia

Have you ever wanted to just pack up your things and just leave, no goodbye no explanation, and go on an adventure? Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison, centers on the spoiled only son in a family of sisters. The son, Milkman, goes on a journey looking for the lost gold from one of his father’s stories. While looking for the gold he has many different experiences and ends up finding himself instead of the gold. Toni Morrison uses Milkman’s search for gold to represent the ability of people to change

In both novels, Things Fall Apart and The Poisonwood Bible, there are often many devices used to further the depth of each story. Within these stories, one of the devices used to engage the reader is symbols, which can be used to provide references to outside sources, and in more specific terms, provide biblical references constantly throughout both stories. With this in mind, there are a few specific symbols in The Poisonwood Bible, such as, Methuselah the Parrot, the murderous snake that kills

Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison is a fiction novel about African American life in the post-WWI era of America. The structure and content of the novel is particularly geared towards narrating the idea of control Conformations and deviations to the narrative in Song of Solomon build on this idea of control, especially in relation to Milkman, which comments on the desire for self-determination. Deviations and eventual conformations in the continuity of the novel compared to the conventions of other

Envy is an aspect of humanity that has been approached from many perspectives. In the “Rambler” by Samuel Johnson, the author took the stance that envy is a terrible and purposeless entity that serves only to degrade the quality of life. He analyzed the cause and effects of envy, how it relates to human error, and the consequences it is tied to. To emphasize the true impact of envy, he described the patterns in which he observed it as it manifested around him in his day-to-day life. In this passage

As Milkman finds himself alone in the dark woods, Guitar jumps him and a bobcat ends up dead, the novel Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison questions, yet again, the identity of Milkman. As the hunters begin skinning the bobcat head to claws, it seems as if Milkman hears the old words of Guitar after each body part is cut, these lines directly correlated to Milkman’s feelings as he transform from a privileged city boy, to a heroic figure clad in camouflage and a new type of strength. The scene shows

raised by her suppressive grandma who reduces her perspective of life. Janie’s mission for genuine character rises up out of her ways in life and ultimately closes when her psyche is liberated from mixed up reality. Their Eyes Were Watching God, is a book considered exceptionally

In the drama "Les Miserables", the story of a man who has struggled to change is represented in a tragic tale, set in the early 1800s. The story represents life for people during the French Revolution, and provides an excellent telling of a ex-prisoner who goes through a life changing experience, and then goes on to truly make a difference. A man, called Jean Valjean, is wrongfully imprisoned for many, many years, and finally manages to gain his freedom. However, things in his life change immensely

This book is not a difficult read, an elementary student could read it, but the issue of the plot is what makes this novel so serious. For example, when “Blood and something else, something white and gel-like” (313) is described to extrude from Assef’s eye,

strife among the characters of the book. She uses meals to foreshadow future events, reveal the flaws of the characters, and as the book progresses, allows for the reader to see character development. In novel, Kingsolver twists the normal connotation of a meal and makes it ironic in order to demonstrate the discord and strife that is commonplace throughout the book that shows the lack of community between the Prices and those they interact with for most of the book. Through the welcome feast that the

Bearing Guiltiness within The Poisonwood Bible Foreshadowing is a literary device many authors use to hint at future events containing influential and thematic material; and authors tend to introduce their major themes through foreshadowing in opening scenes or a prologue. Barbra Kingsolver’s novel, The Poisonwood Bible, follows this very trend. Orleanna Price, in the first chapter, describes her burden of guilt toward choices she has made and the death of the youngest of her four daughters, Ruth