The Poisonwood Bible Essay

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In The Poisonwood Bible, the Price family goes on a missionary trip to Africa. They take an airplane to Kilanga, a Congolese village. There, Nathan tries to baptize the natives, while Orleanna attempts to keep her daughters from dying due to the dangers lurking in the unknown. The females and males in the family all have different opinions about coming to Africa. In the historical fiction novel, The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver shows that it is not the Price’s or the white man’s duty to civilize places such as Africa through the experiences of the Price family in Kilanga.
It is not the Price family’s duty to civilize the natives. The Price family did not have to go to Africa on a missionary trip. It was their choosing, or rather the females being pulled into Africa by Nathan. The natives all live peacefully even when white men are out of Africa. The natives already know how to fish, hunt, and farm. The presence of white men only put more burdens onto the natives by attempting to …show more content…
In addition, Nathan brings his family into Africa without the consent of the missionary company. Even in Africa, he thinks of nothing but to baptize the natives. In the White Man’s Burden, Kipling believes it the the duty of white men to teach and civilize the half devil and half child people in weaker countries. Nathan supports this claim, because he is in Africa attempting to teach the Africans about Christianity and stripping them away from their ancient beliefs. Nathan claims white men do not use the native people for labor, while the doctor knows the natives are in use for mining in the South African diamond mines. Even in the White Man’s Burden, Kipling wants white men to use foreign land to fuel their economic needs. Nathan only sees his duty to baptize the natives in hopes he will no longer be put to shame by God, since he feels God is always watching him and he must never deviate from the path God set for

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