It may be exciting to move to a new place, but the Price family had to endure a slightly different moving experience that many of us will never have to go through.  The African Congo is known for its precarious "100 million-hectare jungle that conceals more than 12,000 different organisms" (Mongabay.com).  What normal family could function without any complications in such an environment like the Congo?  This treacherous situation that was brought upon the family must have played the dominating cause of the members' dispersion from each other.

No kid enjoys being dragged from the nice, fun playground to go run errands with his mom.  However, it's hard to complain when the Price children were swept away to some daunting jungle that lacked any form of technology they are used to from light poles to gumball machines.  Upon arrival, the family is faced with countless differences that they must adapt to in order to get by without going insane.  With their house now being a hut and their neighbors looking at them as if they're all Lady Gaga, this family was immediately put out of its comfort zone and pushed to the extremes of cooperation.  It's definitely not as easy as being the new kid in a new school.

Everyone adapts to a new situation differently; therefore, when you get different reactions to a problem there are bound to be some disputes.  With Nathan's God-given mission he strives to fulfill, Leah's rebellious nature, and the lackadaisical result of such stress that is imposed on Orleanna, the Price family was in a worse state than the Kardashians.  The anxieties associated with little living space and only having each other to speak English to definitely expound upon the levels of tolerance and serenity within the "huthold".  The family did not exactly argue with one another, but they for sure did not agree with the way of life they were living.  This takes a great tole on the family, for it was a little more extreme than our society of families arguing on where to go out to dinner.

The Price family was not fully prepared for a wild jungle environment; in fact, many people have fallen short when living in such extreme environments.  For example, Tim Treadwell, an environmentalist and filmmaker, "lived amongst the grizzly bears of Alaska for 13 summers, but was eventually eaten" (Mother Nature Network).  This family has to work around many intimidating struggles like the unforgiving river that gave Nathan a bad name due to his desire to baptize people in crocodile-infested waters and the life-threatening animals that prey on small children like Ruth May.  These civilized Christian folks just waltzed into a minefield of dangers lurking around every shadow.  What family could possibly remain stable and keep sanity when you don't even know if you'll wake up with everyone still alive?  These days parents flip out if they can't find their kids in a ball pit at Chuckee Cheese's, let alone losing them in a death trap jungle.

A family like the Prices were not exactly normal, but they reacted the same way any normal family would've in a situation like the one in which they were placed.  Random strangers grabbing their hair, death striking from every angle, and a cripple mentally whining about every downfall led to a very uncomfortable atmosphere the family was challenged to push through.  The many difficulties that accompanied the move the Prices made affected each family member differently, this ultimately causing them to go their separate ways.  All families have issues to deal with, but nothing like the African Congo.


-Nick Gant

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