Essay 1

Edward Said, a cultural critic, once said that exile can be a positive and negative experience in which one will suffer from feelings of isolation, but also benefit from the life lessons of adaptation and acceptance. Although exile provokes alienation and a feeling of being out of place, it also provides a sense of learning and accommodation. Being away from what was normal in one's life can be hard to adjust to, but in the end be something you cherish and feel tied to. Exile becomes harder to face when one is thought to be judged, but in reality the one judging and forming stereotypes is the one in exile. Rachael Price, from The Poisonwood Bible, is a character that has an eye to eye battle with exile. Although she suffers from the shock of the African's at her appearance and the isolation of being away from her friends, she learns to value her time and accomplishments as well as find comfort in her surrounding friends in Africa.

In the first few months Rachael suffers from loneliness and depression because she wishes to return to her routine as a teenager in America. In the beginning Rachael is focused on what to bring to the Congo and people coming to see her mirror, which is so foreign to them. Rachael feels like a lonely fish swimming in a shark tank when all of the African children come up to her and pull her "white" hair, which was so admired in America. Rachael choses to stay in the house and not interact with anyone the first few months in the Congo. She believes her family has done something so horrible to her and refuses to adapt to the lifestyle of the African people. Rachael does not attempt to interact with the African people and stays set in her personal ways. A time of serious alienation for Rachael is when she cannot blow out a candle or even have a birthday cake for her sweet sixteen birthday. She wanted this day to be very extravagant and exciting, but it turns out to what seemed to be just another normal day. Rachael feels extremely lonely and only wishes to be back with her friends during the first part of her journey to Africa. 

As the story evolves, Rachael soon finds value in her trip and chooses to change her ways. A while after their arrival, Rachael is faced with a very important responsibility when her mother and little sister become very ill. She is now expected to put food on the table for her and her family. Rachael realizes how difficult it is to survive in the Congo and begins to appreciate her mother and mama Tataba for providing for them with essentially no father figure. She also begins to respect the people of Africa who work day in and day out to provide for their family no matter how difficult it may be. Rachael decides to stay in Africa because she fears returning to a normal society and being judged. Although she moves to a more civilized area of Africa she begins to adapt and accept the Africans for who they are. She ends up running a hotel and believes strongly in costumer service. Rachael spends countless nights with her costumers and values what she has done in Africa. Throughout Rachael's voyage she changes perspectives from one to ignorance to one of respect and acceptance. 

Rachael Price experiences an event in which she goes through times of extreme alienation, but in the end benefits from the experience in so many ways. From looking at Africa and making stereotypes herself to living in Africa and finding comfort. Rachael goes through very difficult patches in which her only wish and desire is to return to the easy life of America, but she then breaks through her shell and connects with those that seem so strange to her. The voyage to Africa changed Rachael in a sense that she still wished to live in a similar way to what she knew, but now she accepted and sometimes admired those who lived in the difficult areas such as the Congo. She goes from dreaming of leaving Africa the minute she arrived, to never imaging leaving such a place. A place she now calls home.


- Do I have a clear thesis? sometimes I do not create a good thesis!
- Do I present good ideas and explain them throughout my essay?
- Was my concluding paragraph to weak?