Nommo and the Bible Essay - 740 Words

Nommo and the Bible A Comparison and Contrast of the Character Names in The Poisonwood Bible Barbara Kingslover writes a book entitled, The Poisonwood Bible that explore the effects one culture has on another. The four daughters; Rachel, Leah, Adah, and Ruth May, at birth are given names suitable and fitting to their personalities, as well as new Kikongo names which describe the girls’ attitudes towards the people in the Congo. A principal of the Congolese belief system, suggests that the girls have grown into their names, causing their specific type of people interaction. The eldest daughter of the four is Rachel Price. In the Bible, the person named Rachel is described as more beautiful than her sister Leah (Genesis Ch. 29-35). In†¦show more content†¦In the Bible, Adah is a minor character that could be the wife of two men (Genesis 4:19). In the book, Adah goes back in forth between her two â€Å"men† or beliefs; she either believes in science, or God. Adah is also overlooked when the fire ants attacked their village; her own mother felt her behind (306). Orleanna did not favor Adah, causing her to be a â€Å"minor† member in the family. The youngest and most innocent of the Price children is Ruth May. She is given the name of Bandu in the kikongo language, meaning â€Å"the reason for everything† and â€Å"the littlest one on the bottom.† Orleanna (the mother) values Ruth May the most of her four children. All of Orleanna’s narratives are meant for Ruth May. In the Bible, Ruth is a character who helped soldiers when they needed it, she was a friend. The translation of the word Ruth in Hebrew means â€Å"companion† (â€Å"Origin and Meaning of Baby Names). The word ruth in English, mean grief; for Orleanna, she felt much grief when Ruth May died. An entire book of the Bible describes Ruth, and an entire character dedicates what she says to Ruth May. The Kikongo word nommo is the force that makes things live as what they are (209); it is a song, a poem, a scream, a prayer, a name(210). It refers to the belief that naming something gives it its nature - a man is a man because that is what he is named, whereas a rabbit is not a man because that is not what he is named. Nommo says you do not have a life until youShow MoreRelatedSummary Of The Poisonwood Bible 1318 Words   |  6 PagesAP Literature and Composition Summer Reading Assignment The Poisonwood Bible Analyzed by: Shraddha Patel contents: 6 essays  â€Å" Imagine a ruin so strange it must never have happened First, picture the forest. I want you to be its conscience, the eyes in the trees.† The effect of the above directive on the reader is that it takes us into the world that is so disparate from anything that we, the reader, could have ever imagined. It propels the reader to continue reading and disclose the mysteryRead MoreSummary Of The Poisonwood Bible 2533 Words   |  11 PagesAnupa Joseph Period 07/24/15 Fernstrom The Poisonwood Bible Reader Response #1: Pages 1-186 Whose Revelation? What is the Revelation? What do the girls learn? Book two is entitled â€Å"The Revelation† and the girls’ sections is entitled â€Å"The Things We Learned.† The Revelation was intended to mainly the Price family, excluding the father. The theme revelation has another definition: apocalypse. In the bible, the apocalypse leads to destruction and demise right before when God makes it a better place