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Running Head: FICTION ANALYSIS 1

FICTION ANALYSIS 6

Fiction Analysis

Chinua Achebe excels in the application of his characters because he exploits characterization flawlessly and ingeniously in various instances in his works. In the short story “Dead Men’s Path,” Achebe employs the character of Michael Obi to explore every single aspect of the text. Obi is a visionary, enlightened, enthusiastic, and progressive individual who aims to revitalize the fortunes of his society through education. Amidst his attempts to change the society, Obi is indulged in conflicts, some interpersonal and others with the prevailing culture. The mission is for the community to accept the modern culture at the expense of the deteriorating traditional Igbo cultures. Throughout the plot, Achebe employs Obi to exploit each intent of the text. Michael Obi is a critical character to Achebe’s “Dead Men’s Path” because his actions exploit important aspects of thematic expressions, setting exploitation, and ideological conflicts among others.

The first aspect of the text that is illuminated by the character of Obi I the setting. “Dead Men’s Path” is set in Nigeria in 1949. The plot takes place within an Igbo culture that is rich and whose members are motivated to maintain the culture. In 1949, most Nigerians still lived within the realm of their cultures. The persistence on the traditionalism was anchored on the oppressive activities of the colonizing Europeans. Most Nigerians did not like the Europeans who forced them into hard labor, soiled their culture, and discriminated against their skin color. In retaliation, the Nigerians saw anybody who supported the European as a traitor. People did not care much about the future as the present anguish clouded their judgments. In simple terms, the Igbo community, and Nigeria by extension, in 1949, was a hostile context for any foreign ideas.

There are various aspects that Achebe uses to create an even better understanding of the context using the character of Obi. The position of Obi in the context is emphasized by just how much the Igbo community was missing by insisting on the traditional culture. In different areas, Obi describes the context as one that lacks “beautiful flowers,” which is an outgrowth of civilization. Other portrayals of face value issues that describe the context include the “admired wife” (147), “beautiful wife” (149), and the description of “not handsome” qualities that emanate from a culture that is stuck in the past. Evidently, the context is stuck in a conflict between the present and the future, something that Obi explains with his visual representations. Additionally, the extent of the conflict between the community and the school is highlighted in a number of ways. Significant of the explorations is the path that cuts through the school compound. Evidently, members of the society do not see any benefits of the school. They would confirm their displeasure with the change by creating a path that cuts through the school compound. While the protagonist does not express many feelings around the path, it predicts the possible occurrence of a conflict.

Achebe uses the brewing conflict to create a context of opposing ideologies. Every faction of the ideas seems motivated to maintain their stand. Through, Obi, the author is accorded the freedom to exploit both sides of the argument. Obi is a Nigerian who understands the culture. He notes that the Igbo people do not let go of their beliefs at all costs. At the same time, Obi is a learned individual who has seen the benefits of education in different nations. He then attempts to use that knowledge to represent the ideas of the other side of the argument. Achebe explains the extent of the divisions by noting the barbed wire fences that separate the two ideologies. Only Obi can integrate with the Europeans as freely as he can relate with the Africans, even if for a short period. In that sense, Obi is a link in the contexts. His character is used to give the ideas about the actual occurrences in the Nigerian society both from the native and the European sides. Since he embraces both modernity and traditionalism, Obi is the best anchor of contextual exploitation in the text.

“Dead Men’s Path” also employs the character of Obi to exploit the thematic conflicts in the text. There is a conflict between modern European ideas and the African understanding of their abilities. The text is based on deeply rooted local customs of the Igbo community. Conversely, there are emerging international standards that are intended to revitalize the “destructive” customs. Obi is portrayed as an educated African who has an insight into the modern ideologies. He is well-educated, and his passion is to aid the community in achieving the probable success linked to education. Obi exploits the brewing ideological conflicts through a number of his characteristics. In the opening paragraph, Achebe describes him as a twenty-six-year-old who manifests physical aspects attributable to older individuals. In that sense, Achebe implies that even though Obi is young, he is mature enough to represent both sides of the arguments. In fact, he has a two-sided personality that effectively symbolizes the entire conflict in the text.

Obi also executes the relativity of the ideological conflicts through his intelligence and unique understanding of different concepts. In the primary paragraphs, Obi is portrayed as a highly intelligent and ambitious individual. Intelligence is a critical factor when it comes to conflict resolution techniques. The arbitrator must be intelligent enough to understand the inputs of both sides of the argument. Using that intelligence, Obi consistently pretends to play a neutral ground in the issues, which is critical in the gradual, but eventual, revitalization of the traditional stand. Obi also manifest a unique characteristic that helps his character fit in the realms of the ideological conflict: he does not respond to unspoken feelings. Obi views the world from a rational point of view. In that sense, he is blind to the emotional prospects that form the lenses of many people in their viewership of the world. That characteristic is confirmed when his wife is irritated at just how different he is to other unmarried members of the teaching staff. Being focused on pragmatism is critical to Obi’s role as a mediator in a number of ways. Primarily, it portrays that character as one that will only listen to the sound of action. If traditional culture produced better results in as far as the future of the society is concerned, Obi would adopt traditionalism. Conversely, if modernity represents the future, Obi would easily adopt the European ideologies. It is simpler to understand that having a partial character made it simpler for Obi to make decisions on what path of the movement he would like to join. In the long run, modernity prevailed.

Besides the cultural conflicts, Obi is also an embodiment of interpersonal conflicts in the story. The scope of Obi’s character is wide, and that gives the author an opportunity to exploit multiple issues. Primary among the issues explored in the text is the perception of change. Achebe understands that change is a continuous aspect of society. Things change whether people want them or not.in the context of the Igbo community, the change was not one thing that they would easily accept. Resultantly, interpersonal conflicts emerged. One of the most prominent conflicts is the one between Obi and the priest. Both characters are motivated to change society. However, both of them have different strategies to exploit the mission. This conflict confirms the fact that during changes, conflicts emerge and everybody would want to explore a path that befits his/her beliefs. Showcasing a variant conflict in the text gives Achebe an elaborated platform to exploit how extensively the society would have to embrace diversity to grow. Being a multifaceted individual with an understanding of the conflicting change paradigms, Obi is anchored at the center of the conflicts to instill a sense of substance.

To conclude, Achebe’s “Dead Men’s Path” is primarily based on the activities of the character of Michael Obi. Obi uses his characteristics to describe the context and how necessary a change would help the community. He also employs his know-how from both conflicting factions to forge a path of solution. Put simply, the position of traditionalism and that of modernism are both exploited effectively through the character of Obi. In the end, the decisiveness of the character helps in reaching an amicable solution that is acceptable to both the conflicting ideologies and parties.

References

Achebe, C. (1953). Dead men’s path. Retrieved September, 20, 2012.