In the first half of “The Judges” in the novel The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver, I found Leah’s conversation with Anatole to be quite interesting and eye-catching. As the two exchanged dialogue, I found myself easily tying things back to current issues, issues that took place hundreds of years ago, and even events that only occured a mere fifty years ago.
To Leah, it seemed as if the Congo was always someone else’s property. It never seemed to be its own self, and that was expressed when she told Anatole, “...‘I thought the Congo belonged to Belgium.’” In response, Anatole said, “‘The Congo is the Congo’s and ever has been...Look at your neighbors. Did they ever belong to Belgium?’” (230). It was in that moment when Leah began to be more aware of the people around her. The families who worked closely and shared smiles and laughters; something she doesn’t seem to experience with her dysfunctional family. Once Leah takes in her surroundings, Anatole says, “‘That is Congo. Not minerals and glittering rocks with no hearts, these things that are traded behind our backs. The Congo is us’” (231).…show more content… There are times in which we dehumanize, even if done subconsciously, a whole group of people and believe they themselves--along with their belongings--are nothing more than for the common white man to claim. We all know that that has been a common mentality for people for centuries. Even today, that mentality still exists. If one isn’t white, then quite frankly, one doesn’t have the same rights. That is, if they even deem one to be worthy enough to have basic
