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Critical Analysis of a Text: Task One- Dead Men’s Path Character Study Essay

Dead Men's Path by Chinua Achebe is a story about the clash of two sets of values; this story

presents the conflict between world-views and value systems.

Chinua Achebe was born Albert Chinualumogu Achebe, he was a Nigerian novelist, poet, professor,

and critic.Raised by his parents in the Igbo town of Ogidi in southeastern Nigeria, Achebe excelled at

school and won a scholarship for undergraduate studies. He became fascinated with world religions

and traditional African cultures, and began writing stories as a university student.

Achebe's novels focus on the traditions of Igbo society, the effect of Christian influences, and the

clash of Western and traditional African values during and after the colonial era. His style relies

heavily on the Igbo oral tradition of story telling

Dead Men's Path is set in Nigeria in 1949, Chinua Achebe’s story Dead Men’s Path is about Michael

Obi, a modern and ambitious young man who is appointed headmaster of the un-progressive

Ndume Central School.

Obi decides to beautify the school. One evening, Obi sees a woman walk on the flower bed and

notices a path that leads to the village across. Obi asks a teacher why the villagers are allowed to use

the foot-path.

Consequently he found out that the path is very important to them because it leads to their burial

grounds of their ancestors. However since Obi’s concern is the beauty of the path instead of the

traditions of the villagers, he decides to close it despite the village priest reasonably requesting Obi

to reopen the path; to which he says no.

Two days later a young woman in the village dies in childbirth. A diviner recommends heavy

sacrifices to appease the spirits who are insulted at having the footpath blocked. In the night the

flowers and hedges are torn up and trampled to death and one of the school buildings is torn down.

When the Government Education Officer arrives, he gives Obi a bad review and writes "a nasty

report" on the "tribal-war situation developing between the school and the village."

The key themes explored in this story are the conflicts between traditional Nigerian culture, beliefs

and the modern, westernised ideology established by European colonialism. For example when Obi

talks to his colleague regarding the path he says “… it amazes me… that you people allowed the

villagers to make use of this footpath. It is simply incredible.”

The use of language by Obi emphasizes the division of beliefs and traditions, calling his fellow

colleagues and the villagers ‘you people’ is demeaning and highlights the distain Obi feels towards

the villagers and their rituals.

Another message that Achebe projects throughout the story is the unwavering manner of Obi who

kind of symbolises the colonial change that was apparent in Africa at the time. For instance when

Obi and the priest are discussing the ancestral path the priest warns that if Obi redirects the path,

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then he will cut "the path of children coming in to be born."•

Obi ridicules the elder, informing him that the purpose of the school is to eradicate such beliefs and

to "teach our children to laugh at such ideas.” However it is the priest that is willing to compromise

he says “If you reopen the path we shall have nothing to quarrel about. What I say is ‘let the hawk

perch and let the eagle perch’, suggesting a compromise but Obi mocked the priest suggestion and

suggests that “…the ancestors wouldn’t find the detour burdensome.”

Michael Obi continuously disregards his childhood cultural teachings as modernisation and

progression was more important than history.

Within the first paragraph of the story, the central character; Michael Obi is described as young,

energetic, enthusiastic, and outspoken. Achebe links Obi’s youthful energy to his passion for

modernizing the education of African children. The first line of the story says “Michael Obi’s hopes

were fulfilled much earlier than he had expected”, which suggests that Obi is ambitious and has had

a plan and goal to reform African education.

Another trait of Obi’s personality is his ability to influence others; including his wife, Achebe uses the

metaphor when he says that “... In the two years of married life she had become completely infected

by his passion for ‘modern methods’ and his...” Despite his wife not being an employee of the school

she has also like her husband become completely immersed and engrossed in the modernisation of

the school and its teachings.

The first thing that appears in the story is ‘Michael Obi’; even the name that Achebe uses for the

main character is representative of the equal blend of European and African origins.

Michael Obi is portrayed as a condescending and disrespectful in a conversation he has with the

priest who has come for the path to be reopened. Obi is described as “listening with a satisfied

smile”. Here the author uses alliteration to draw the reader’s attention to Obi’s response, also the

word ‘satisfied’ suggests that he is smug and looks down on the priests and villagers as being un-

superior of no concern.

Obi is described as a “pivotal teacher” which suggests that that he has a record of reform therefore

the expectations expected of him were high; this may explain his zealousness and unwavering

manner.

However despite Obi being portrayed a young and energetic, Achebe uses the technique of

juxtaposition when describing Obi posture; “He was stoop-shouldered and looked frail. But he

sometimes surprised people with sudden bursts of energy. In his present posture however, all his

bodily strength seemed to have retired behind his deep set eyes, giving them an extraordinary

power of penetration, He was only twenty-six…”

The use of juxtaposition emphasises the energetic yet weakened persona of Obi; due to the

responsibility he has to reform and change the present education system.

Also in the above quote Achebe uses the literary technique of imagery and alliteration as we get a

clear picture of Obi in his chair and the words “power of penetration” gives us a good image to what

Obi’s face looks like and his ability to control and project his wife and people around him.

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Personally I think Obi shows some good qualities but eventually his downfall is his zealousness and

lack of compromise that creates the resulting judgement from the inspector and retaliation from the

villagers. Moreover Achebe’s use of detail; such as the barbed wire that blocks the path and the

comments of the Supervisor (who is, ironically, white) that Michael has precipitated a “tribal-war

situation” may be Achebe’s clever yet controversial way of telling us that the conflict between

established tribal customs and “modern methods,” so trivial here, may in fact lie behind the

devastating civil wars and tribal genocide that have plagued Africa since the end of the colonial

period.