Comparison between Dead Man's Path and A Tale for Children - Research Paper Example

Obi has an intention of closing the path that leads to the burial grounds of the village; however, the villagers contest this action because it puts their heritage, as well as culture into compromise. A person's approach, along with his character in compelling modernization over traditional beliefs is capable of giving rise to conflicts, while, at the same time, resulting into consequences. In Dead Men's Path, the author uses symbols in the setting, as well as characterization in expressing the theme (Achebe 10).

In Dead Man’s Path, Obi closes the path to the road that is capable of taking away an opportunity, something that makes this story is a tragedy with a number of symbols. Living in a world that is full of hatred is uneasy, however, living in a world full of happiness happens to be the entire package. In Dead Man’s Path, Obi the chief director of the school makes a wise decision of closing this road since the majority of people in this area go there. Immediately after closing this path, residents begin to get angry; Obi is terrified by the unfolding of these events, especially when people begin coming up to the school, while, at the same time, tearing down everything, not sparing even the school (Elizabeth, Susan & Robert 25).

There are a number of horrific things happening within this short story thereby making it a tragedy; being in possession of a school whose path leads to the dead turns out to be an idea that is that amusing. Initially, there is a rise to power when Obi obtains the promotion, which results in him erecting the fence around the school. These actions infuriate the people living in the town; the following day, a pregnant woman, goes into labor, but dies while giving birth, something that infuriates the villagers even more since they think that it is as a result of the closing of that path.

It is possible that the baby’s spirit was to exit from where the fence was hence the death of both the mother and baby. After the woman’s death, people assume that if the path was still open, both the woman, as well as the child, would still be alive and safe. When night falls, they take distinctive items and go ahead to tear down the fence, together with the school. These actions lead Obi to think twice concerning this situation; however, he still does not understand what he did wrong that led to the tragic fall of the fraying down of the fence.

In this case, there is a perception of death or death symbolism as following the death of the woman, as well as her baby (Achebe 35). Dead Man’s Path turns out to be a tragedy comprising of a number of symbols. Living for the duration of that time was probably the hardest thing; however, the people of the town succeed in getting through these hard times. Obi fails in understanding that every person in life is in need of a path to walk on, as well as a place to set off in the future. Although Obi’s intention was to help the people in the village, in reality he did remarkably little in helping them, thereby ended up hurting them even much more (Elizabeth, Susan & Robert 68).

A Tale for Children is quite different compared to Dead Man’s Path; considering that it is distinctive of a style referred to as magic realism, which is closely incorporated with its author, the Gabriel Garcia Marquez, who is a Colombian novelist. This imaginative style brings together realistic, daily details with