Youth is malleable. After all, a child's environment shapes the person they become. Leah Price, who witnesses the most dynamic change in Barbara Kingsolver's novel The Poisonwood Bible, constantly challenges the established culture of the Congolese charismatic atmosphere by breaking gender roles and taking on the mature responsibilities that her sisters often avoided. Leah is characterized by conflict and passion, always actively working to address her life's struggles with brevity despite her constant internalized religious and family debates. The Poisonwood Bible – with a narrative based on the various forms of redemption – leans heavily on Leah Price's open-minded shift in her worldview, asserting that to question the iniquity of a rigidly unfair environment, one must actively work to challenge the limited expectations placed before them and understand conflicts from points of view other than their own. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essayLeah Price easily defines herself as a feminist. In her increasingly mature perspective on life, she learns to never succumb to the patriarchal social structure established by her father or by the community in which she lives. Such a challenge is countered by his fourteen-year-old daughter who arrives in the Congo enveloped in the strict Christian beliefs in which she was raised. Kingsolver's shining moment for Leah's rebellion against the Congolese social structure is when Leah helps the men of the village hunt. Upon finding her prey, Leah “followed [her] eye ​​as Nelson taught [her] to do, seeking the path of his hopes” (348). The dark and ominous connotation given to the "path of her hopes" is linked to the death of an animal, amplifying the depiction of Leah's harsher individualism as she attempts to match the actions of the men in the Congo. The vigor of Léa's tone accentuates the distance from absolutes in her life. Leah rejects her father's judgment and that of her local adversaries in order to defy the expectations placed before her. The actions of Price's other daughters highlight Leah's personality change throughout the novel. Rachel's moral compass stagnates in her sense of greed and self-fulfillment while Adah is able to find her voice and stand up for herself. Leah, however, is defined by her ability to see ever further, which allows her to hunt confidently with the other men of Kilanga. “[Leah] felt confused, grateful and sick to the heart” when “Nelson had ridiculed Gbenye's goal as a nkento. A woman” after Gbenye ridicules Léa’s social audacity (349). The negative connotation given to “woman” creates a confrontational tone in order to bluntly illustrate the blatant misogyny of Congolese culture. The fact that Leah feels conflicted in the first place implies her clear moral and ideological shift toward individualism, rather than dependence on her father or God. In addition to her gender, the color of Leah's skin leads to constant social and political backlash over her life in the Congo. White skin is a mark of privilege and a disconnect from the struggles of Congolese culture. The juxtaposition of the Price family's presumed privilege and the reality of their struggles allows Kingsolver to comment on the political relationship between America and the Congo. Leah is unique in that her contributions to the Congo become increasingly political as her past life with Anatole progresses. Kingsolver uses the minor detail of a meaningless banana when Leah states, "I live amongmen and women who have simply always understood that their entire existence is worth less than a banana to most white people. I see it in their eyes when they look at me” (437). The linguistic contrast between the words "existence" and "banana" are used as extreme, yet honest, depictions of white cultural subjugation to black people, clearly illustrating the extent to which a black person's value is considered marginal in the country. Underlying racial tensions in the country often view Leah as a disgrace for marrying Anatole, as she is stereotyped as pompous and unfairly superior. Kingsolver's comments on race may reflect her struggles as a white minority living in Congo's black majority as a child. The gentle, understanding tone behind “I See It in Their Eyes” allows Leah to adopt an open-minded perspective – one in which she remains respectful and loving toward her nation despite the constant anger and judgment directed at her . Race is used as a facet of the Poisonwood Bible's political allegory regarding U.S. imperialist involvement in the Congo. The comfort that Leah comes to feel as she ages in the country is a microcosm for possible resolutions to the Congolese racial structure; patience and hope are hallmarks of Leah's acceptance into the culture in addition to her flexible understanding of viewpoints against her. The peaceful image of Leah in old age, saying, "I wake up in love and I work my skin until it darkens in the equatorial sun...and I understand that time completely erases the whiteness" implies a image of his prosperous life and the admiration Leah feels. towards a homeland that favors his livelihood and his family (526). Love and hard work evaporated the connotation of his complexion and allowed him to feel a full sense of belonging to Africa. The effects of guilt place a heavy weight on the shoulders of each member of the Price family. Leah's long-standing guilt lies in her inaction towards Ruth May, in not following her mother to America, and in struggling to thrive in a country that often denied her. Regardless, Leah's redemption lies in her eventual acceptance into African society, as her race is dismissed, seen as merely an external factor, allowing Leah to work and give back to the environment that gave her shaped. One of the most glaring factors that shaped Leah is the presence of religion throughout her life. The Poisonwood Bible is not only a political allegory, but it also engenders elements of a religious allegory, linked by an overarching theme of sin and redemption. The Price family's most pervasive sin is their refusal to face the realities of life. Their redemption, in its simplest form, is about overcoming this lack of will. Leah's early life in the Congo is characterized by her willingness to categorically defend her father's actions; Fourteen-year-old Leah is defined by absolutism. Kingsolver, however, alludes to the deterioration of such a relationship in the final lines of the first book, when Leah exclaims: "My father, of course, brought the Word of God – which, fortunately, weighs nothing at all » (19). The caustic tone of Leah's final statement sets the stage for an eventual brutal family discourse, hinting at the different religious perspectives that will ultimately lead Leah away from a life lived in absolutes. The verbal contrast between "God" and "nothing" gives Leah her own unique voice that is not dictated by her father, Nathan. In the atmosphere of sink or swim.