The United in the Cold War the only political backdrop that States’ position isn’t contributes to its production of blatant propaganda. As mentioned in the previous section, rampant anti-Black sentiment in the United States during this time period also influences the condescension that the United States practices abroad. Ruth May, once again, lends us an understanding of this climate through her repetition and slightly misconstrued interpretation of language. She states the following about Black people in the United States: man in others’ “The church said from us and needs ought to keep to their own. Jimmy Crow says they’re different that, and he makes the (Kingsolver, 20). Ruth May exposes the connection Poisonwood laws” between domestic racism and international racism, demonstrating how political language has compelled her belief in racial inequality in the United States and, subsequently, how this translates into her attitude towards the Kilanga villagers. Her mistaken belief that “Jimmy the in the United States calls into question the authority of the true Crow” “makes laws” process and illustrates another linguistic dimension of the Jim Crow Laws: the name itself refers to a caricatured black character played by the blackface performer Thomas D. Rice in the 1800s (Woodward 7). Ruth political language demonstrates both the May’s confused rhetorical impact that segregationist discourse has in the United States and elsewhere, but also subtle attempt to subvert that particular discourse. Kingsolver’s Another politicized element of language repeatedly invoked throughout the novel is that of national language. Despite the fact that the Kilanga villagers speak Kikongo, Nathan insists on making his family members learn French to assist with communication in Kilanga. Leah says, . . Before we came to Africa he made us all sit down and study French, for the “. furtherance of our (Kingsolver, 42). comment presents a mission” Poisonwood Leah’s subconscious double entendre—she suggests that learning French will help the family
The United States’ position in the Cold War isn’t the only political backdrop that contributes to its production of blatant propaganda. As mentioned in the previous section, rampant anti-Black sentiment in the United States during this time period also influences the condescension that the United States practices abroad. Ruth May, once again, lends us an understanding of this climate through her repetition and slightly misconstrued interpretation of others’ language. She states the following about Black people in the United States: “The man in church said they’re different from us and needs ought to keep to their own. Jimmy Crow says that, and he makes the laws” (Kingsolver, Poisonwood 20). Ruth May exposes the connection between domestic racism and international racism, demonstrating how political language has compelled her belief in racial inequality in the United States and, subsequently, how this translates into her attitude towards the Kilanga villagers. Her mistaken belief that “Jimmy Crow” “makes the laws” in the United States calls into question the authority of the true process and illustrates another linguistic dimension of the Jim Crow Laws: the name itself refers to a caricatured black character played by the blackface performer Thomas D. Rice in the 1800s (Woodward 7). Ruth May’s confused political language demonstrates both the rhetorical impact that segregationist discourse has in the United States and elsewhere, but also Kingsolver’s subtle attempt to subvert that particular discourse. Another politicized element of language repeatedly invoked throughout the novel is that of national language. Despite the fact that the Kilanga villagers speak Kikongo, Nathan insists on making his family members learn French to assist with communication in Kilanga. Leah says, “. . . Before we came to Africa he made us all sit down and study French, for the furtherance of our mission” (Kingsolver, Poisonwood 42). Leah’s comment presents a subconscious double entendre—she suggests that learning French will help the family
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