Group Character Analysis
Brief Introductory Notes
The character that we have chosen is Nathan Price. Nathan is around the age of 40 at the beginning of the novel and near the end he would be about 45 if it wasn’t for his death. He visited Congo in 1960 for the purpose of saving as many souls as possible. Nathan is a Baptist minister who lives by his own moral code. He was a soldier in World War 2 who escaped the Bataan Death March while his entire regiment was killed. He escaped out of sheer luck and feels as though God sees him as a coward. As a result of this he feels as though he must save as many lives as he can by baptising them and preaching the word of God in Africa.
Observations of Personality
Nathans personality can be described mostly in threemajor points. The first of those is his misogynistic view of woman. Nathan has very little respect for woman and views them to be lesser people them himself. This is problem because he is living in a house with 4 daughters and his wife. Nathan believes that women are lesser people and often considers himself their leader or authoritative figure. At the beginning of the novel Leah states that “he often says he views himself as the captain of a sinking mess of female minds” (36). Nathan almost resents his family because of their sex. He believes that God is always watching him and is there to punish him whenever something is done wrong. As a result of this he resents his own sexual urges and become mad at his wife for tempting him, and the children for also being women. This results in his anger and hatred towards female intelligence. He is also a literalist who follows the bible almost word for word meaning he finds his family members to be disgusting when they do not do the same. At one point in the novel the youngest child, Ruth May, said “Father says a girl can’t go to college because they’ll pour water in your shoes” (117). This quote shows that Nathan has convinced the youngest and most vulnerable...