Works Cited

Works Cited 

ACHBERGER, JESSICA. “BELGIAN COLONIAL EDUCATION POLICY:  A POOR FOUNDATION FOR STABILITY.” Ultimatehistoryproject.com. SHEENA M. MORRISON, n.d. Web. 10 Sept. 2015. <http://www.ultimatehistoryproject.com/belgian-congo.html>.

Hinde, Sidney Langford. “HERE BE CANNIBALS CANNIBALISM IN THE AFRICAN CONGO.” Heretical.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Sept. 2015. <http://www.heretical.com/cannibal/congo1.html>.

Kingsolver, Barbara. The Poisonwood Bible. New York: HarpeCollins Publishers Inc, n.d. Print.

Merriam-Webster, ed. “Colonialism.” Merriam-webster.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Sept. 2015. <http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/colonialism>.

Stereotypes and Colonialism

When the Price family begins to settle into the village and begin to call it home; they prepare to celebrate Easter.  Nathan Price see's Easter as a perfect time to baptize some of the villagers and convert them to Christianity.  However, Nathan soon becomes disappointed when his Easter Sunday service clashes with the local Congolese spiritual traditions.

“Bloodstained spears came jingling down the aisle of our church pageant on Easter Sunday it represented progress, I’m sure, but it wasn’t what Father really hoped for. He had envisioned a baptism. The whole point of Easter in July was supposed to be an altar call, followed by a joyful procession down to the river with children dressed all in white getting saved” (Kingsolver 46).

Nate's Take

Nathan was not willing to embrace the local culture of the Congolese, he wanted only to convert all the villagers to Christianity and erase all their ancient customs.  Many of villagers use witch doctors as a form healing both spiritually and physically.  Nathan saw this as unholy and pagan and must be stopped.  Due to his arrogance, Nathan believed he could enter the village preaching the Bible and all the villagers would dedicate themselves to Christianity like he had.  Unfortunately, it is not that easy and the villagers rejected Nathan’s colonial religious tactics.  A good example in history of this mass colonial conversion failing can be seen in the early American Colonies.  When Christian missionaries landed in New England many of them attempted to convert the local natives to their religion.  In return the natives retaliated by fighting and killing many Christian missionaries.  

Metaphors

Kingsolver’s use of metaphors is very key in The Poisonwood Bible. An excellent example of this is in the opening chapter where Orleanna Price describes the landscape of the Congolese desert. In this excerpt Kingsolver uses a metaphor to demonstrate the first colonization of Africa.

“Then, in the 1920s, when elsewhere in the world the menfolk took a break between wars to perfect the airplane and the automobile, a white man finally did set eyes on the okapi. I can picture him spying on it with binoculars, raising up the cross-haired rifle sight, taking it for his own” (Kingsolver 7).

Nate's Take

Let's break down the metaphor. The Okapi is a type of Giraffe found in the Congo and was a typical animal for people to hunt.  The white man in the passage is used to represent white european explorers; especially the Belgians who gained possession of the country in 1908 under the rule of King Leopold II.  The Okapi in this passage is used to represent the indigenous people of the Congo that became suppressed under the white european rule of colonialism.  Although, the Price family believes they are doing the Lord’s work in country, the Congolese people had been refusing to accept Christianity since 1908 when the first missionaries arrived.

This small number of students stemmed from many factors.  The number of missionaries was insufficient to educate a large population.  But the missionary’s educational agenda, which often undermined indigenous African culture and promoted colonial domination, also deterred many Africans from pursuing European educations”(ACHBERGER).

Greed and Colonialism

Nathan Price believes that it is his duty to bring the Congolese towards Christianity.  However, the real reason for colonization by the western world was for extraction of raw materials that would profit the economies of foreign nations.  For example, Axelroot (an american pilot in the village) tells Nathan Price that Belgium had been syphoning rubber out of the Congo for decades.

“I do not like to contradict, but in seventy-five years the only roads the Belgians ever built are the ones they use to haul out diamonds and rubber. Between you and me, Reverend, I do not think the people here are looking for your kind of salvation.” (Kingsolver 122).  


Nate's Take

Price's mission to convert the natives through religious colonization was doomed from the start. Although, the villagers welcomed him and his family with open arms to their village they were never going to become Christians. The villagers saw Price in the same light as the Belgian colonists that had occupied their nation decades prior. When Nathan told the villagers he wanted to bring them towards the light of God, they saw it as another "road" that the Belgians built.


Question

Should the villagers have viewed Nathan Price as just another western colonist or should they have been more opened minded towards him?

Colonialism and why it failed

Although, Nathan Price is a man of God he subconsciously believes that he is superior towards the Congolese people.  His mission that he has been sent to do by the Church is to “save” the Congolese through religion.  

“Father said, “They are living in darkness. Broken in body and soul, and don’t even see how they could be healed” (Kingsolver 53).  

  When Price faces difficulty with attempting to convert the natives in his village he simply labels them as “broken” and “blind”.  Instead, of trying to possibly assimilate to the local culture and slowly preach Christianity to them he continues to force his morals on them.  Eventually, Price fails to convert the villagers to Christianity.   

Nate's Take

If I was placed in the shoes of Nathan Price, I would have a much different approach than he did.  I would slowly assimilate myself into the local culture and begin to offer my views to the villagers under their conditions.  I would not force my religion on the villagers if they were against it.  I wouldn't label them as blind or broken but I would offer to them stories of what western society is like.  I would set up a "roundtable" discussion amongst the villagers and myself comparing and contrasting the similarities and differences in culture.  Personally, that is why I believe the Catholic missions in Africa have been far more successful than the Protestant ones.  The Catholic missionaries would assimilate to the local culture and would offer more humanitarian teachings than biblical teachings to the locals.

Question

Do you feel Nathan Price is truly an arrogant westerner? In your response consider that it is the 1960s and technological knowledge of other cultures wasn't as readily available as it is today.