View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. When did Nathan start hitting Orleanna?

2. Before the Prices came to the Congo, which daughter was often stared at?

3. What does Nelson tell Ruth May to say instead of "snake?"

4. What does Adah think that the church in Kilanga has become?

5. How many pounds of luggage per person were the Prices allowed on the plane?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens in Book 2 that makes the Price family and the villagers think that Adah has died? What really happened?

2. What happens to Ruth May in Book 2 as she is spying on the Jimmy Crow boys? What does she discover in the events that take place?

3. What does the family bring with them to the Congo? What troubles did they have in getting these things to the Congo? How did they solve the problem?

4. How does the relationship between the Price girls and the village children change in Book 2?

5. Why does Adah think that church should be called the "Church of the Lost Cause." What does Nathan think about this?

6. Why do the Underdowns come to Kilanga? How does Nathan respond?

7. What happens when the family first arrives in the Congo?

8. Who does Ruth May think the Congolese are in Book 1? Who are the white people that Ruth May says are now in the Congo?

9. In Book 1, Rachel feels like the family is "in for it" in the Congo. Why do you think that Rachel feels this way?

10. How does Orleanna survive in the Congo amid all the hard work?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Why do you think Kingsolver chose the name "The Poisonwood Bible" for the novel? What does the poisonwood tree represent in the novel? What might be an alternative title for the novel that captures what is it about?

Essay Topic 2

The Prices change during their time in the Congo. Discuss how the changes affect the family, including:

1) Which character do you think changed the most? How did this character change?

2) Which character changed the least? In what ways does the character remain the same?

3) How does the family itself change from the beginning of the book to the end?

Essay Topic 3

Kingsolver brings the United States into the novel in several different ways. What role did the United States play in the Congo at a national and village level? What does Kingsolver seem to think about the United States' role in the events in the Congo? Do you think the United States should have been involved in the Congo?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,249 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample