Poisonwood Bible - blog 1 (3/1/14)

                Throughout the first reading of The Poisonwood Bible, the occurrence of the poisonwood tree incident with Nathan Price along with the title of the book struck my attention and seems to foreshadow ideas and themes for the book.

First, the title of the book itself creates some foreshadowing. The Poisonwood Bible mentions two different parts—a poisonwood tree and a bible. Both seem to be symbols and can foreshadow to another portion of the story. As Reverend Price encounters a poisonwood tree, he continues to touch it. The story occurs on page 39, where Mama Tataba is out in the garden. She tells the reverend, Nathan, “That one brother, he bite……Poisonwood.” Nathan eventually proceeds to tell Mama Tataba, “I’ve been tending the soil ever since I could walk behind my father.” As Nathan continues to tend the soil and touch the tree, he “woke up the next morning with a horrible rash on his hands and arms, presumably wounded by the plant that bites.” The story reminded me of Adam and Eve, where they are told not to eat fruit from the tree, but the woman starts eating it anyway. She then feels sick to her stomach, similar to Nathan’s rash after touching the tree. Both characters in both stories appear to be arrogant. Reverend Price is arrogant and believes that he is just and right. I think the tree will continue to appear throughout the story and Reverend Price will eventually be punished for constantly touching the tree when he knows he shouldn’t be just because he believes his ways and opinions are the only option.

                Also, the “bible” portion of the title creates more foreshadowing. Reverend Price and his family do all sorts of missions because of their strong faith and belief in the bible verse from Genesis chapter 1, “And God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” Reverend Price believes he and his family can have dominating power, and the title is foreshadowing what will eventually happen with their dominating power. Following every word of the bible and interpreting it the wrong way leads to poison, or a “poisonwood bible.”