Teacher and Backpack

Induced Ignorance Throughout one 's lifetime, one may have been put into a situation where there was an enormous amount of responsibility and expectations of oneself. How would one handle this situation? Whether it be for better or for worse, one just wants this situation to be over with, Michael Obi is no different. Michael Obi, by most people, is regarded as someone who doesn 't care about the townspeople or their values. They forget to try and understand the situation that Obi is currently in, and without such intense pressure from his job, he would be quite the gentlemen. Michael Obi is a twenty-six year old man. He, as suggested by the narrator, is a "young and energetic man" (Backpack 269). As well as being talented and more educated than most other headmasters in the field. Married to a women named Nancy for two years, who has been "completely infected by his passion for 'modern methods ' " ( Backpack 270). As of now, Obi seems to be a man who is positive, eager for change, and passionate. On January 1949, Obi was appointed as headmaster of Ndume Central School. The narrator informs us that, "Obi accepted this responsibility with enthusiasm." As well as, "He had many wonderful ideas" (Backpack 269). The School he was appointed to was an unprogressive one. Being appointed as the headmaster of such a school means that the Mission authorities had great expectations of Obi. Obi says, "I was thinking what a grand opportunity we 've go at last to show these people how a school should be run." (Backpack 270). The narrator then writes, "Mr. Obi put his whole life into the work, and his wife hers too. He had two aims. A high standard of teaching was insisted upon, and the school compound was to be turned into a place of beauty." (Backpack 270). There is still no signs of negativity about Obi. One day Obi sees that his work has been scandalized and he was very upset. He did not like the fact that the teachers would let the villagers use this footpath. One of the teachers said, "The Path, appears to be very important to them. Although it is hardly used, it connects the village shrine with their place of burial." (Backpack 271). Obi then says, "And what has that got to do with the school?" (Backpack 271). This suggests that Obi was unaware of the traditions of the townspeople at the time, and why they were using this old footpath. Obi is worried about what the Government Education Officer might think when he says, "What will the Government Education officer think of this when he comes to inspect the school next week?" (Backpack 271). With the pressure of the Officer coming to inspect the school, Obi obviously has to focus on keeping the school managed properly. Then the Priest of Ani came to talk to Obi. With the pressure of the Officer coming to inspect, Obi did not want to have anything to do with what the priest was saying. Because of this, Obi reinforced the "defenses" to stop people from using this footpath. This is done so that the gardens won 't be destroyed again like before. Near the end, a women died in childbed. Obi woke up the next day to see the school in ruins. This was the day the Supervisor came and wrote a nasty report. As you can see, Obi is just a young and passionate man. He had no true intentions of hurting the townspeople or affecting them with any sort of negativity. He just wanted to modernize the school and show the Government Education Officer that he is a good and able headmaster. Unfortunately near the end, the pressure overwhelms him and gives him a falsified sense of ignorance to the priest and the townspeople.

Works Cited
• Kennedy, X. J., and Dana Gioia. Backpack Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Boston: Pearson, 2012. Print.

Cited: • Kennedy, X. J., and Dana Gioia. Backpack Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Boston: Pearson, 2012. Print.