Barbara Kingsolver Biography Books Facts
Kingsolver, Barbara (1955- ), American writer, best known for her ability to weave together the lives of middle-class characters with controversial political themes. Her novels—notably […]
Animal Dreams
Introduction
In Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal Dreams (1990), Codi Noline, a young woman unsure of her purpose in life, returns to her hometown of Grace, Arizona, to […]
Barbara Kingsolver
Barbara Kingsolver was born on April 5, 1955, in Annapolis, Maryland, to Virginia and Wendell R. Kingsolver. Her father was a country physician, and Kingsolver […]
Plot Summary
A Chapter 1 In the first chapter of Animal Dreams, Dr. Homer Noline gazes on his two young daughters, Cosima and Halimeda, as they sleep […]
Charecters
A Dona Althea Dona Althea is one of the formidable ladies of the Stitch and Bitch Club. She is old, silver-haired, and tiny, and she […]
Construction
A Setting The novel is set mostly in the fictional town of Grace, Arizona, although some scenes take place in the Santa Rosalia Pueblo, also […]
Historical Perspective
A The United States and Nicaragua in the 1980s Hallie’s impassioned letters to Codi about the political situation in Nicaragua reflect a major foreign policy […]
Questions
-Research the history of the Nicaraguan contras during the 1980s. Were the contras the evil force described in Animal Dreams, or were they freedom fighters […]
Further Reading
Kingsolver’s nonfiction book, Holding the Line: Women in the Great Arizona Mine Strike of 1983 (1989), examines the leadership role played by women during the […]