The Power of Wealth
Exile: The state of being barred from one's native
country. Although exiles are very compelling to think about, being
cut off from "home," can be a terrible experience and
ultimately break an individual completely. In
The Poisonwood Bible by
Barbara Kingsolver, Rachel Price experiences an exile that's
both alienating and enriching.
Upon arriving to the Congo, Rachel, a selfish beauty
queen, is quick to display her disgust for Kilanga and its
villagers. Being an American, the Congo was an extreme culture shock
for Rachel, which caused her to immediately form a shell. As a
Baptist, Rachel was disturbed by the “nakedness” of the
villagers, which only made her uncomfortable and unwilling to
associate with anyone in the village. Rachel's “home” was her
social status back in Georgia, which was taken from her once she
arrived in the village of Kilanga. Unfortunately, Rachel's
closed-mindedness only alienated her from the rest of the villagers
and made her experience in the Congo a miserable one.
Rachel's exile in the Congo not only displayed her
true selfishness and ignorance, but let us see the type of individual
she truly was. The only thing that seemed to matter to Rachel, was
having a high social status. Though Rachel hated Africa, she remained
there because she was becoming successful off of her hotel ownership.
By experiencing an exile, Rachel found her true happiness: Wealth. In
the end, Rachel didn't even care where she ended up living, as long
as she had a high social status she was happy.
Rachel's exile was a negative, yet positive
experience. Rachel's selfish manner and unwillingness to have an
opened mind alienated her from the villagers in the Congo. Although Rachel wanted
nothing more than to leave the Congo, she was able to discover that
her happiness came from wealth and social status.
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