'Dead Men's Path': Q&A
Dead Men’s Path
1. How would you describe the personalities of the main characters Michael Obi and the village priest?
a. Michael Obi, the protagonist, is a well-educated, idealist who thinks very highly of education, but is more comfortable in the abstract rather than facing the troubles of real life. The village priest, however, seems to be more rational and open-minded than Obi, and believes that existence lays on the generations of tradition and culture in the village.
2. What are the new headmaster’s motivations for wanting to improve the school?
a. Michael and his wife want to turn the school, which is viewed as unprogressive, into a more modern one. Their primary goals are to enforce a higher standard of education as well as transform the school into a place of beauty.
3. Why does the village priest visit the school? What choice does he offer the headmaster?
a. The village priest is the voice of the local community and requests the reasoning why the footpath to the burial place was closed. The village priest offers the headmaster to reopen the footpath without any other conditions.
4. What significance do you see in the story’s title, “Dead Men’s Path”?
a. It not only highlights the respect the culture has for the dead, but there is quite literally a Dead Men’s Path; the path in the school yard leads to a cemetery, to which not only people may reach their loved ones, but leads souls to the cemetery in order to rest in peace.
5. What ironies do you see in the story?
a. The irony of the story is that Mr. Obi is hired as headmaster because of his modern ideas to implement change for this unprogressive school. His same beliefs, arrogance and lack of sensitivity for the villagers traditions lead to him being dismissed as headmaster.
6. What theme in the story seems more important to you? Is it stated anywhere in the story?
a. The most important theme in the story seems to be tradition. Tradition is stated throughout the whole story in the sense
1. How would you describe the personalities of the main characters Michael Obi and the village priest?
a. Michael Obi, the protagonist, is a well-educated, idealist who thinks very highly of education, but is more comfortable in the abstract rather than facing the troubles of real life. The village priest, however, seems to be more rational and open-minded than Obi, and believes that existence lays on the generations of tradition and culture in the village.
2. What are the new headmaster’s motivations for wanting to improve the school?
a. Michael and his wife want to turn the school, which is viewed as unprogressive, into a more modern one. Their primary goals are to enforce a higher standard of education as well as transform the school into a place of beauty.
3. Why does the village priest visit the school? What choice does he offer the headmaster?
a. The village priest is the voice of the local community and requests the reasoning why the footpath to the burial place was closed. The village priest offers the headmaster to reopen the footpath without any other conditions.
4. What significance do you see in the story’s title, “Dead Men’s Path”?
a. It not only highlights the respect the culture has for the dead, but there is quite literally a Dead Men’s Path; the path in the school yard leads to a cemetery, to which not only people may reach their loved ones, but leads souls to the cemetery in order to rest in peace.
5. What ironies do you see in the story?
a. The irony of the story is that Mr. Obi is hired as headmaster because of his modern ideas to implement change for this unprogressive school. His same beliefs, arrogance and lack of sensitivity for the villagers traditions lead to him being dismissed as headmaster.
6. What theme in the story seems more important to you? Is it stated anywhere in the story?
a. The most important theme in the story seems to be tradition. Tradition is stated throughout the whole story in the sense