How do malapropisms affect Rachel’s character?
Rachel has the personality of a typical teenage girl. She resents her parents and is not the sharpest pencil in the box. To make up for her reputation of being a typical teenage girl with the average knowledge of one also, Rachel uses multiple malapropisms throughout The Poisonwood Bible to make herself look smarter than she actually is. Page 269 Rachel says, “I’m willing to be a philanderist for peace.” This is ironic because a philanthropist is a very powerful person that gives a lot to others. Rachel, on the other hand, does not give to others and it is ironic that she is trying to be intelligent with this malapropism and says she wants to give to peace.
On page 269 also Rachel try to make a reference to the short story Gulliver’s Travels. “Like Gulliver among the Lepidopterans” Rachel explains her feelings for the congo people. By using this word which deals with insects instead of a type of people Rachel intentionally displays her true feelings for the people that live there.
When Rachel is having a conversation about her mother she says she wants to “remain anomalous.” By saying this Rachel uses this word which means deviant instead of anonymous. This further concludes her reputation for being a deviant teenage girl. All of these malapropisms affect Rachel’s character because the make her seem like someone she is not. She uses different words and phrases to present a different character than she actually is.
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