The Poor Christ of Bomba
In the novel The Poor Christ of Bomba by Mongo Beti, several themes are present in the novel that were also presented through articles we talked about in class. These themes include the colonial establishment of European rule, role of women and cultural differences between the white Europeans trying to convert the natives and the native people themselves. Within this analysis, I will demonstrate how the characters process and manifest the issues and problems within the novel as well as how the themes reflect the particular ideas discussed in class.
The first point of discussion is the story line of The Poor Christ of Bomba. The story revolves around the reverend “Father” Drumont however, the story is told through a series of journal entries as seen through the eyes of Denis, who is Drumont’s fourteen-year-old houseboy. Denis records the happenings that occur on Drumonts tour of a missionary work as he and the cook Zacharia travel through the villages surrounding the forest of the Tala region. In the beginning of the book the Father lives Bomba, which primarily survives on the income that the Sixa, which is a home for the engaged young women brings in. These women stay several months at the Sixa and provide free labor on the plantations, in the elementary school and workshops. Contrasting to the women in the Sixa who follow the teachings, there are the Tala villagers in the forest. The Tala villagers accepting Christianity as minimally as possible, because they realize that the European faith has provided access to what the Talas believe the true power of colonialism: money. This becomes apparent as the “converted” Talas leave their villages for communities like Bomba, that are scattered along the new ...
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... the duress of whippings directed by Drumont, the African supervisors and catechists flee Bomba; the sixa women name more and more of them in their “confession,” parodying those of the Catholic ritual. Worse, Drumont’s “Number One Boy,” Daniel, has introduced syphilis into the sixa; consequently, many of Bomba’s men and their wives are afflicted with the venereal disease. Drumont, demoralized at the fragility of Christian values among the Talas, quickly completes his plans to return to France. He returns Denis to his father and sends the sixa women back to their home villages—still infected with syphilis and gonorrhea. Denis hears nothing from Drumont. Soon Bomba is deserted and rumors saying villagers are being driven into hard labor by Vidal’s soldiers. Denis decides to escape from the countryside for the more civilized life of working for a Greek merchant.
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