Brian Moore's, Black Robe, "is an attempt to show that each of these beliefs", those of the Jesuit missionaries and of the Huron, "inspired in the other fear, hostility and despair", which later led to the demise of the Huron people, and the abandonment of the Jesuit missions. Two important factors play into the cultural clash between the Huron, and the Jesuits. The Huron represent all that the Jesuit belief system despises; their hedonistic life style is a manifestation of the seven deadly sins. Conversely, the Jesuits, with their sense of possession, their greed, and lack of respect for dream knowledge and their holy way is an affront to the Huron. Additionally, neither group was willingly accepting of the other's religion. On the contrary, both peoples were fanatical in their devotion to the extent that their beliefs transformed into daily truths. 

The Jesuits see the Huron not only as primitives who eat the flesh of their enemies but of sinners who aren’t baptized and as a result, whose souls are in constant danger of being forever lost to God. This motivation, to save the savage souls, is what begins Father Laforgue's journey at the beginning of Black Robe. He is chosen to carry on a mission to convert the Huron and as a result is sent into their society. He is sent with a younger man, David, who falls in love with Huron culture. Though the story focuses on these two and their interaction with the Huron, the stories' significance is in the resulting cultural clash, the result of which will destroy a way of life. The author clearly shows, the destruction caused when two religious societies clash. In this book the author illustrates, and I agree, that when one culture is so concrete in their own beliefs and another in theirs, misunderstandings are a given.

Because the Huron were a nomadic people, the Jesuits saw them as slothful. They stored no food for the winter and simply hunted until all surrounding game was exhausted. From the perspective of Jesuits, this not only makes them slothful, but the Huron could also been seen as gluttons, gorging themselves on all the food in their possession. Their "greed" might also be apparent when they become angered at the Jesuits' unwillingness to share their stored food. They seemingly want to devour every scrap of food available. The Huron’s also believe in casually killing those who could no longer fend for themselves. This instilled fear in the Normans who traveled with them. Father Laforgue was so fearful that he proceeded to hide his ailments while traveling with them. The Huron also used what was perceived as foul language to such an extreme that it seemed altogether a normal part of their language. In reality there was no real ill will intended, but it still clashed with Jesuit morality. Finally, the sexual habits of the Huron seemed to directly challenge the Jesuit sense of modesty and self control; the Huron casually copulated, seeing it as a natural act. 

The Huron believe that the Jesuits are greedy and unnatural, and from what they know of Jesuit culture, it is understandable. The most enlightening passage in the book is in chapter four, written from the perspective of Chomina's daughter Annuka. Chomina is a leader among the Huron. She asks her father if it was true that the Normans ate everyday, and her father answers “It could be true that the Normans ate everyday, but that was only because they were greedy pigs who would not share their food with others.” From the Huron perspective the Jesuits hoard their food and do not give it up freely when asked. Ironically, they reciprocate the judgment of gluttony. They are viewed as unnatural because their strange principles do not coincide with Huron belief. In these passages in chapter four, she reflects her people's baffled reaction to these principles. She voices her belief that the Jesuits do not have women of their own, but because they are priests and are celibate, it only appears as if they have no female gender. Because to be nude and have sex is so casual and natural in the Huron society, the Jesuits' constantly covered bodies and complete lack of women, seems extremely unnatural. Additionally, the Huron see the missions as homes, not churches, and they do not understand why the Jesuits won't let them sleep in them, which would be natural.

Though the words sorcery and magic carry negative connotations from a Christian perspective, an outside culture, like the Huron, could easily associate Christianity with sorcery. Magic is defined as having seemingly supernatural powers; holy water has the ability to bless, which is magical by definition. The Huron call a baptism "the water sorcery." They see it as magical, not an act of faith. They see the priests as sorcerers, and though, in our society we have come to see them as more, to the objective eye, they seem like ceremonial rituals, with items that are possessed of holy powers. These rituals, so different from their own, only contributes to the Huron's despise for the unnatural people of the Jesuits.

The Huron’s and the Jesuits are interesting in the fact that they have assimilated religion into their everyday lives to the point that it has become natural law. When Chomina, a Huron warrior, is told by Father Laforgue that he is too "weary" for dreams, Chomina clutches his chest and asks, "if you do not dream, how can you see the journey ahead?” his baffled reaction is heart wrenching because in his mind, there is no other way to live one’s life. Having religious reasons for how and why things happen, it is understandable why the Huron faith is shaken at the end of the novel. When the Huron are confronted with a god that seemingly overpowers their own, a god who decides who among them will live and who among them will die, they see no choice but to bow down to the followers of such a god.

In the final chapter, Moore concludes love can often be found in understanding. Father Laforgue is asked by a Huron if he loves them. He answers, yes. Though knowing that these people can never truly accept Christ, he asks the lord to spare them--spare their immortal souls because they are truly ignorant. He sees them still, as savage people, as is evident in the last paragraph when he says he will spend the rest of his days “amid savages.” Father Laforgue has fallen in love with the Huron people, and even in his love for them, he still views them as heathens, and while heathens they may be, he understands them and prays for them to be spared.