Metaphors

Kingsolver’s use of metaphors is very key in The Poisonwood Bible. An excellent example of this is in the opening chapter where Orleanna Price describes the landscape of the Congolese desert. In this excerpt Kingsolver uses a metaphor to demonstrate the first colonization of Africa.

“Then, in the 1920s, when elsewhere in the world the menfolk took a break between wars to perfect the airplane and the automobile, a white man finally did set eyes on the okapi. I can picture him spying on it with binoculars, raising up the cross-haired rifle sight, taking it for his own” (Kingsolver 7).

Nate's Take

Let's break down the metaphor. The Okapi is a type of Giraffe found in the Congo and was a typical animal for people to hunt.  The white man in the passage is used to represent white european explorers; especially the Belgians who gained possession of the country in 1908 under the rule of King Leopold II.  The Okapi in this passage is used to represent the indigenous people of the Congo that became suppressed under the white european rule of colonialism.  Although, the Price family believes they are doing the Lord’s work in country, the Congolese people had been refusing to accept Christianity since 1908 when the first missionaries arrived.

This small number of students stemmed from many factors.  The number of missionaries was insufficient to educate a large population.  But the missionary’s educational agenda, which often undermined indigenous African culture and promoted colonial domination, also deterred many Africans from pursuing European educations”(ACHBERGER).