Throughout the short story by Chinua Achebe “Dead Man’s Path” there are forms of irony, symbolism, and views which set the tone and background for the story. In the opening, we see a young man by the name of Michael Obi who has just received a job as the headmaster of an “unprogressive” school in what appears to be Africa in 1949. This town has religious ties as well as strong family roots. This society is not very welcoming of new and progressive ideas which makes this story unfold into a great cataclysmic display of irony. The central theme is that we should all be more tolerant of our neighbors no matter their beliefs or intellects.
We can gather that Mr. Obi is a very strong willed man with idealistic views, and who sees no danger in the …show more content…
Mr. Obi is a man intent on making it in the world and being successful. He takes on a job as the headmaster of a secondary school. He wishes to beautify and modernize this school. He wishes to impress the Government Education Officers with how he has turned the villagers of this area into well rounded individuals. In doing so, he unremorsefully takes away a path that has been used for centuries by the locals. The priest comes in and wants to get everything back to the way it started. The arrogance of Mr. Obi is overwhelming, and the priest leaves with the problem unsolved. Later on the towns people riot come in to destroy the school and the flower garden. The white school supervisor wrote a nasty letter about a tribal war stemming from the new headmaster. Then Mr. Obi is assumed to have lost his job. This irony promotes the theme of how pride and arrogance are of the most fatal attributes to …show more content…
This could symbolize how determination and hard work can make anything come true. Mr. Obi wants the mission directors to be impressed with how he and his wife have modernized the school; yet once the director gets there the walls are destroyed the school is a wreck, and Nancy’s flower garden is in ruins. Mr. Obi is relieved of his duties, and in the blink of an eye everything he has worked to construct takes a turn and blows up in his face.
Another theme could be found in Mr. Obi’s misfortune; this theme could be “Easy come, easy go”. He didn’t do anything to justify him to the position. He didn’t work for the job. The position was practically handed to him. This could allude to without hard work and determination; you don’t deserve anything. You have to put in before you should take out.
In conclusion, when considering all aspects of the short story “Dead Man’s Path”, one must bear in mind all contributing factors, and motives of the era in which the story was written. In this story there are great symbols to be found, and almost satirical standpoints that could be raised. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and found it a great interest to read. The moral or the story is, to be tolerant of others and their beliefs; just because they are different and a little behind or ahead of the curve doesn’t mean that you are any better than they
We can gather that Mr. Obi is a very strong willed man with idealistic views, and who sees no danger in the …show more content…
Mr. Obi is a man intent on making it in the world and being successful. He takes on a job as the headmaster of a secondary school. He wishes to beautify and modernize this school. He wishes to impress the Government Education Officers with how he has turned the villagers of this area into well rounded individuals. In doing so, he unremorsefully takes away a path that has been used for centuries by the locals. The priest comes in and wants to get everything back to the way it started. The arrogance of Mr. Obi is overwhelming, and the priest leaves with the problem unsolved. Later on the towns people riot come in to destroy the school and the flower garden. The white school supervisor wrote a nasty letter about a tribal war stemming from the new headmaster. Then Mr. Obi is assumed to have lost his job. This irony promotes the theme of how pride and arrogance are of the most fatal attributes to …show more content…
This could symbolize how determination and hard work can make anything come true. Mr. Obi wants the mission directors to be impressed with how he and his wife have modernized the school; yet once the director gets there the walls are destroyed the school is a wreck, and Nancy’s flower garden is in ruins. Mr. Obi is relieved of his duties, and in the blink of an eye everything he has worked to construct takes a turn and blows up in his face.
Another theme could be found in Mr. Obi’s misfortune; this theme could be “Easy come, easy go”. He didn’t do anything to justify him to the position. He didn’t work for the job. The position was practically handed to him. This could allude to without hard work and determination; you don’t deserve anything. You have to put in before you should take out.
In conclusion, when considering all aspects of the short story “Dead Man’s Path”, one must bear in mind all contributing factors, and motives of the era in which the story was written. In this story there are great symbols to be found, and almost satirical standpoints that could be raised. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and found it a great interest to read. The moral or the story is, to be tolerant of others and their beliefs; just because they are different and a little behind or ahead of the curve doesn’t mean that you are any better than they