The Poisonwood Bible Book 1, Chapter 7 Summary

How It All Goes Down

Ruth May

  • Ruth May doesn't understand why hungry people have big bellies.
  • She tells us about the people in the village—Tata Undo, the chief (whose real name is Tata Ndu); Mama Mwanza, who has no legs and walks on her hands; Mama Nguza with a giant goiter; and so on.
  • Mother and Father get into an argument because he believes that the body is a temple and they should be healed. Mother believes that they just have a different view of their bodies: "Where you'd be wearing out the knees of your trousers, sir, they just have to go ahead and wear out their knees!" (1.7.16). Hm, good point.