Poisonwood Bible: Critical response to a passage

As I make my way throughout the book, the characters in the Poisonwood Bible grow and change beyond what I could ever expect. I think that one of the most interesting aspects of any book is how the personality of the character is shown through his/her words. While I was reading "The Judges", one passage stood out.

"Tata Jesus is Bangala" declares the Reverend every Sunday at the end of his sermon. More and more, mistrusting his interpreters, he tries to speak in Kikongo. He throws back his head and shouts these words to the sky, while his lambs sit scratching themselves in wonder. Bangala means something precious and dear. But the way he pronounces it, it means the poisonwood tree. Praise the Lord, hallelujah, my friends! for Jesus will make you itch like nobody's business."

In class, we discussed how Father does not truly immerse himself in the culture of the Congo. Unlike Brother Fowles, who learned to accept the culture while spreading his own, Father stubbornly refuses to learn about the culture. I think this passage gets one very important message across to the reader. Father is truly an outsider to these people. He tries to incorporate Kikongo into his sermon, but he ends up mutilating the language. What's worse, he doesn't even seem to notice that he is pronouncing the word incorrectly. In my opinion, this is Father's biggest mistake. He fails in every aspect where Brother Fowles succeeded. The people don't like him because he only acknowledges his own beliefs. This passage can show us how ignorant Father really is.

The Poisonwood Bible and The Mosquito Coast

Our teacher decided that it would be a good idea to watch a movie that relates to the Poisonwood Bible. Fast Forward, and we just finished "The Mosquito Coast". I have to say that the similarities were striking. Both families are led by stubborn and forceful fathers, who have agendas that they must see accomplished. Father Price tries to convert the people in the Congo to Christianity, while the father in "The Mosquito Coast" tries to bring his inventions to the people in Africa. The wives in both the book and movie silently object, but can't do anything about the situation. The plot is driven by the fathers in PWB and "The Mosquito Coast". It deals with fathers who lead their families to unknown areas just to carry out their plans. It ends up in disaster(Ruth May's death, death of Allie Fox in "Mosquito Coast").
There is one glaring difference, however. It is the absence of religion in "The Mosquito Coast". Religion plays an extremely important role in PWB, because Father is a reverend who tries to convert everyone to Christianity. In the movie, Allie Fox is an inventor, and he tries to share his inventions with people who don't live in civilization.

The book and movie were extremely similar, and I think that watching the movie helped me to picture what the PWB might be like if it were to be acted out.