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- Kingsolver makes Ruth May racist in the novel to portray the racial tension in southern America through her racist comments. Even though she is only five, her racial comments are taught from other people, especially her family who seem extremely culturally ignorant. She is only a blond hair and blue eyed girl who does not seem to adapt to the dark skin people around her in the Congo. Racism is not something you are born with, but something you are taught.

-  I feel like Nathan Price had PTSD after the war. He was blind to everyone's feelings around him. His emotions hide behind his religion and his desire to change the people of the Congo.

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I believe one of the many themes Kingsolver was trying to get across throughout the entire novel was this: one thing that is good for one group of people may not be good for the next group. She makes this prevalent through the backfiring of the mission of the Price family. They go to Africa with this mindset of cultural arrogance. Thinking they need to "fix" the Africans; so they carry with them cultural baggage that ends up hindering them. In the beginning of the novel, they refuse to assimilate to the African culture which leads to their ultimate demise. They believed that they were going over to provide aid and salvation, but really the Africans help them. The Demonstration Garden is a prime example. Kingsolver reveals to us the fault in their perspective. The Price family compare America to Africa, which is not fair. The African people are revealed to be very developed but in their own way. I believe Kingsolver presents this idea to us to exploit a common pretentious attitude of people from developed countries view of developing countries.

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Rachel's a child of the sixties. She cares about her hair, herself, and her hair, not necessarily in that order. With her "sapphire-blue eyes, white eyelashes, and platinum blonde hair that falls to her waist she sounds more like the 7th brady child than someone who's going to adapt well to life in the Congo.
Aaaand, she doesn't. Being the whitest white girl in the Congo, Rachel doesn't really take to anyone of a darker race. Adah says, "My sisters all seemed to determined to fly, or in Rachel's case, to ascend to heaven directly through a superior mind-set". Rachel thinks she, and the rest of the white race, are totally superior. As an adult, she even looks to South Africa as a model of African race relations.

Rachel is completely oblivious to pretty much everything. Living in South Africa, she says that understanding other cultures is the key to life there: "That is one part of living here. Being understanding of the differences" This coming from one of the least understanding characters in the book. And her actions at The Equatorial, the hotel she inherits from one of her husbands, are racist at best, repugnant at worst.

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Ruth May is a Lorax. She speaks for the trees.The Lorax represents environmental conservation, but ultimately wasn't successful in its defense of the trees, kind of like Belgium intended to 'help' the Congolese, and failed.

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Kingslayer establishes  Ruth May's character to represent the cultural superiority of America through unfiltered racist comments . Her death represents the demolish of that frame of mind.
-Rachel similar to Ruth May's unfiltered comments, though drive from optional ignorance. Unlike Ruth May's due to the enclosed exposure of any other set of mind of those close to her.
- Nathan Price silent character, was a cold two dimensional character. I think he wasn't given a voice to make the reader have the same perspective of him as the rest of the characters. As an illusion of how everyone else sees America. Since Nathan was a big symbol of America.
Rachel's willful ignorance, and selfish thinking expose her character. Her narration of the book are very self absorbed and racist. Unlike Leah she never embraces the Congolese culture, and stays blissfully ignorant throughout her adult life too.

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- Rachel was a selfish person, her sisters would talk and she would think of only herself. The sisters are all very different. Ruth May was young and not really exposed to the world, only what she heard from her family. This is most likely why she said racial comments and didn't really know the meaning behind them. I think the author decided to make Ruth May this way to reflect how children really are a reflection of what they hear from their parents. Division is not something that people are born knowing it is something learned over time.

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-I think Kingsolver establishes Ruth May as the youngest character and also a charter who has racist comments for a certain reason that could be debatable. Personally, i think that the author does this to show how the structure of the family and environment has impacted the youngest character. In modern day, and in general, children's thoughts are formed from the influence of the kids they are around in addition to what the parents think and teach the child. She is only 5 years old, which means that she has yet had time to really form opinions of her own and personally classify what she things is right and wrong. Since she is only 5 years old and surrounded by an African American community, in which the Price family feels superior; of course, Ruth May, a young character would just go along with what her parents and family saws without knowing the meaning behind the words.

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-I think one of Barbara Kingsolver's purposes in writing Ruth May the way she did is to show the different outcomes that are possible for children that grow up in racist households. Each of the three older Price daughters are the possible outcomes, they all started off just like Ruth May, but then as they grew up they decided their own paths whether it be continuing  to be racist like Rachel, or choosing to try and combat racism like Leah and Adah did.

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-Ada's speaking anomaly causes readers to focus in on her true meaning and the ideas that she is trying to portray.
She occasionally spoke in a backwards manner, which, coincidentally, parallels with her views, which are considered backwards or opposite of the views expressed from the rest of her family.
-Ruth May is considered a racially controversial character due to her somewhat racist comments. However, this is not her fault for she is only 5 years old and merely restates and believes everything her peers and family tell her. She is simply repeating the views and sayings of her father and family.
-Rachel is considered a selfish and conceited character for she only thinks of her self and how a situation or behavior would benefit herself rather than how it would benefit others and her family.
-Leah attempted to integrate herself to the culture, however, she was told that she wasn't able to be "one of them" and she would never be able to fit in.

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> Ruth May has grown up under a society of racial tension which is shown through her being 5 years old and making racist comments. These ideas couldn't possibly be her own, it's just all she knows. We have more tolerance with her comments because of that. We are less tolerant with Rachel because she's old enough to know.
> Rachel uses malapropism, is ignorant, (chooses to be ignorant), and is selfish. She is greatly concerned with her beauty and puts it at a higher level of importance than other things.
> A big concept in the novel is guilt.
> The mass baptism at the funeral
> Novel is of course centered around religion
> Nathan is a character that can represent more than religious things. He can be a representation of humans that try to force their ways upon people who have their own ways that aren't necessarily wrong or bad. He also can be seen as representing America.

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- Due to Ruth May learning "racist behavior/comments" from her father, she can be a questionable character. Kingsolver may have created this character to show the reader how kids at a young age can be a reflection of their parents and their opinions, so you can't put the child at fault.
*Sink of Mayo*
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