Literary Review of Dead Man's Path by Chinua Achebe

The third reich- the Vietnam war- the patriot act: all examples of acts undertaken with the well-intentioned ideas of the people involved. All turned out to be bad- nay, disastrous ideas. In "Dead Man's Path" by Chinua Achebe, Michael Obi is an enthusiastic and energetic young man newly appointed to the position of headmaster of Ndume Central School. Ndume Central School was an old fashioned school located somewhat centrally to the daily village activities. Michael and Nancy, his wife, try to take this school and modernize it with his advanced education and lofty ideas. However, one must always remember to honor the past, and not make the common mistake of the human condition to dismiss the values and wisdom of the past in the search for a better future.

From the beginning, Obi denigrates the "old and superannuated people in the teaching field" rather than graciously receive the examples and knowledge they represent (247). Nancy herself is more interested in her sudden rise in social standing than for the actual good they both could do. Hence, upon discovering the existence of an ancestral footpath leading from the shrine to the village's burial site, Obi's first concern is not for the traditions of the people he is supposed to teach, but for the propriety and appearance of the path according to his own ideals. Obi scoffs at the ritualistic ideas and the history of the villagers saying, "Our duty is to teach your children to laugh at such ideas" (249). It is exactly this type of disregard for cultural canon that led the European colonials to 'civilize' the savages around the world. This well-intentioned thinking leads Obi to his eminent downfall.

Moreover, Obi's zeal is fueled by an overdeveloped sense of pride in his abilities and social standing. Even Nancy is "infected by his passion" to "show these people how a school should be run" (247-248). They raise teaching standards, and cover the grounds in gardens of hedges and flowers, as if the flora could set the school grounds above its surroundings. The ancestral path, infrequently used by the villagers, intersects this garden through the school compound and inflames Obi's concern over the propriety of such a path, since a school inspection is imminent. Lest his pride be damaged by an imagined impropriety, Obi springs into action.

Obi immediately closes off the ancestral footpath, not just with heavy sticks- but with barbed wire as well. Perhaps the barbed wire was as strong of a barrier as was the barriers to tradition in his mind. When the village priest, obviously a man to be respected, confronts Obi with the importance of the path to the village, Obi responds without a hint of respect to the conventions of the village saying, "the whole purpose of our school is to eradicate just such beliefs as that" (249). This blatant disregard of the villages deeply held beliefs compounds Obi's problems as those very beliefs rise up against him (250). When the death of a young woman in the village is attributed to the inaccessibility of the path, the villagers are obviously incensed.

Before the inspector can visit, the hedges and flowers near the path- and all around the school as well- are torn up and trampled (250). Obviously the new life he intended for the school was rejected by the villagers as they retaliated by trampling his ideas of the way the school should look, the hedges and flowers of Michael and Nancy's dreams and ideals. Had this couple but respected the people they were meant to teach, the people who wore those very paths into the earth, perhaps the supervisor would not have seen the barbed wire of Obi's mind that caused the "tribal-war situation developing between the school and the village, arising in part from the misguided zeal of the new headmaster" (250).

Forcing one's own ideals upon people who are treading well known paths has never resulted in the best of circumstances. Obi hopefully learned that the past of a person will always have bearing on the future of that person, and it is important to respect that history- for oft times it is more than just hopes and dreams carried up on that foundation. It is a solid basis of beliefs and traditions that can be more volatile if upset than just a mere dream. Michael and Nancy- remember that we must acknowledge and respect the whole beings of those around us in order to create a mutually beneficial future.Bibliography

Achebe, Chinua. "Dead Man's Path." Literature: A Pocket Anthology. Ed. R.S. Gwynn. New York: Pearson Education, Inc, 2007. 247-250.