Essay Draft Two

—Tony Zhao
—May 19, 2007
—Draft Two

Disrimination Against Tribal Tradition

It is always interesting to see different cultures encounter each other.,which sometimes dissolve into a wonderful, if not perfect harmony, such as the ideal combination of eastern and western cultures. On the contrary, the collision of two distinct cultures are more likely to turn into a battle, as an author,Chinua Achebe described in his story Dead Men’s Path.. Whose protagonist Micheal Obi attempted to introduce the western education into the tribal area. His reformation got confronted by the local priest as Obi insisted on cutting off the Dead Men’s Path, which the tribal ethnic group believes to be the one by which “our dead relatives depart and our ancestors visit us ”.

Many people would agree that cultures should be viewed, or appreciated without value judgement, though it is obviously not the case of Obi. Through his arguement with the priest, as well as his conversation with his wife and the rest of the passage, it is not hard to realize that Obi considers the traditional tribal belief to be inferior to the western culture, in another word, he discriminates against the tribal tradition.

Evidence 1

Obi's disrespect of the traditional belief can be seen through his response to the priest. “…to eradicate just such beliefs as that…the whole idea is fantastic…to teach our children to laugh at such ideas”. His mocking voice shows his impoliteness and haughtiness both to the local tribal belief and the priest present. Concerning the obstacles put around the path, Obi made fun of the tribal belief by saying “ I don’t suppose our ancestors will find the little detour too burdensome.”

Evidence 2
Page 52, his denigration of “these old and superannuated people…who would be better employed as traders in the Onitsha market”. It's apparent that Micheal regard other headmasters as market traders, incompetent of teaching careers. However, his denigration does not just stay on this superfacial level referring to the local people, the background of which is the Nigeria at the turn of the century under control of Britain. I would regard the tribal people to represent the tribal spirit. In this sense, Obi is actually insulting the tribal culture and belief.

Evidence 3:
When told the big row confronting the attempt to close the dead path and its importance to the local people , Obi's response is an immidiate ignorance of people's feelings (“That was some time ago. But it will not be used now&rdquo and firmed determination to make the path disappear, which is proved by “heavy sticks” and “barbed wire” put in the path.(P54, Para 1)

30.5.07 04:28