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Mitchell Wilkins Mrs. Carter AP Language and Composition 18 March 2014

he Contrast !et"een the Poison"ood and the #ol$ %i!le
he Poison"ood %i!le and the #ol$ %i!le ha&e similarities !et"een them. %esides the
o!&ious 'act that the$ share similar names( the$ are !oth made up o' a similar structure. he
'ictional no&el and the scriptures in he %i!le are !roken up into multiple sections and told 'rom
di''erent accounts( !oth "orking together to con&e$ the o&erall message. While the no&el !$
%ar!ara )ingsol&er is a tale o' a missionar$*s 'amil$ and their attempt to con&ert as man$ people
as possi!le( and the %i!le is composed o' the accounts o' the prophets o' +esus Christ and the
e,pansion o' #is gospel( !oth are a!undant "ith pain and su''ering. -t is through these
mis'ortunes that the central theme o' guidance and 'orgi&eness 'rom the Lord is de&eloped.
With the Poison"ood %i!le !eing composed o' separate !ooks. /enesis( he 0e&elation(
he +udges( and 1,odus( it is made clear that the Poison"ood %i!le has a strong correlation to
the "ritings in the %i!le. he characters "ithin the no&el ha&e a si2ea!le age and personalit$
range( including a $oung girl "ith the innocence o' $outh to an older man distraught "ith sin
attempting to change his sal&ation !$ doing "hat he percei&es as good "orks. hroughout the
no&el( each character tells the stor$ di''erentl$( !ut the colla!oration !et"een them all allo"s the
reader to understand the central idea. there "ill al"a$s !e people "ho su''er and are in ph$sical
pain( !ut the outlook those indi&iduals ha&e on li'e is "hat makes the di''erence. 3athan is
'inanciall$ much more sta!le than the rest o' the people in the Congo( !ut his mindset acts as a
mental !arrier !et"een him and happiness. #is cra&ing to recei&e 'orgi&eness 'rom the Lord
"ithout trul$ understanding "hat that means in'luences the li&es o' those around him( told !$ the
rest o' his 'amil$.
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he scriptures are 'ull o' instances "here indi&iduals su''er( !ut in most cases it is a
result o' sin( and the prophets o' Christ are the ones to turn the 'ocus o' su''ering into
'orgi&eness( and e&entual sal&ation. -n this case( the prophets ha&e the same role o' the man$
narrators o' the Poison"ood %i!le . he$ all tell the tales o' the gospel and interpret the !lessings
on 1arth di''erentl$( !ut together the reader is a!le to understand the o&erall message that
through trials and stri'e( the Lord is a!le to help i' the people simpl$ ask 'or it. +ust as each
prophet accounts o' the times di''erentl$( so do the characters o' the Poison"ood %i!le(
portra$ing the same e&ents in di''erent manners.
While the diction used in each "riting is di''erent( the$ are similar in that the$ are !oth
accounts o' ho" religion can !e !oth trou!lesome and re"arding. he Poison"ood %i!le is
!ased on the misunderstanding and misinterpretation o' the acceptance o' Christ( and as a result
3athan Price ultimatel$ su''ers and ne&er recei&es happiness. As a contrast( the %i!le talks o' the
people "ho understand their mistakes and mis'ortunes( and turn their grie' into acceptance o' the
Lord( resulting in the happiness and sal&ation that 'ollo"s.