Dead Men's Path by Chinua Achebe
"Dead Men's Path" is a short story by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe that explores the conflict between traditional beliefs and modernity through the experiences of a young headmaster named Obi. Appointed to lead Ndume School, Obi is eager to implement progressive educational reforms and remove what he views as outdated cultural practices. His vision includes creating a beautiful, orderly school environment, with plans that reflect European ideals. However, his plans clash with local customs when he orders the closure of a sacred footpath that connects the village to its ancestral spirits, dismissing its historical significance.
The story highlights the tension between Obi’s modernizing ambitions and the villagers' deep-rooted traditions, culminating in a confrontation that illustrates the consequences of cultural insensitivity. The villagers, feeling disrespected by Obi's actions, react strongly, leading to the destruction of school property as they seek to honor their ancestors. Ultimately, the narrative serves as a poignant commentary on the importance of understanding and respecting cultural heritage amidst the pressures of modernization. Achebe’s work prompts readers to reflect on the complexities of cultural interplay and the ramifications of imposing one's values on others.
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Dead Men's Path by Chinua Achebe
First published: 1953
Type of plot: Social realism
Time of work: 1949
Locale: An Igbo village in southeastern Nigeria
Principal Characters:
Michael Obi , the protagonist, a zealous and idealistic young mission-trained headmasterNancy Obi , his wife, a shallow woman given to outward appearances and equally infected with a shallow idealismThe village priest , an old man of very few words
The Story
Michael Obi's ambition is fulfilled when, at age twenty-six, he is appointed to whip into shape an unprogressive secondary school. Energetic, young, and idealistic as he is, Obi hopes to clean up the educational mission field and speed up its Christianizing mission. Already outspoken in his denigration of "the narrow views" and ways of "superannuated people in the teaching field," he expects to make a good job of this grand opportunity and show people how a school should be run. He plans to institute modern methods and demand high standards of teaching, while his wife, Nancy—who looks forward to being the admired wife of the headmaster—plants her "dream gardens" of beautiful hibiscus and allamanda hedges. With Nancy doing her gardening part, they will together lift Ndume School from its backward ways to a place of European-inspired beauty in which school regulations will replace the Ndume village community's traditional beliefs.
![Chinua Achebe speaking at Asbury Hall, Buffalo, as part of the "Babel: Season 2" series. Stuart C. Shapiro [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html), CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/) or CC-BY-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0)], via Wikimedia Commons mss-sp-ency-lit-227542-147880.jpg](https://imageserver.ebscohost.com/img/embimages/ers/sp/embedded/mss-sp-ency-lit-227542-147880.jpg?ephost1=dGJyMNHX8kSepq84xNvgOLCmsE2epq5Srqa4SK6WxWXS)
So Obi dreams and plans until one evening when he discovers a village woman cutting across the school gardens on a footpath that links the village shrine with the cemetery. Scandalized by her blatant trespassing, Obi orders the sacred ancestral footpath fenced off with barbed wire, much to the consternation of the villagers. The local priest then tries to remind Obi of the path's historical and spiritual significance as the sacred link between the villagers, their dead ancestors, and the yet unborn. Obi flippantly derides the priest's explanation as the very kind of superstition that the school is intended to eradicate because "dead men do not require footpaths." Two days later the hedge surrounding the school, its flower beds, and one of its buildings lie trampled and in ruins—the result of the villagers' attempt to propitiate the ancestors whom Obi's fence has insulted. After his supervisor issues a report on this incident, Obi is dismissed.