The Love and the Loveless

In the book Poisonwood Bible, Leah, Adah, Ruth May, and Rachael are all very different to each other. Also, through the course of time in the Congo, they each start to develop their own sense and understanding of the situation around them and who they are. In The Judges, we see a drastic change in these four characters. I believe that this chapter is the turning point of the book, where perceptions are changed and the past is left behind. The four Price girls from Bethlehem, Georgia have begun down a new road, each with its own unique destination.

Leah
Here's a quote from the book that sums up a lot of what I wanted to say about Leah's changing understanding of things: "I decided right then to stop pretending I knew more than I did. I would be myself, Leah Price, eager to learn all there is to know. Watching my father, I've seen how you can't learn anything when you're trying to look like the smartest person in the room." (229). After realizing her father's ignorance to everything around him, the environment, the language, his own family, and the surrounding community, she begins to move away from her father. As she starts to move away, she questions all of what she used to see and believe in her father, coming up with conclusions based on her own observations and not just blind obedience. It is almost as if she starts learning anew, looking at information given to her from a different view point. Like a new, fresh sheet of paper, waiting for a pencil to write upon its surface. Leah also takes note of what's happening outside of their little village in the Congo around them and starts sinking her teeth into information about the independence. She becomes interested and concerned about what is happening in the Congo.
Also, she begins to see an interest in Anatole. And at the end of The Judges, she says "I love you, Anatole." (311), showing how much she has changed.

Adah
Through out this section of the Poisonwood Bible, Adah, for the most part, stays the same in her perspective of things and her curiosity. It is just at the end of The Judges when she says: "That night marks my life's dark center, the moment when groing up ended and the long downward slope toward death began. The wonder to me now is that I thought myself worth saving." (306). This quote come from when Adah's own mother leaves Adah behind for the sake of Ruth May, who at the time was perfectly capable of running and walking on her own at a fast pace. Adah's once innocent view of the world around her and how everyone viewed her is
changed. She comes to the conclusion that people around her, even those closest to her, will look down upon her just because she is mute and crooked. And even though she might be a genius, nobody will really respect her because she can't talk and she walks funny. In a way, this fact depresses her a little bit. I wonder how this sudden change at the end of The Judges will affect Adah's narration of the story as we read on ward.