Essay Assignment #1

“A place to call home”           

            It does not surprise me that the word home and house are synonyms, some might even say there is no difference between the two words. Indeed there is a difference; a home is a place in which you feel comfortable, happy, protected, and safe enough to be yourself. A house is simply a place in which a family resides. In the novel “The Poisonwood Bible” Orleanna Price considered her home to be in Georgia where her family was safe of certain diseases, educated, and comfortable. Moving to the Belgian Congo was an unhealable rift Orleanna Price had to endure.

            To begin with, Orleanna Price was first taken away from her home when she married Nathan Price. She was said to be a very loving, free spirited, and strong until marriage with Nathan came along. The new chapter of marriage really allowed her to experience a life away from what she knew. She no longer had a warm home, but a cold house. Her behavior changed from being young and confident to obedient and fearful. Her home was fumigated by Nathan’s stubborn opinions.

            The home of Orleanna Price did not only consist of the person she was when she was in it, but of its location as well. Being taken away from her home in which she had been raised and was raising her children was no easy task. Moving from Georgia to the Congo was just what Orleanna needed to break into pieces. It almost seemed like she had no home at all for she never felt comfort or safety in the Congo. The home that always stayed with her was her four daughters. This home is what enriched her life and allowed her to keep moving each day. The alienation that she felt every day was nothing, but a secret to the reader; a dark, dark secret.            

            There is only so much that can be taken before all is gone. The “home” of Orleanna Price was constantly being taken from and quickly disappeared from her life.  After Ruth May’s death her home is completely vanished from her sight. All of these experiences allowed the character to enrich herself with self-confidence and bravery. The solemn and secret way in which she dealt with her loss was what   made her experience illuminate the novel. It made the reader feel a certain degree of pity for the family and an unlikable feeling towards Nathan Price.

            The exile of the Price family really stripped Orleanna from her belongings and most of all a place she called home. Fortunately she was able to recover some of that warm home she once owned by returning to her hometown Georgia. The rift she went through brought heart ache, but also renewed a part of her home.