Algonquin Indians example essay topic
469 words
The movie is set in the 17th centuries. The French Jesuits venture into the wilderness of North America to convert the "savages" to Christianity. Father LaForgue is assigned to serve a remote mission, 1500 miles from Quebec. He sets out on a journey that becomes a struggle against hunger, cold, and exhaustion. The journey tests the mind, body, and soul of the priest. The priest who dreams of becoming a martyr finds out that he underestimated the ordeal involved in his fate and the test to which his faith is put. An Algonquin Indians have been hired by the religious community to escort him on the long and dangerous journey. Father LaForgue is shocked by the barbarity and promiscuity of the "savages". The Algonquins, who have nicknamed him "Black Robe", in turn wonder whether the man with the strange practices is a sorcerer. A young worker, Daniel, is brought along to help communicate with the Indians and to further spread the word of God. At the beginning of the journey, things are fairly calm, until Daniel falls in love with the Algonquin chief's daughter.
He begins to question whether or not they should be trying to convert the Indians to a new faith. He sees that it is just as difficult to believe in his own faith, as it is to follow that of the Algonquins. After a considerable time on the journey, the tribe has decided that the "Black Robe" is, in fact, a demon that is trying to take their spirit. They abandon him after testing to see if he is a demon by leaving a dead baby for him. One he blesses the child; they see his ritual as trying to steal its soul they leave him, as does Daniel, who has decided that LaForgue is wrong to convert anyone and because he is in love the chief's daughter. In this film, nature is primitive and savage.
It is very dark. The beautiful scenery that should be there, in truth is foreboding and full of threat. As I think back on the film, I can not recall anything other than low, gray, forbidding skies and naked, intimidating and abandoned looking trees. I think that the central aspect, of the movie Black Robe, is the clash of different culture. The Indian way of life is frighteningly unlike the culture of LaForgue or our modern one. The screenplay lays bare the heart of the clash between European and Indian cultures-spiritual pride on both sides.
This movie surely has strong points, and in many ways, is very realistic. It lacks, I feel, power. It didn't evoke any real emotion, from me, other than depression..
