The Poor Christ of Bomba In the novel The Poor Christ of Bomba by Mongo Beti there are several themes that were also presented through articles that we talked about in class. These themes include the colonial institution of European rule, the role of women, and the cultural differences between white Europeans seeking to convert natives and the natives themselves. Within this analysis, I will demonstrate how the characters process and manifest the issues and problems within the novel, as well as how the themes reflect the particular ideas discussed in class. The first point of discussion is the plot of Bomba's Poor Christ. The story revolves around the Reverend "Father" Drumont, however, the story is told through a series of diary entries seen through the eyes of Denis, who is Drumont's fourteen-year-old servant. Denis records the events that occur during Drumont's tour of a missionary work as he and the cook Zacharia travel through the villages surrounding the forest of the Tala region. At the beginning of the book the Father lives in Bomba, which survives mainly on the income brought by the Sixa, which is a home for young engaged women. These women stay for several months at Sixa and provide free labor on the plantations, in the primary school and in the workshops. In contrast to the women of the Sixa who follow the teachings, there are the inhabitants of the village of Tala in the forest. The villagers of Tala accept Christianity as little as possible, because they realize that the European faith has provided access to what the Tala believe to be the true power of colonialism: money. This becomes evident when the “converted” Tala leave their villages for communities like Bomba, which are scattered along the new… medium of paper… the compulsion of whippings directed by Drumont, the African supervisors and catechists flee from Bomba; Sixa women mention more and more of them in their "confessions", parodying those of the Catholic rite. What's worse is that Daniel, Drumont's “Number One Boy,” has introduced syphilis into the sixa; as a result, many of Bomba's men and their wives are afflicted with venereal diseases. Drumont, demoralized by the fragility of Christian values ​​among the Tala, quickly completes his plans to return to France. He returns Denis to his father and sends the Sixa women back to their home villages, still infected with syphilis and gonorrhea. Denis has no news from Drumont. Soon Bomba is deserted and rumors say that the villagers are being forced into forced labor by Vidal's soldiers. Denis decides to flee the countryside to pursue a more civilized life working for a Greek merchant.