Many individuals grow up under the impression that the only way to be successful and respected is to be popular and follow the crowd. Rather than being appreciated for standing out and being a diverse individual many people face criticism for expressing themselves. The world is a harsh place to thrive in if you want to be yourself and not hide behind a barrier pretending to be someone you truly are not. Throughout the following short stories “A Dead Men’s Path”, “A Party Down at The Square”, and “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” readers face the harsh realities that minorities who stand out face every single day. The first essay, “A Dead Men’s Path” is written by Chinua Achebe and focuses on the the new headmaster's conflict with the villagers
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Multiple villagers warned the new headmaster of the importance of the symbolic path referred to as the dead men’s path, which focused on the passing of spirits entering the burial ground. Despite multiple warnings, he blocked off the pathway with sticks and barbed wire, which later prevented a child from being able to enter the burial ground. Filled with rage the townspeople tore up the school ground and even destroyed one of the buildings, which resulted in the new headmaster getting fired. This situation was reported as a “tribal-war situation developing between the school and the village” (Achebe 174). This situation could have been dealt with through compromises and ended much better for both parties. However, the lack of willingness to negotiate lead people to react with a great amount of violence through destructive behaviors. Obi should have been more considerate about the villagers beliefs, which would have resulted in less violent reactions. The townspeople likely would’ve supported the modernization and improvements if the new headmaster agreed to allow the pathway to remain “open”. Even though having power makes someone capable of making their own decisions, considering others …show more content…
The white boy attending his first lynching party has a major lack of respect for characters who have different external characteristics than them, specifically skin color. Although he is slightly uncomfortable with the lynching “party” he still continues to watch it, hence supporting it in a way. As if being there watching the lynching is not bad enough the narrator additionally dehumanizes the black male by referring to him as looking like “a chicken on a hot stove”(Ellison 127). He later shares that he thinks of the black man who was burnt to death “every time he eats barbeque because his remains looked like a barbecued hog”(Ellison 130). Simply because the man being lynched was black the main character failed to truly connect with the man and have empathy for him. Since he struggled to connect with the man, he viewed him as less than himself and less worthy, hence accepting the fact the black male was getting burnt to death. However, this lack of sympathy extends much further than that when the narrator makes multiple comments comparing this man to chicken and his barbeque food. If the situation was different a white individual was being burnt everyone's reactions would have been greatly altered and people would have took steps towards ending the
Multiple villagers warned the new headmaster of the importance of the symbolic path referred to as the dead men’s path, which focused on the passing of spirits entering the burial ground. Despite multiple warnings, he blocked off the pathway with sticks and barbed wire, which later prevented a child from being able to enter the burial ground. Filled with rage the townspeople tore up the school ground and even destroyed one of the buildings, which resulted in the new headmaster getting fired. This situation was reported as a “tribal-war situation developing between the school and the village” (Achebe 174). This situation could have been dealt with through compromises and ended much better for both parties. However, the lack of willingness to negotiate lead people to react with a great amount of violence through destructive behaviors. Obi should have been more considerate about the villagers beliefs, which would have resulted in less violent reactions. The townspeople likely would’ve supported the modernization and improvements if the new headmaster agreed to allow the pathway to remain “open”. Even though having power makes someone capable of making their own decisions, considering others …show more content…
The white boy attending his first lynching party has a major lack of respect for characters who have different external characteristics than them, specifically skin color. Although he is slightly uncomfortable with the lynching “party” he still continues to watch it, hence supporting it in a way. As if being there watching the lynching is not bad enough the narrator additionally dehumanizes the black male by referring to him as looking like “a chicken on a hot stove”(Ellison 127). He later shares that he thinks of the black man who was burnt to death “every time he eats barbeque because his remains looked like a barbecued hog”(Ellison 130). Simply because the man being lynched was black the main character failed to truly connect with the man and have empathy for him. Since he struggled to connect with the man, he viewed him as less than himself and less worthy, hence accepting the fact the black male was getting burnt to death. However, this lack of sympathy extends much further than that when the narrator makes multiple comments comparing this man to chicken and his barbeque food. If the situation was different a white individual was being burnt everyone's reactions would have been greatly altered and people would have took steps towards ending the