Appearance vs. Reality
Appearance vs. Reality is a major theme that is woven throughout the entire book. It is spoken of in the form of the appearance of innocence versus the reality of corruption; and the appearance of happiness versus the reality of misery.
The appearance of innocence is displayed by most of the main characters throughout then entire novel. In the very first chapter, Orleanna says:
"I want you to find me innocent" (Pg.8).
She wants to wear the mask of innocence before the reader makes a judgment about her, she wants the reader to judge her before knowing her wrong-doings.
Also, when the family first arrives in the Congo, they meet a man named Anatole, who when Leah first meets, she states:
"I'd almost forgotten, he still carried numerous weapons under that clean white shirt" (Pg.26).
The colour white represents innocence, therefore since he was wearing a white shirt, it concealed the fact that he had deadly weapons with the appearance that he is an innocent man.
The river is also personified as innocent:
"This forest obscures our view of the river, and any other distance" (Pg. 62).
The river is a not so pleasant place for the Congolese, due to a child that was attacked by an alligator years before. The forest obscures the view of the river by making it look beautiful, and hides the fact that it marks something so dark.
Nature is personified again, but this time it is shown that even it can be corrupted:
"Even a white flower opening up on a bush just looks doomed for this world" (Pg.50).
This is showing that nothing can stay innocent in the Congo, something will always corrupt it; Kingsolver chose to further the point of innocence being corrupted by labeling the flower as white, since white represents innocence.
A minor example of appearance versus reality is: the appearance of who people think you are versus the reality of your true identity is also shown in the novel
The major example of this is how being in the war changed Nathan, along with Orleanna: "I still appeared to be myself from the outside, I'm sure, just as he still looked like the same boy who'd gone off to war. But now every cell of me was married to Nathan's plan. His magnificent will." (Pg.198/199).
From the outside, Nathan and Orleanna appear to be the same people that they've always been, when in reality Nathan had turned into a power hungry baptist, and Orleanna into a passive wife.
Another example of this is when Adah states that she, along with another villager like themselves better in the dark:
"She liked herself best in the darkness, as do I" (Pg.295).
Darkness represents hiding the truth, therefore this quote states that they are concealing their true identity.
