Essay #1 - Exile in The Poisonwood Bible

Palestinian literary theorist and cultural critic Edward Said has written that "Exile is strangely compelling to think about but terrible to experience. It is the unhealable rift forced between a human being and a native place, between the self and its true home; its essential sadness can never be surmounted." Yet Said has also said that exile can become a "potent, even enriching" experience.

Select a novel, play, or epic (THE POISONWOOD BIBLE-- ed.) in which a character experiences such a rift and becomes cut off from "home," whether that home is the character's birthplace, family, homeland, or other special place. Then write an essay in which you analyze how the character's experience with exile is both alienating and enriching, and how this experience illuminates the meaning of the work as a whole. You may choose a work from the list below or one of comparable literary merit. Do not merely summarize the plot.




Exile is when one is sent away and shunned from their origin. Some have been exiled due to things they might've done wrong. Others have been exiled due to the things they did, said, or looked like. Some people say it is debatable that exile can also mean one choose to move himself or herself into a different environment and culture. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver has a variety of exiles. One in particular is of Rachel. Her exile both had its pro's and con's.


The pro's of Rachel exiling herself is that she was able to live a life of luxury after living in a life full of stereotypes and prejudices. She married into wealth which then allowed her to gain the ownership of a luxury hotel. This is a benefit because this allowed her to have a better life than the life she lived with back in Kilanga where her family was stationed as missionaries. The people at Kilanga had many prejudices and stereotypes towards the "white people". Living in a life filled with stereotypes and prejudices makes living x-amount of times harder because one has to wake up every morning and remember how much they are hated. With owning a luxury hotel, she is able to live in a much safer and a better lifestyle.


The con's of Rachel exiling herself is that she doesn't get to see her family that often. Her family disperses when some of her sisters get married and chooses different lifestyles for themselves. Another con could be that she is living with the upper class who has as many prejudices and stereotypes as the ones in the other classes of society. Every social class has prejudices and stereotypes, it is very hard to avoid because it is the nature of every human being to be prejudice and to be stereotypical.


The experience that Rachel went through probably gave her a different perspective of life in the world and its entirety. She must have seen not only the difference between the social classes, but how people devote all their time to things they believe in and the experiences they have gone through. This illuminates the meaning of this work of literature because it allows the readers to have a one-on-one experience with each character. It allows the readers to see what the life is like when one has to go to a different country, live there, learn the culture, connect with the people, and continue her life from there.