Character Analysis- Reverend James Smith

Key quotes with analysis:

“Does the white man understand our custom about land?” “How can he when he does not even speak our tongue? But he says that our customs are bad; and our own brothers who have taken up his religion also say that our customs are bad. How do you think we can fight when our own brothers have turned against us? The white man is very clever. He came quietly and peaceably with his religion. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. Now he has won our brothers, and our clan can no longer act like one. He has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart.”

This quotes is directly referring to Reverend James Smith. In this particular case Obierika and Okonkwo are talking about how this strict, stereotypical white Christian missionary has created chaos within their community. They are complaining that he has come with this religion and is trying to conquer over the Igbo, and how the people he has managed to convince have already betrayed their society. This quote represents how Reverend James Smith has no compassion for the people living within this society and how is not open-minded towards the beliefs of the people he was working with.

The interpreter spoke to the white man and he immediately gave his answer. "All the gods you have named are not gods at all. They are gods of deceit who tell you to kill your fellows and destroy innocent children. There is only one true God and He has the earth, the sky, you and me and all of us." "If we leave our gods and follow your god," asked another man, "who will protect us from the anger of our neglected gods and ancestors?" "Your gods are not alive and cannot do you any harm," replied the white man. "They are pieces of wood and stone."

This quote once again is giving the reader insight on how Reverend James Smith behaved and what he thought of the people he had to deal with once he replaced Mr.Brown in the church. This shows us how he insulted everyone and mistreated their beliefs and how he was trying to convince the Igbo people that all of their beliefs were incorrect. This shows how he did not want to make a connection between their religion and Catholicism.

The white man brings his destructive religion and the yoke of his laws.

This quote is giving us once again insight on how the new father of Catholicism in Umuofia is trying to impose his Catholic religion in the new society. He brought his new religion and tried to impose it without thinking about the rest, and the Igbo people though of it as a destructive religion just as it has been mentioned in the quote. Moreover, he did not follow the laws that the previous father, Mr.Brown, did follow; this is a reason towards why Reverend James Smith was not loved within the Igbo people but he was rather despised by everyone that belonged to the society.

Relationship of character to others within the novel

            As Mr.Brown’s successor, Reverend James Smith is completely opposite. He condemns Mr.Brown’s method of compromise and accommodation. Moreover he is a very opinionated person, who starts making changes as soon as he arrived to this new society. Everyone sees him as a strict and uncompromising person; someone who does not tolerates and disrespects the Igbo beliefs and customs, and he considers their beliefs to be a work of the devil. Reverend James Smith, does not treat people pertaining to the Igbo culture in respectful manner; making it evident that he does not have a very good relationship with those he is trying to colonize. Reverend Smith is less retrained than what the Igbo society was used to, meaning that he uses the established position in the Christian church to push for a less restrained expansion of their religion. Reverend Smith seems to have very little respect for the customs and instills this same irreverence within his followers.

Reaction/Response of character to key events within the text

Reverend James Smith has a couple of key events within the novel that give the reader insight as to how he behaved and what his thoughts were. To begin with, he suspended a young lady from the Christian church because he said she was “contaminating” Christianity with her old beliefs. What his young lady was trying to do was find a connecting between both religions and see what they had in common so there could be an easier and smoother transition from one to the other. Reverend Smith did not think of it that way and he immediately suspended her from attending or going to church.

Another scene in which Reverend Smith sees himself in is when he replaces Mr.Brown. When Enoch dares to unmask an egwugwu, his compound is burned to the ground the next day. People gather in front of the church to confront Reverend James Smith and his followers, but he stated that he will stand his ground and forbids them to touch the church. This demonstrates how little the Reverend cared for the feelings of other and how he instilled bad reactions within his followers. Nonetheless, the church was burned after ignoring his orders.

Visual representation of the character