Rachel is quite the character when it comes to her beliefs about the Congolese culture as a whole. Throughout much of The Poisonwood Bible, she reflects upon the culture very negatively as she compares it back to the society that she believes is superior; America. We see her make decisions based on American morals and ideals that do not represent the culture of her location. Rachel makes a vivid comparison to the actions required to possess food in order to survive in the Congo versus the availability of food in America. Barbara Kingsolver writes “If you even think you can picture how awful it (burning to kill game) was, you are wrong. [...] I stood on that burnt-up field with the taste of ashes in my mouth, ashes in my eyes, on my hair and my dress, all stained and tarnished. I stood and prayed to Lord Jesus if he was listening to take me home to Georgia, where I could sit down in a White Castle and order a hamburger without having to see its eyes roll back in its head and the blood come spurting out of its corpse.” (p. 350) Rachel is describing the morbidness of survival in Africa during a time of drought and unsatisfactory conditions. She continues to compare this new society to the privileges possessed in America.
Rachel continues to portray a negative attitude about the Congo throughout the rest of the book. After Ruth May is killed, Rachel portrays her ‘American/White’ superiority when she speaks of the tragedy as something that would be looked down upon in American society but is a norm in the Congo’s society. Kingsolver states “Until that moment I’d always believed I could still go home and pretend the Congo never happened. [...] The tragedies that happened in the Africans were not mine. We were different, not just because we were white and had our vaccinations, but because we were simply a much, much luckier kind of person.” (p. 367) Rachel describes the privilege of being American as being a ‘luckier’ person. Rachel may be inferring that because of the poor circumstances such as the poor implementation of a central government and nearly no use of a food or medical system, the systems provided in America provided for a much healthier and efficient lifestyle.
Rachel was not the only character who noticed and evaluated the privileges and superiority of being American; Nathan also had a similar ideology. During The Poisonwood Bible, Nathan relates the implementation of a colonial lifestyle to that of American tradition. During a vote at Reverend Price’s church, Tata Ndu suggests that the community votes to ‘accept’ Jesus Christ into the community of Kilanga. During this time, Reverend Price says “Elections are good, and Christianity is good. Both are good. [...] You (Tata Ndu) are right. In America we honor both these traditions. But we make our decisions about them in different houses.” (p. 332) Tata Ndu then follows Kilanga tradition when he responds by suggesting “Then you may do so in America, I will not say you are unwise. But in Kilanga we can use the same house for many things.” Reverend Price then responds in a manner that demeans the cultural normality of Kilanga when he says “Man, you understand nothing! you are applying the logic of children in a display of childish ignorance.” (p. 332) Reverend Price compares the controls that America uses to establish public opinion or a new mandate to the controls that the Congo wants to implement in their own fashion. He continues to state that the way the leaders of the Congo want to implement the new election frame are wrong. Nathan suggests that the way that Tata Ndu wants elections to work (under one house as a whole) is childish. Therefore, Price is suggesting that Tata Ndu is incorrect and uninterested in the process that is more superior in his opinion.
Nathan continues to remark against the traditions of this ‘lesser’ developed and unorganized community throughout his comments about their culture. As a reverend, he disregarded the religious beliefs of the natives because he felt that the ‘American’ popular culture was more correct than that of the Congo’s. Kingsolver suggests this when she writes “When he (Nelson) saw the evil sign (an X) it sent him singing like a canary. [...] Father announced this was the unfortunate effect of believing in false idols and he washed his hands of the affair. [...] He told Mother if she let Nelson sleep in our house that night she’d be playing directly into the hands of the idol worshippers, and if she wanted to count herself as one of them she could take her children and go seek shelter among them.” (p. 357) Nathan was, once again, more interested in his family’s own needs and beliefs than the beliefs of the culture around him. His view that Christianity was more superior caused him to lack empathy for Nelson.
The Poisonwood Bible is filled with comparisons of the Congo and Congolese tradition to America and American tradition. These comparisons display America as an extremely influential and powerful society and depict the Congo as a country that is incapable of holding a strong central government. We see throughout the book that the American family is making strong comparisons to the world that they used to know. These comparisons relate to the power of money, a central government, and religion and its influence on society.
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