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“Black Robe” tells the story of the first contacts between the Huron Indians of
Quebec and the Jesuit missionaries from France. The Jesuits purpose was to convert
natives to Catholicism, “saving their souls”. Those first Jesuit priests were very brave in
their pursuit, driven by a burning faith and an absolute conviction that they were doing
College papers on Black Robe
what God wanted. Only much later was it apparent that the European settlement of North
America led to the destruction of the original inhabitants, not their salvation. Author,
Brian Moore, describes a journey by two French men, Father Laforgue and Daniel
Davost, in 17th century Canada on a mission to relieve a dying priest. Through this
journey we see Father Laforgue’s relationship grow with the natives. Despite his love for
them, he shared the same beliefs as most Europeans at the time, that natives were
“Savages” and “Barbarians”, with no faith or spirituality. Moore’s representation of the
natives is much more accurate and common one. He distinguishes that there is a
difference between the French and the Natives, however he did not condemn one belief
over the other.
Moore immediately introduces the difference between the cultures, “the Indian
belief in a world of night and in the power of dreams clashed with the Jesuits’
preachments of Christianity and a paradise after death.” (page ix) He wrote this book
partly to show that there was more complexity to the native people than just the way the
French perceived them. Their beliefs would instill fear, hostility and despair in the
French. In turn, French beliefs would instill the same fears towards the natives.
A fear of the unknown is very natural, however, the views shared by the Jesuits were very
harsh and unjust.
Father Laforgue believed his intentions for the journey were honorable. He would
rescue souls, by converting the natives to the Catholic faith. According to the French
being a Catholic was of crucial importance in order to secure an afterlife with God; “My
God an do more than find food”, (pg 7) he preached to the natives along the way. After
preaching, Laforgue would often share his thoughts with Daniel, “the last few days, as we
go on, I know more and more that the devil rules this land. Belial rules here; he rules the
hearts and minds of these poor people.” (pg 100) Laforgue would often get frustrated, he
saw it to big a task, to convert these Savages on the devils land itself. However, his faith
in God kept him going.
Daniel was a very interesting character and should be mentioned, as his
representation of natives is similar to Moore’s. He becomes sexually involved with a
native girl, eventually falling in love with her. Daniel became very open minded about
their culture and traditions. He even attempted to explain it to Father Laforgue; “They
live for each other, they share everything, they do not become angry with each other, they
forgive each other things which we French would never forgive”, he continues “They
believe that all things have a soul men, animals, fish, forests, rivers”. (page 101)
Laforgue would not be so easily convinced, as he accused them of having their minds
infected by the devil.
The natives had similar views of the black robes, often referring to them as
“demons”. Laforgue was viewed as a demon wanting to rob the natives of their souls. His
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prays performed after deaths, the sign of the cross and the latin language were all seen as
rituals that would steel native souls. Despite, the drastic differences between the black
robes and the natives, the journey bounded them together. Moreover, they began to
respect each other and learned to co-exist in peace not war.
Moore states his own case a little too pessimistically, the clash of cultures that he
presents is indeedbrutal, but not futile. In the novel’s closing scene, Laforgue who has
despaired of his own worthiness to be a martyr, despite withstanding torture,
abandonment by Davost and the murder of the priest they came to replace, agrees to
baptize native villagers who are being ravaged by the plague; not necessarily because he
believes that their conversion is genuine or that it will save them, but simply because he
loves them, and he believes that God loves them all.
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