Despite the African setting, 'The Poisonwood Bible' can be seen as an attack on American Society. Discuss

By moving Nathan Price, a missionary from Georgia, and his wife and four children to the Belgian Congo, Kingsolver offers a backdrop that demonstrates the flaws in America's society, especially their religious attitudes and political ideologies at a time when the Congo was seeking its independence. Kingsolver described her novel as a "political allegory"1, and the family as a whole demonstrate this, while individual characters, such as Nathan and Rachel Price more obviously act to …

…that is just as much about America, a portrait, in absentia, of the nation that sent the Prices to save the souls of a people for whom it felt only contempt"8. 1.         Barbara Kingsolver, 'Dialogue' section, Kingsolver website 2.         Ibid. 3.         Ibid. 4.         'scmark' - "The Poisonwood Bible" Review 5.         Wilson - "The Poisonwood Bible" Review 6.         Barbara Kingsolver, 'Dialogue' section, Kingsolver website 7.         Wagner-Martin - "The Poisonwood Bible" A Reader's Guide 8.         Klinkenborg - "Going Native", New York Times Review - October 18, 1998