As one man's actions alienate him from his surrounding society, the values and morals he contrasts are highlighted. Reverend Nathan Price in Barabara Kingsolver’s Poisonwood Bible opposed much of what Congolese life stands for during his mission in the village of Kilanga. The values of an entire society were violated by Nathan, leading to his isolation and eventual destruction. When someone disagrees with a society’s values or assumptions, such as religion, family, altruism, and equality, one will become alienated from the society and the disputed values will be accented.
The most immediate and confrontational value Nathan encounters is that of religion. While he tries to convert and save the villagers through “Tata Jesus”, he does not realize or recognize that they already have a religion, represented by Tata Kuvudundu, who “looks after many practical matters.” He is “a priest of traditions”, upholding the history of worshipping the natural world in order to survive. Nathan Price wishes to baptize children in the river, something the villagers don’t understand, especially since crocodiles in the river eat their children. This baptism distances almost the entire village, which collectively turns its back on Reverend Price. They tend to prefer their current religion, which protects them from disease and provides them with food. Price’s church ends up pleasing Tata Ndu, the chief, only because it draws “the bad-luck people away”, those who are alienated from the traditional Congolese gods. Ironically, Nathan Price was assimilated into their religious legends, believed to be “turning himself into a crocodile and attacking children.”
Some missionaries in the Congo were being used as a tool of imperialism to control the natives, in turn becoming very discriminatory themselves. Because of this, Nathan Price’s supercilious racism adds to his alienation from the villagers. He represents the bigoted attitude of whites that the Congolese have lived with for ages. In contrast, Brother Fowles was allowed into their culture because he saw them as equals, treated their society with respect, and was loved and revered by all. Reverend Price has none of this, and looks upon the villagers as living in “ignorance and darkness”. The natives know Price does not respect them, so they ostracize and disrespect him in return. “They know just one thing about foreigners, and that is everything they’ve ever done to them”, including using missionaries as tools for systematic discrimination. The Prices stumbled into a Belgian-controlled society where an oppressed people understand that “their whole existence is worth less than a banana to most white people.”
Due to his egotistical ideals, Reverend Price’s attitude towards unity, family values, and altruism opposes that of the natives. Living as one community is key to survival in the Congo, a bond exemplified by the market day and the communal hunt, events in which all people of the village participate. Reverend Price’s lack of support for his family also confounds the Congolese, where family is of the utmost importance. He is utterly discredited by this, since “a white man who has never even killed a bushbuck for his family cannot be the expert on which god can protect their village.” He also fails in the altruistic tradition of the Congo. Everyone sees the Price’s overabundance of goods, yet they give nothing to the village community. It is understood that “when someone has much more than he can use, it’s very reasonable to expect he will not keep it all himself.” Reverend Price keeps everything, gives nothing, and is alienated from the entire village.
Reverend Price does not understand the village of Kilanga, and they do not understand him, but he is the intruder and does not belong. He doesn’t respect or support his own family or honor any other traditions. His materialistic, individualistic, American ways show through in his lack of altruism and lack of communal unity. Reverend Price represents a discriminatory white society that the villagers will ostracize and isolate from their lives at any chance they get. One’s disagreement or lack of adherence to a society’s principles will lead to the person’s alienation from society, highlighting the respected values of the community.