Notes

Communion is very significant in portraying elements in The Poisonwood Bible. Communion is not only important but also necessary in order to accurately describe Congolese life. It is easy to relate to acts of consumption because one needs sustenance to stay alive. All living organisms have to consume and be consumed in order to survive. Kingsolver thoroughly highlights acts of Communion in the Congo. Communion exists to give further insight on the characters, how they act and how they think. The act of eating together, sharing a bond of creation and development conveys a deeper meaning and can reveal the character in a way that is truly unique. Communion is the ultimate portrayal of an intimacy between life and death itself.

The first scene of Communion occurs when the Price family have just arrived in the Congo. Nathan welcomes all the families together by having a massive dinner. Rachel is disgusted by the food that the Kilangans eat. In How to Read Literature Like a Professor, anytime people come together to share food, they create a community with each other. Rachel expresses her disgust of the goat meat by not swallowing and, in doing so, she reveals that she doesn’t want to be a part of the Congolese culture. “I could still choke on the memory of goat meat if I thought about it. I never swallowed it. I carried one bite in my mouth all evening and spat it out behind the outhouse when we went home.” Communion is used as a barrier between Rachel and the Congolese people. The differences in the perceptions of Communion is