Dead Mans Path

“Dead Men’s Path”

Chinua Achebe’s “Dead Men’s Path” is filled with symbolism. The story starts off in January of 1949, where young Michael Obi became headmaster of Ndume Central School. I think this is very symbolic it that Chinua Achebe would have been 19 in 1949, so this whole story may be based on what his hopes and dreams were, he eventually became a teacher, so maybe he wanted to become a headmaster and not just a teacher.

“We shall make a good job of it, shan't we?” Said Michael to his young wife. This could represent some event that happened in Chinua Achebe’s life. Maybe he received a promotion in a job and he turned to his wife and said something similar.

When his wife says, “We shall do our best.” “We shall have such beautiful

gardens and everything will be just modern and delightful. I think this phrase in the story may represent the way Chinua Achebe’s wife feels. She probably wanted a large warming and welcoming garden.

The next two paragraphs in the story make me think that this is the way Chinua Achebe and his wife saw life. His wife may have been so infatuated with his passion for life that all other wives envied her and her beliefs.

“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. Nancy's dream-gardens came to life with the coming of the rains, and blossomed. Beautiful hibiscus and allemande hedges in brilliant red and yellow marked out carefully tended school compound from the rank neighborhood bushes.” I thought this was a very “visual” passage in the story. I think you can learn so much about the author through his characters, and this story is no different. I think Chinua Achebe and his wife probably put their best efforts into everything they do, he teaches and she maybe gardens. The hibiscus and allemande hedges are maybe two of her favorite things to plant and the school they keep referring to, could possible be their house. She carefully tends to her gardens and they maybe have the nicest looking house and garden in their neighborhood.

The rest of the story may have deeper meaning than Chinua Achebe can convey through words. The story continues with Michael seeing a footpath through his gardens, leading from one side of the school property to the other. The path connected the village to their burial ground. The path however was not worn down, like the village people