The Poisonwood Bible: Book 2, Chapter 14 Summary & Analysis

During the first months in Africa, the Price family was forced to learn the names of all the plants and trees, Leah remembers. Leah was especially interested in learning the new words. The daughters learned from books left behind by Brother Fowles. They also became closer with their neighbors, such as Mama Mwanza. They also make friends with Tata Boanda, an old fisherman who is extremely thin. Leah knows that Boanda is a “sinner,” because he has two wives, something Leah has always been told is a horrible sin. And yet Boanda’s wives don’t seem “fazed”—on the contrary, Leah thinks, they seem perfectly satisfied.

Leah is now 15 years old, and continues to immerse herself in African life and culture. She’s intimidated by the fact that young children speak the language better than she does. She also thinks that the villagers are interested in her family in the same way they’d be interested in a fire or a car crash.

Orleanna insists that Adah and Leah continue with their schoolwork, even though there’s no school for them to attend. Every morning, they study hard until lunch. Leah continues to envy the Congolese villagers for their knowledge of their own language. She also wishes she had friends to play with. Eventually, Ruth May finds other children to play with. Leah notes that Ruth May is amazingly strong-willed for a 5-year-old.

Leah is more interested in playing outside than her siblings. She wishes she could spend more time with Nathan, but instead, she goes hunting for Pygmies (small birds) and feeds Methuselah. She notices that most of the girls her age in the community already have children, and when Leah looks into their eyes, she sees deep maturity. The other girls call Leah “Beelezi”—Belgian. This makes Leah laugh.

Leah describes the big outdoor markets in the village. There’s a hairdresser named Mama Lo who spends most of her time there, selling palm oil and giving haircuts to little boys. Lo is highly industrious, perhaps because she doesn’t have a husband. Leah also notices Eeben Axelroot, who lives in a shack far from the center of the village. Adah and Leah spy on Axelroot together, and they hear that he owns a radio.

One day, Leah returns from spying on Axelroot to find Ruth May playing “Mother May I?” (a children’s game) with a group of young Congolese children. One of the boys playing the game is named Pascal, who’s about 8 or 9. Pascal, Leah explains, is her first real friend in the Congo. Pascal tells Leah about the trees and plants in the area, including the poisonwood tree, which has smooth, shiny leaves. In return, Leah teaches Pascal some English words. Pascal seems more interested in Rachel’s hair and Timex watch than in learning another language. But he’s a warm friend to Leah, and gives her presents, such as sugarcane.

It occurs to Leah that Pascal lives in another world from herself. He’s never really had a childhood; in fact, he’s been doing grown-up work for years now. Leah feels angry with Nathan for raising her as a “white preacher’s child from Georgia.” She’s embarrassed for being so pampered and privileged.