In the book The Poisonwood Bible by Barbra Kingsolver, she uses motifs and themes such as issues related to Western control, religion, as well as death and the force of nature. In literature, authors use themes as a message to create points that will help complete the bigger picture. Kingsolver uses several themes to connect what she describes from her writing to the reader. These themes come in different variations, but help us understand the heart of the novel and understand the true meaning of what it is about. The entire book is practically based in the Congo of Africa. In Congo, there are problems of Western control and Western arrogance in the different countries. Kingsolver uses the theme of Western hegemony on both a political and local level. On a local level we see what Kingsolver is trying to do with religion among the population. Nathan, the father of the Price family, brings his family to Africa with the solemn goal of converting the natives of the Congo to Christianity. In reality, the natives base their religion and beliefs on what God will give them the most. They want their beliefs to be based on the ability of the gods to give them what they need. For example, they want more food and protection from disease. Nathan Price throughout the novel does not understand why the natives do not listen to him. He doesn't understand why they don't want their souls saved, but instead focus on the fact that surviving is more important to their culture than being saved and having the chance to live forever. there is the arrogance factor that plays a role throughout the book. We meet... middle of paper ...... outraged. The natives wanted to believe in their own beliefs, they wanted to believe in what was going to make them survive and that was not Nathan's way. Nature is depicted as wild and you cannot change something that is unpredictable. Change happens all the time, and we've seen it throughout history. Kingsolver clearly shows that these three themes are all linked, as it shows that Africa is a huge place where foreigners think they can just come in and make things happen however they want. Nothing ever stays the same for a long period of time because changes occur periodically. Oddly, the Congo destroyed the Price family. The white family thought they could just come and tell them they needed a change, but before they could, Congo ended up changing them before they had a chance to make an impact..