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 Sins of the Father 
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"But who, if not me, and for how many generations must we be forgiven by our children?" spoke Leah. Her righteousness to me was aimed at many things but also implied that her sister Rachel was wrong for forgiving herself. Perhaps she (Leah) could not forgive herself (and certainly not her father). Guilt will eat us alive. At some point we have to move on with our life if we are to experience any sort of happiness. Sometimes I read passages or entire books that focus on unrelenting guilt and I wonder, "where does it end?" Leah was on a one person crusade to right the wrongs of her entire family. There is a sadness in that that I can only explain as unfortunate. It is unfortunate that she chose to bear that cross because it seems she cannot be happy.

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Kristine Kelley


Mon Apr 18, 2005 5:04 pm
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Kristine,
You bring up a great point about how she is carrying the guilt for the entire family. You helped me make the connection between why the girls all chose such different paths, especially Leah. I was wondering, do you believe that Leah had anything in her life to be happy about? Her kids, husband, Africa?

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Andy Palmer


Mon Apr 18, 2005 8:43 pm
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Andy,
I think Leah had many things she "could" have been happy about but she seems so consumed by the wrongs. In a way she has put the social problems of Africa before what may have been a better life for her children: The same as her father.

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Kristine Kelley


Mon Apr 25, 2005 5:49 pm
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I am so glad you said this, "the same as her father." She still retains so much of him in herself. Do you think she is healthier than he is, though?

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Gayle Turner


Tue Apr 26, 2005 11:01 am
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What an interesting thought. I see Leah as being not as abusive as her father. I never really thought of them having similar traits until Kristen brought it up. However, her staying in that environment implies she is more like her father than I realized.

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Kathy Wagoner


Tue Apr 26, 2005 12:52 pm
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Kristine,
I'm not sure Leah is like her father. She is simply clinging to whatever safety net she can. Her husband, children, Africa, are all familiar and it is what Leah is comfortable with.
John

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John Parsons


Tue Apr 26, 2005 2:41 pm
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John, Leah need a place of comfort in her life. I thinks she creates this by escaping the thoughts of her old one. Marry a contraversial person and develop into a new following to replace the old.


Wed Apr 27, 2005 8:49 am
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I also think that it is interesting that her time in Africa became permanent like her fathers, but it is more healthy than Nathan's. She is grounded in her fight, and seems to be more rational. Like her father though, she has a hard time understanding the choices made by her mother and siblings.

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out the door and running...

oh by the way, this is ben!


Fri Apr 29, 2005 5:54 pm
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Kristine,
I see what you are saying about her not wanting to be happy because of the father and the burden he left her and the other children to deal with. However, when I was reading the book I just never got the feeling she was unhappy with her life. She does retain many of his qualities, I just felt that the good out weighed the bad.

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Andy Palmer


Fri Apr 29, 2005 7:08 pm
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The one charasteristic that sets Leah apart from her father is her ability to have and nurture relationships with those around her.

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Sandra Burchette


Sat Apr 30, 2005 9:32 am
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I agree with John in that I don't see Leah being like her father. Instead I see her as trying to find her place in a society that can not accept her as one of their own. She wants so much to be a part of them as she has no differences from them, however the people of Africa does and will always see her as an outsider.

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Phil Thompson


Sat Apr 30, 2005 11:12 am
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Andy, I never saw her as unhappy either. Although she revered her father and wanted to please him, it didn't seem to be the driving force in her life, just something else that she did.

I find it interesting how each of us identifies with a different character as the protagonist in the novel...I wonder what that says about our individual personalities. Maybe someone should generate a personality test based on the characters in the Poisnwood Bible. We could sell the idea to Kingsolver and make a million bucks. Who's in???

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out the door and running...

oh by the way, this is ben!


Sat Apr 30, 2005 12:35 pm
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