Modernisation versus traditional heritage
‘Dead Men’s Path’ by Chinua Achebe is a short story about Obi, a bright and ambitious headmaster, the protagonist in the story, who finds that he can bring on the worst of fates because of his ignorance over the ancestry of the people. The story is woven around his modernistic approach in a society marked by traditions and the valuable lesson he learns at a heavy price to his career. Therefore, the main theme of the story revolves around traditional norms and cultural practices, as the being of the ancient path is revealed and the responses from Obi and the villagers express the prominence of custom to everyone involved. As events advance, Obi overlooks the philosophy that his own bloods once followed. The story particularly emphasizes how ‘’ He was outspoken in his condemnation of the narrow views of these older and often less educated ones’’ (Achebe). It is because of these aspects that "A Dead Man's Path" best illustrates the importance of respecting and remembering traditions that may seem obsolete and old-fashioned, but have lived long in the hearts of the people who follow them.
The story has insightful significance behind it and truly explores the influence of Western customs and notions on the ceremonial African society. As has been aforementioned in the context of the story, the British began ‘’viewing Igbo culture and beliefs as inferior and barbaric, their missionaries introduced Christianity and Western education. Christianity ultimately weakened tribal affiliations.’’ (Achebe) Hence, before even venturing into the story, one knows that it will explore the modernisation aspects of Africa by the British, not only through education but also through the open dismissal and overriding of their belief systems.
Achebe mentions two primary goals of Obi that he is immensely successful in attaining as the story unfolds; implementing a high level of education following the British mode of education and beautifying the school, in contrast to the other schools in the vicinity for tangible proof of his success as a supreme headmaster. This ideology is depicted by his wife’s behaviour, "We shall have such beautiful gardens and everything will be just modern and delightful " In their two years of married life she had become completely infected by his passion for "modern methods" and his denigration of "these old and superannuated people’’. (Achebe)
The climax of the story comes when Obi, blinded by his superiority orders to close a path on the school premises where he once sees an old woman crossing. On interrogation he is told by one of teachers that this path has been an issue of conflict before and has extreme importance for the villagers. A meeting with the village priest Ani follows who is depicted as the antagonist, a physical being representing the cultural values of the villagers. All of the characters mentioned, be it the old village woman or the British inspector who writes the report at the end, contribute to the overall story as they are dichotomized as either patrons of the modernistic British ideology or the resilient traditional norms. Achebe chooses the African village for the story’s setting primarily because only in such ‘’un-progressive’’ places does the adherence to ritualistic norms and values still remains intact. The villagers seem unwilling to compromise on the building of a new path to their burial grounds and are upset on the barring of their ancestral path which they believe helped ‘’dead relatives depart .. and our ancestors visit us by it. But most important, it is the path of children coming in to be born’’ (Achebe).The villagers refuse to compromise and eventually follow their local priests’ advice after the case of the woman who died in childbed. ‘’A diviner was immediately consulted and he prescribed heavy sacrifices to propitiate ancestors insulted by the fence." (Achebe) This advice led to a ‘’tribal-war situation developing between the school and the village, arising in part from the misguided zeal of the new headmaster,’’ as the white inspector put in his report. Great irony lies in the fact that the same modern ideals that led to the British contracting Obi for this job, eventually led to his downfall and immediate removal from the post. Therefore it can clearly be seen that the symbolism illustrated by the dead men’s path, denotes how traditions and rituals play a vital part in the villagers lives. For Obi the path is a marker of the old thinking that needs to amended for development as he clearly states ‘’ the whole purpose of our school..is to eradicate just such beliefs as that. Dead men do not require footpaths. The whole idea is just fantastic.Our duty is to teach your children to laugh at such ideas.’’ (Achebe)
The conclusion that may be drawn from this short story lies in the words of Ani, the priest; ‘’ let the hawk perch and let the eagle perch’’ (Achebe). This implies the practical option of living in co-existence rather than embarking upon conflict-ridden measures such as the fencing of the path in this case, which may trigger hostilities and unfortunate incidents beyond humane control. The story proposes how cultural meanings are socialized and deeply entrenched in the minds of every group and are unlikely to be erased easily. Therefore it is better to comply and not assert one’s superior modernistic views on another; for all we know their belief may make more sense to them.
Bibliography:
Achebe, Chinua. "African Literature 1 , Dead Men's Path." N.p.: Wordpress, 2010. N. pag.Mrdaley.com. Web. 3 Mar. 2013.
