Grace 

English 

Mrkingss. Bump 

10-10-20 

Leah’s Character Analysis 

The Poisonwood Bible​ is a historical fiction novel written in 1998 by Barbara Kingsolver. 

It is about a Southern family in the 1950s who go on a missionary trip to the Congo. Leah Price 

​ eah is the daughter of Preacher Nathan 

is one of the main characters of ​The Poisonwood Bible. L

Price and Orleanna Price. She is the “middle child” of the family as well as her twin sister Adah. 

Leah is a very intelligent, energetic teenager who is caring towards others. From the beginning of 

the novel to the second portion, Leah has proven to be a round and dynamic character. Many 

details are known about her, including her personality, opinions, and attitude. According to what 

has been shown, she is on the journey of becoming dynamic as a character. .  

One of the reasons Leah is a round character is because she is one of the main characters 

of the book. There are four main characters in the book who tell the story, and she is a prominent 

voice. Through the first-person narration the reader gets to see her thoughts and opinions on 

things occurring in the Congo. It is proven that Leah is energetic and understanding. From the 

book we can see that Leah is an overall happy, expressive person. Her sister Adah describes her 

attitude in a sarcastic manner. “ ‘It’s a place right out of a story book,’ my twin sister, Leah, 

loves to declare in response, opening her eyes wide and sticking her short hair behind her ears as 
if to see every little thing oh so much better (Kingsolover 32).” Leah has this attitude in contrast 

with her other siblings. We also see this energy through her “tom-boyish” attributes. “Mother 

claims I have the manners of a wild animal myself, as I am a tomboy” (Kingsolover 64). “I 

could climb up trees just like the boys…”. (107). This is unique about Leah as none of her other 

siblings seem to take joy in nature as much as she. Another thing known about Leah is that she is 

more understanding about the people in the Congo. Instead of being judgemental towards their 

particular customs, she understands that the U.S is not the center of the world, and other cultures 

have different practices. For example, many people in the Congo wear clothes that would not be 

seen as “normal” or “fitting” in America. While Rachel’s lack of awareness might cause her to 

judge them and comment on their “bad fashion sense”, Leah sees things differently. “...how 

would he or anyone here even know it’s a lady’s sweater? How do ​I ​even know?”(Kingsolover 

102). This also demonstrates that she questions herself which is a key to having an open-mind.  

Leah’s faith and relationship with God is a prominent part of her storyline. It is very 

important to her and she speaks on it in the majority of her chapters. “I vowed to work hard for 

His favor, surpassing all others in my devotion to turn the soil for God’s great Glory”, 

(Kingsolover 38). “Now I’m fifteen and must think about maturing into a christain 

lady.”(Kingsolover 103). She internalizes the biblical words she hears from her Father and seeks 

to learn from them. One of the reasons she wants to deepen her faith is because of her crave for 

her Father’s love. “I know that someday, when I’ve grown large enough in the Holy Spirit, I will 

have his wholehearted approval, (Kingsolover 42). This demonstrates that Leah’s faith is tied in 

with her relationship with her Father. One way Leah’s intelligence is demonstrated is through her 

sister Adah. “Leah’s and my status as exceptional children…..Miss Leep, who announced that 
we were ​gifted”​ (Kingsolover 56). Leah’s intelligence and yearn for learning is also demonstrated 

by her openness to the Congo. She seeks to learn things special about Kilanga. “I copy down 

each new word in my school notebook and vow to remember it always….” (Kingsolover 101). 

Leah also makes a friend who teaches her words in Kikongo, which she enjoys because she 

wants to better understand this new world in which she lives. “Pascal telling me the names for 

everything we saw and some things I hadn’t even thought to look for”(Kingsolover 112).  

It is now apparent that Leah is beginning to change into a dynamic character. In the last 

few chapters there is a visible shift in her attitude towards her belief in her Father. In the 

beginning of the book she treats her Father as if he is the most brilliant person in the world. She 

takes all of his words and actions for truth, and loves him unconditionally, even though he might 

not reciprocate those feelings . We can see this through the conversations they have together. “I 

know he must find me tiresom, yet still I like spending time with my Father very much more 

than I like doing anything else”, (Kingsolover 36). She also never misses the chance to praise 

her Father even when he is in the wrong. She has a tendency to ignore his weaknesses and put 

her focus on other things. “Some people might find him overly stern and frightening, but that is 

only because he was gifted with such keen judgement and purity of heart….And his wisdom is 

great” (Kingsolover 42). Part of her adoration for her Father comes from the religious aspect, as 

she feels his words on Christianity help her to grow into a better person. Later on in the second 

part of the book, there is a passage from Leah that shows an attitude not seen before towards her 

Father. “For the first time ever I felt a stirring of anger against my father for making me a white 

preacher’s child from Georgia”, (Kingsolover 115). This shows that Leah is starting to blame her 

father for the things she doesn’t understand or know of.  

  

Overall Leah Price is a round and dynamic character. We can see this through the 

narration of ​The Poisonwood Bible​. We see many aspects of Leah’s life as well as her attitudes 

and personalities. It is demonstrated that she is an energetic, smart, faithful, and understanding 

person because of her actions, interactions with others, and thoughts. The book also shows the 

special exchanges shared between Leah and her Father. Leah is as well somewhat dynamic, in 

that we see change rising within her in regards to beliefs and her relationship with her Father. 

Reading a section of a book does not allow you to determine the total development of a 

character, but we can predict future development through her statements and actions.  

 
 

Bibliography 

Kingslover, Barbara. ​The Poisonwood Bible​. National Library Service for the Blind and 

Physically Handicapped, Library of Congress, 1999.