In Book Five, Exodus,
one particular passage stuck out to me among the rest. Found in Orleanna
Price's chapter on page 385, she states: "Try to imagine what
never happened: our family without Africa, or the Africa that would have been
without us. Look at your sisters now. Lock, stock, and barrel, they’ve got
their own three ways to live with our history. Some can find it. Many more
never do. But which one among us is without sin? I can hardly think where to
cast my stones, so I just go on keening for my own losses, trying to wear the
marks of the boot on my back as gracefully as the Congo wears hers. "
This passage is a
prominent point within the novel itself as Orleanna takes this time to reflect
on her entire life -- family, religion, loss, among other things. When analyzing this
passage in depth, it can be noted that their are many layers to Orleanna's
words. The initial six words prior to the colon, for instance, are spoken
with great irony. Orleanna explains, "try to imagine what never
happened" to reflect the idea that it is impossible to think of a time
when certain events never happened. Once life-changing event occur -- a birth,
death, marriage, new home -- it is virtually impossible to view life
differently than how it could be without these key moments. Orleanna uses the
strong examples of "[her] family without Africa" or " the Africa
that would have been without [her family]." This line stuck out to me
because as a reader, the entire book would not exist if the Price family had
not gone to Africa. In addition, I found it fascinating to try and
"imagine what never happened," but I failed to do so because so many
things were left in the Congo: Ruth May, Father, hope, dreams, failures.
Africa distorted
the Price family in ways unimaginable. The loss of a child, is among the
primary examples of how Orleanna's world flipped upside down. Her family
without Africa would have been whole, with a fearless and naive daughter,
running around in Georiga. Instead, she was left behind, buried with many
other children in the Congo. Although it could never be confirmed, her family
would have a better chance at being together without Africa. Orleannas
daughters would be able to keep in touch, and grow up knowing that Mother and
Father are alive and well. Now, the daughters are spread apart, and left to
wonder if their own Father is alive or dead and where in the world their
siblings are. In addition, Leah would have never married Anatole, Rachel would
have never met Mr. Axelroot, and Adah would never had learned that she needed to
get away from her family and gain knowledge as a doctor.
Africa without the
Price family would too, be unimaginable. For instance, the demonstration garden
would never exist, children would not know the game "Mother May I,"
the Poisonwood tree would fail to represent a deeper religious meaning to
those in the Congo. Furthermore, African men and women would not have been
exposed to the sermon's of Nathan Price, and the idea of baptism's. As one can
see, Africa was introduced to several aspects of life, religion, love, and
culture.
In the second
sentence, Orleanna states, "Look at your sisters now. Lock, stock, and
barrel, they’ve got their own three ways to live with our history." In my
own interpretation, I believe that Mother meant that Rachel attempts to lock
out her past and forget the Congo ever happened. As she states " I have
put the past behind me and don't even think about it" (425). In my
opinion, Adah is the stock, where she uses her history as a stock and branches
into a new direction of finding her own identity. Africa was her stock and
without it she would not have the chance to realize that she needs to break
free of her confined walls and become someone she never thought she could be.
Leah, I believe is the barrel. She continues every January 17th to try and get
an "eye for an eye." She will kill a snake because a snake killed her
sister. She "rolls" on with life but continues to come full circle as
she finds revenge a necessary component of life.
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