Mika Harrison

Honors
Curmano
15 January 2015

In the book The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver the author develops the
theme of guilt by using characterization to create complex characters, a tense mood, and use an
edgy setting. The characterization of the story helps develop the theme because the guilt of the
past takes over most of the main characters lives mainly over the two, Orleanna and Leah.
Orleanna and Leah have a lot of guilt from their past experiences from Africa and Georgia. Leah
is just like her mother; they both have hard times forgetting the past and often blame themselves
for the pain of other people. The characterizations of the two are major contributors to the theme
because of the dynamic and round characterization and the first person narration of the story. The
dynamic and round characterization of most of the characters in the book put more depth to the
theme of guilt. The first person narration of the story (Besides Nathan Price) gives more detail
about the feeling of guilt since the characters are narrating their own lives. The mood and the
setting give more description of what it is like to be the character in the story and how it is
possible to let guilt run their lives. The African setting of the harsh times and rough landscape
allows the characters to experience bad things in which guilt comes. The mood of the book is
very tense and mainly gloomy which adds to the depressed guilty characters. Throughout the
entire book the dynamic, round characterization, the tense mood, and the depressed setting
describe the theme of guilt and the power it can have over people.