The Voice of Reason Against the Blissfully Ignorant

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Recommended: Literature and different cultures

In Barbara Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood Bible, Anatole proclaims that “there are more words in the world than no or yes” (310). He truly shows his wisdom by fully accepting that there is always something that can be more deeply understood. Anatole understands that accepting a new culture requires an effort to understand the differences and that is something that he truly proves to the Price family. Anatole grew up in the Congo with the culture that the Price girls find so strange. When the Prices start living in the Congo, Anatole starts to translate Nathan’s sermons. Once Anatole begins translating the sermons he sees Nathan’s and his family’s intolerance. Throughout the novel, this statement is demonstrated and is disregarded by many characters in many different situations and it completely illuminates the themes of cultural ignorance and global justice.
Nathan Price is the epitome of opposition in regard to cultural ignorance and global injustice. When Anatole is first introduced, he is invited to dinner with the Price family. At dinner Anatole tries to explain to Reverend Price that “Tata Ndu is concerned about the moral decline of his village”(127) because of the introduction of Christianity that is causing many Congolese to disregard their traditional religious duties. Anatole also tells Nathan that the villagers are carefully watching to see whether the Price’s god is capable of bringing them better luck than their local gods. In trying to explain this situation to Nathan, Anatole explains that most, if not all, of the congregation present in the Reverend’s church are known as “the lenzuka”(128). These are the people who have either shamed themselves or have had very bad luck. Such bad luck in fact, that many of the peo...

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...words in the world than no or yes” (130). His statement completely illuminates the themes of global injustice and global ignorance.He understands, as an English speaking native of the Congo, that cultural barriers exist between the United States and the Congo. The Prices, however, do not understand cultural differences. They believe that the United States does everything correctly and the Congo needs to change. The fact is that the culture of the Congo and the culture of the United States are completely different. Neither culture is completely right or completely wrong. They simply differ from eachother in ways that are hard for people to understand. Cultural ignorance and cultural injustice are gorwing problems in the world of the Price family and the problems will not go away without the desire to learn about differences and the ability to accept the differences.

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