Chinua Achebe’s “Dead Men’s Path” explication

Chinua Achebe’s short story “Dead Men’s Path,” follows Michael Obi’s experience as headmaster of Ndume Central School. Achebe explores a variety of themes and ideas in this piece such as ambitious intentions versus actuality, modernism versus tradition, literal life versus spirituality, vainness’ tendency to be problematic and finally missionaries versus native people.

The exposition of the piece describes a scene featuring Michael and his wife Nancy. The two discuss his new job. Nancy appears vain and selfish with actions such as acting out magazine articles. She is described as being “infected by…passion for ‘modern methods.’” Michael shares this obsession with modern life and can be inferred as representing white European ideals. Obi is described as “energetic” and possesses “enthusiasm” regarding his job. His ambitions are vast and focused on reforming the “narrow views of [the] older and often less educated” (10 Modern Africa as the Crossroads of Culture) villagers.

Michael Obi sets off to make over the Ndume School and creates beautiful flower beds that contrasted and “marked out the carefully tended school compound from the rank neighborhood bushes.” Obi hopes to beautify and make modern Ndume but a village pathway interferes with its grounds. The pathway extends from a shrine to a cemetery and Michael is “[amazed]” (11 Modern…) that the village people are permitted by the school to continue this passing through practice. He is concerned with keeping up appearances and fears the judgment of the Government Education Officer.

The village’s priest visits Michael after he creates a barrier limiting the path. The priest claims that “the whole life of the village depends on” the path for a spiritual connection to life and death. Mr. Obi explains that “The whole purpose of the school is to eradicate just such beliefs as that…Our duty is to teach your children to laugh at such ideas” (12 Modern…). Obi paints himself as extremely ignorant to the culture of this village and the clash of missionary versus natives is present in his desire to reform their way of life. His regulations interfere with their religion.

Two days pass following this interaction and a young woman of the village dies during childbirth. Obi awakes the next day to see his flowers “trampled to death” and a building “pulled down.” The irony present is that the woman’s death is blamed on his blockade and thus his attempts at beautifying Ndume have been thoroughly destroyed. Later that day a white Supervisor visits and chastises Obi for creating conflict with his “misguided zeal” (12 Modern…).

Ultimately, Obi’s ambitions lead to his demise. This was due to a blatant ignorance regarding the spirituality of the villagers. Michael Obi’s craving to make Ndume modern results in the death of a villager and thus the downfall of his school. It can be inferred that Chinua Achebe created this piece out of frustration with missionaries’ disrespect for Native African’s way of life.