Essay #1

Dealing with a loss is tragic, but a person truly never knows what it feels like to lose a place they loved until they have left it behind. No matter what kind of loss it is whether it be losing a loved one, a special gift, or even something that has been misplaced for a little while. The thought of being without something that a person has been so accustomed to is scary. What can be even scarier is where that person goes from their past experience. Never knowing what's next can either be a frightening or exciting experience. Rachel in the Poisonwood Bible didn't cope well with leaving her homeland behind but it allowed her to endure new experiences that might have never happened, if she didn't leave the United States. Both the good and the bad times she encountered in the Congo, helped her find out what she was truly capable of.


The Congo for Rachel, at first, was one of the worst adventures she ever took part in. Even though in her hometown of Bethlehem, Georgia she wasn't the most liked person, but she was still pretty. In the Congo her looks didn't matter all that much in the sense of her physical features being a positive aspect. She stood out because she was a blonde hair blue eyed girl in her mid teenage years and was constantly being stared at with a questionable face. The native people had never met someone that looked like Rachel and she had never been a part of an environment where she stood out so much. Even at home she didn't get the best reputation at school because she was a preacher's daughter, but here she felt even more like an outsider. "I wept for the sins of all who had brought my family to this dread dark shore." Rachel felt as if she was being punished for something that forced her to this awful place, but actually she just wasn't used to it and she decided not to make the best out what she was given. She complained all the time and wished to go home and never took in the culture or people around her. She was always so negative and cared mainly for herself, but did mature throughout the process of living in a foreign land.


The idea of staying in an isolated place was unbearable for Rachel, especially because she didn't have all the material things that made her who she was. Those items such as a mirror, brush, and clothes may not be all that important when a person is in a foreign territory, but to Rachel those items weren't just things they were pieces of her. All those unnecessary items in a place where they weren't needed may seem ridiculous to a person that has been in a desolate place before, but for a person not knowing what to expect from a new home can be overwhelmed with the change. Her personality wasn't the best suited for the environment she was in, but it helped her stay true to who she was. "The only thing we had to fear was fear itself." She learned by being the oldest that somebody else isn't going to speak up for her, she had to do that on her own. When she talked back to her father and made her own decision to leave Kilanga. Through it all she decided to stay in Africa, but in the French Congo where she was a very successful hotel owner. She found a lifestyle that was perfectly suited for her with all the glitz and glamour she loved.


An unknown place where Rachel couldn't truly be herself, was one of the toughest things she ever had to go through in her life. Her experiences did teach her that anyone or anything can't change who a person is meant to be. Rachel found a version of herself that she liked and didn't let anything stop her for being her own person. She also learned that being pretty doesn't always come with perks, she struggled with her assets because she was seen as different and strange. Rachel wasn't always the smartest in the room but she knew who she was and that is a lot more than anyone can ever ask for. "This is the darkest Africa, where life roars by you like a flood and you grab whatever looks like it will hold you up again." She felt alone and exiled in a place that was an unknown setting to her, but it taught her to be herself. If a person stays true to themselves they will always have the confidence and independence that every person aspires to have, and that is a blessing that not everyone receives.