Dead Men’s Path by Chinua Achebe Summary Essay Example

this conflict the village priest went to talk with the headmaster. The priest explains Michael the importance of the path and its relationship with the villagers' animist beliefs.

Dead man's Path Summary

Michael says that the path remains closed and explains him that the purpose of the school is to abolish such ancestral beliefs. Also he says that their duty as educator is to teach the children don’t take seriously these traditions. Two days after a young woman in the village dies in childbirth, the people consult an diviner, who recommend “heavy sacrifices to propitiate ancestors,” thus the village people, whom are the antagonists, destroy part of the school.

This action from the villager becomes the climax of the story. After that the Supervisor arrives and gives a bad review and writes "a nasty report" due to "tribal-war situation between the school and the village” which was originate for the new headmaster. The main symbol in this story is the path that signifies how traditions play an important role in the villager’s lives. For Michael, the path symbolizes the superstition and old believes what need to be changed to get progress.

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