Poisonwood Bible

The Poisonwood Bible is a story of the political turmoil taking place in Congo in the 1960’s and into the future. Although this idea might be less obvious to some, the idea of Western cultural superiority seems to be the underlying theme of the novel. Many parallels can be drawn from The Poisonwood Bible and to real life occurrences of the past. Definite similarities can be noticed between the conflict in the Congo, and between the conflict of apartheid in South Africa. Perhaps one of the most blatant similarities in content is between The Poisonwood Bible and Cry, The Beloved Country. Both stories tell the tale of a particular culture’s arrogance in relation to the culture of another country. I hope to present the details of these similarities in the essay, while providing an explanation for cultural arrogance, along with examples of the development of this theme through the character’s actions in the novel.

Throughout history, Western culture has been an eminent force in the colonization and occupation of many Eastern and third world countries. Perhaps one of the most often targeted areas by the Western World is Africa. One of the most obvious examples that would come to

The Poisonwood Bible makes an issue out of the idea of cultural dominance through its main characters. Nathaniel Price represents the epitome of western culture. He is an agent of the United States government, the Belgian colonists, and the many pompous missionaries of the time period. In the novel, Nathan truly believed that he was a force of good. He was unbending, and incapable of adapting to his surrounding culture. He believed that he alone was in Congo to serve the will of god. As Nathan is able to portray, religion plays a large role in the cultural arrogance of the west. For example, Nathan becomes enraged upon being informed that Chief Ndu feels that Christianity might bring moral decline to the village. Nathan is unable to comprehend how belief in his god could cause such a thing. In conclusion, he can not concede to the fact that a culture he believes to be primitive and inferior could be any better than his own. However, Nathan is not the only character exhibiting arrogance towards the supposedly more primitive African culture. Nearly all of the non-African characters of the novel are confident that they are bringing with them to Africa a superior form of life. The women of the family of missionaries eventually begin to change their views towards the native culture of Africa. In fact, Nathan’s daughter Leah at one point during the novel participates in a fire hunt in order to provide food for the village, which is suffering at the time from a severe famine. She is severely reprimanded by her father, as a result of his belief that women are homemakers, and their duties should remain in the home. In sharp contrast to her feelings at the beginning of the novel – in which time she fully believed in her fathers mission in the village – she tells him that she will not obey him, thus defying one of the foundations in which her religion is based; the idea of female subservience. Leah, through her experiences in the village, and through her newly developed love for a local named Anatole, has left behind her previous beliefs, including the desire to convert the natives to that be

Some topics in this essay:
Poisonwood Bible, God Nathan’s, Africa Nathan’s, Beloved Country, Robert Strayer, Chief Ndu, Middle East, Nathaniel Price, English Dutch, South Africans, poisonwood bible, cultural arrogance, south africa, cry beloved, third world, western cultural, cultural superiority, cry beloved country, beloved country, idea western cultural, real life, gross national product, eastern third, eastern third world, apartheid south africa,