How does Kingsolver portray the Genesis setting in The Poisonwood Bible?

When the Price family first arrives in the Congo, it is presented as a totally foreign land. It is completely unlike their home in America in every conceivable way. In the prologue, titled "Genesis," Orleanna gives the reader the impression of a lush wilderness. The reader is asked to imagine a thick forest where "Every space is filled with life" (5). There are monkeys, snakes, ants, and massive plants filling every space. She describes animals, large and small, and the profusion of plants. This is presented as a pristine land with obvious allusions to the Garden of Eden. It even seems peaceful at first glance. There is a special quiet magic in Orleanna's encounter with an okapi.

Despite its appearances, this is not a pristine land. Orleanna describes how it has been ravaged by outsiders. The very richness of this place has made it a place of death and despair as it became something for outsiders to covet. Even the Garden of Eden was not a perfect paradise. As there was a serpent in Eden, there are snakes in the Congo. Sure, there are literal snakes. These are dangerous creatures, as the reader learns later in the story. However, there are figurative snakes as well. This chapter introduces the reader to the idea explorers and conquerors exploited this beautiful land and left it a broken place.

In The Poisonwood Bible, how are characters portrayed in Genesis?

Genesis is the prologue of The Poisonwood Bible. It introduces the reader to the general setting and background of the story as well to its major characters, the Price family. It is told from Orleanna's point of view. While we get to know much more about the characters as the story progresses, Orleanna briefly introduces us to them in the book's opening pages.

It starts with physical descriptions, such as Orleanna's dark hair and her false-pearl earings. It also outlines Ruth May and Rachel with their blonde hair, and the twins, Adah and Leah, with their brown hair. Orleanna presents herself as the graceful leader of her girls. She is devoted to her family, and even to her husband, who fails to truly see her.

As the prologue continues, the reader becomes aware that it is the reflections of Orleanna long after the events of the novel take place. She is is a guilt-ridden woman who carries the burdens of her past mistakes. She regrets the lack of agency that she had in her earlier years and begs for forgiveness.

There is little in the way of detailed descriptions about the other members of the family. The descriptions are vague, as the reader will become better acquainted with the Price family over the course of the text. Orleanna alludes that Ruth May and Rachel were distant from her that and Adaha and Leah possessed an intellect and ability for deep introspection.

Nathan Price is described as being extremely self-assured. He is too selfish and imperious to ever love anyone else. As a confident preacher, he sees little beyond his devotion to his religious mission.