All 3 Uses of

galvanize
in
The Poisonwood Bible

Without complaint I fetched bucket after bucket of water from the big galvanized tub on the porch, so he could douse the plot a little at a time ahead of his hoe, to hold down the awful dust.
Chpt 1

galvanized = coated with zinc (to prevent rust)

The galvanized bucket remained perfectly still on top of her head—a great, levitating crown.
Chpt 1

I heated the big kettle of water and poured it into the galvanized tub and sat in it like a scalded potato, alone in this world, just crying.
Chpt 4 *

Definitions:

(1) (galvanize as in: galvanized into action)
to stimulate to action
(2) (galvanize as in: galvanized steel)
to cover steel or iron with zinc (to prevent rust)

Galvanized iron or steel is resistant to rust due to electrochemical protection.
(3) (meaning too rare to warrant focus)
meaning too rare to warrant focus:

Much more rarely, but especially in classic literature, the word may reference Galvani's experiment of 1771 in which he made a dead frog leg twitch by applying electric current.