13 Conversations About 1 Thing & the Poisonwood Bible

1769 Words8 Pages
Comparative Essay: 13 Conversations About One Thing and The Poisonwood Bible In the film 13 Conversations about One thing, and the novel The Poisonwood Bible, Troy and Leah, respectively, spend a majority of their lives strictly living by a code of conduct but later abandon their original beliefs when they recognize its flaws. Troy, a successful lawyer, is adamant about following the judicial system, similar to Leah who resolutely follows the commandments of the Bible, which her Father, the Reverend, enforces. Both are unwavering in their beliefs until they experience a life altering incident. Leah moves to the Congo and encounters a crisis of faith because she is shocked by the immense religious and cultural differences. Troy injures another human being and enters a state of disbelief as he begins to see the world form the perspective of a criminal rather than a lawyer. This causes them to question the way they once saw the world, and they begin to despise their old values. Overwhelmed with a new worldview, they must realize that it is impossible for them to go back and alter the past. Although Leah and Troy spent their lives living and learning commandments and laws, (respectively), drastic events in their lives shift the perspective of their initial belief system and their definition of right and wrong. For a vast majority of their lives, Leah and Troy believe that the laws and commandments they follow are absolute. Leah, along with her three other sisters, was brought out of her average, American lifestyle to live in the Congo, situated in the heart of Africa. Her father was sent on a mission to baptize the Congolese and lead them towards the true religion of Christianity. Leah believed in the bible and had faith in the laws her father constantly enforced. Of all of her sisters, Leah was the one who praised her father the most. She always wanted and

More about 13 Conversations About 1 Thing & the Poisonwood Bible

Open Document