Chinua Achebe, author of “Dead Men's Path,” was born in a village in eastern Nigeria; because he was the son of a missionary, he had a Christian education. He was educated in England at the University of London, but completed his studies at the University College of Ibadan. After returning home, Achebe saw Nigeria break free from England's control as the country gained its independence. Experiencing these two worlds colliding during his formative years likely influenced his story, since the main conflict in "Dead Men's Path" is the conflict between competing worldviews. The story takes place in a small village that is contested territory throughout, as the warden fights with the villagers over issues of control. It's essential that the story takes place in a small village, as small communities are more likely to cling to traditional values ​​than larger, more progressive areas. Michael Obi's attempts, similar to those of centuries of Christian missionaries in history, to revolutionize the village set everyone back even further than before his arrival. He takes on the formidable beast of tradition without the proper tools or attitude, and loses spectacularly. In his exploration of symbolism, point of view, and characterization, Achebe asserts that prosperity is unattainable when the beliefs of others are not treated with appropriate deference, even if those beliefs are not shared. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Nature is as much at war with itself as people are with each other throughout history. The school garden, representative of all the modernity that Michael Obi tries to bring out, is built around the old pedestrian path which has much more utility than beauty, going against the "modern values" which led to the construction of the garden in the first place. In Obi's eyes, the path is "pale" and "almost disused", but it is in reality sacred to the people. It symbolizes all the ideas that the villagers defend, values ​​that the newcomer believes he can control. In the eyes of the person trying to change it, the path is unimportant and the garden is the height of beauty, representative of modern thought with "beautiful hedges of hibiscus and allamanda in brilliant red and yellow." The garden swallows up the path, but the path crosses the garden. Neither is willing to give the other their own space, instead trying to hinder them. Thus, neither the garden nor the path achieves its full usefulness. Although the story is written from the third person point of view, the reader gets insight into the protagonist's motivations. Seeing the story through the eyes of Michael Obi, the new headmaster, the reader can understand that he has good intentions, such as introducing "high standard teaching" and transforming the school grounds "into a place of beauty.” is not simply a villain who bursts in and attempts to terrorize a village by taking away what the residents hold dear. We can have an inherent sympathy for the villagers' struggle to keep the trail because they believe that "the whole life of this village depends on it." on that” as well as sympathy for the man who is trying to change things because he wants to help. Obi believes that the best way to help the people of this village is to educate them, modernize them and ensure that this is the case. children do not cling to their parents' superstitions. His pure intentions are clouded by his adamant refusal to try to understand.