Story comparison - Essay Example

29 April Culture, Modernity, and Traditions Culture represents one of the strongest sources of meaning in people’s lives.An increasingly modern culture, however, tends to clash with traditional cultures, because the former is very objective and scientific in approach to life. Two stories depict modern and ancient cultures, “Dead Men’s Path” by Chinua Achebe and “The Man to Send Rain Clouds” by Leslie Marmon Silko. This paper analyzes the differences and similarities between these two stories and how they express diverse cultural beliefs and practices.

These stories are similar in depicting the conflicts between modernity and traditions and how culture exerts a great influence in how people perceive life and death, but they are different in how the characters react to traditions. “Dead Men’s Path” and “The Man to Send Rain Clouds” share the same clashes between modernity and traditions. In “The Man to Send Rain Clouds,” Michael Obi is the new headmaster of Ndume Central School. He seeks to inject modernity into the “backward” situation of the school.

He does not only change the physical appearance of the school, because he further wants to eradicate ancient beliefs and practices. There is a sacred path that goes into the school; “it connects the village shrine with their place of burial” (Achebe 11). Obi resolves to close the path, even after being warned by the old village priest of Ani. This shows the conflict between new and old beliefs. “Dead Men’s Path” portrays a more passive resistance to a new culture and religion. Ken and Leon seek to bury their grandfather using their traditional methods and rituals, such as throwing pinches of corn meal and pollen into the wind and painting the dead man’s face.

Louise, however, remembers Christian rites and suggests that their grandfather be blessed with holy water. The meaning of the ritual for them is changed, however, because they think that the holy water is needed to help ease the dead’s thirst. The priest, initially, rejects the idea of blessing the cadaver without full Christian rites. The fact that Leon and Ken do not inform him beforehand, when they met the priest earlier, about their grandfather’s death stresses that they do not want modern and Christian burial practices.

They know the clashes between the ancients and the new and would rather choose the former, instead of the latter. Culture is a dominant theme in the two stories too, because it affects how people view life and death. In “Dead Men’s Path,” Obi sees the path of dead as something to be destroyed. For him, it is not necessary in the modern life. Life for him is about doing things the new way. Death is the end of life and not something to have a fuss about. The African village, on the contrary, believes that the path is where the dead and the newborns walk.

Their culture asserts the value of protecting this path, so that the flow of life will continue. Ken and Leon have Native American beliefs about death. They know that it is a journey in the afterlife, where the dead have to be properly equipped. This is why Leon agrees to pour water to his grandfather, so that he would not be thirsty in this journey. Hence, culture affects beliefs about life and death in different ways. The main dissimilarity between these two stories is how the characters react to traditions.

The priest respected the traditional beliefs of the people. He still blessed the grave with holy water despite the absence of the Last Rites. He even considered the aspect of being thirsty, so “he shook the container until it was empty” (Silko 741). Furthermore, the Native American youth preserved their old beliefs and mixed it with new ones too. They did not let go of their traditional customs, like what Obi did. Obi, because of his modern beliefs, developed a condescending attitude toward traditional African beliefs.

He tells the village priest: “Our duty is to teach your children to laugh at such ideas” (Achebe 12). He cannot reconcile modernity and traditions, and as a result, his beautiful school is trampled, when a young woman dies at childbirth. The villagers must have blamed Obi and the school for what happened. Thus, when there is lack of respect for traditions, chaos and conflict will occur. “Dead Men’s Path” and “The Man to Send Rain Clouds” are comparable in portraying the conflicts between modernity and traditions and how culture greatly shapes how people perceive life and death.

The characters in these stories, however, diverged in response to traditions. On the one hand, the Native Americans and even the white, Christian priest respected traditions. Obi, on the other hand, disregards traditions and suffers in the end. These stories leave a strong message. Though traditions and modernity tend to culturally clash, they both deserve to survive and modern generations should let the two co-exist. Works Cited Achebe, Chinua. “Dead Men’s Path.” The Art of Short Story. By D. Gioia and R. Gwynn. New York, NY: Pearson/Longman. 10-12. Print.

Silko, Leslie M. “The Man to Send Rain Clouds.” The Art of Short Story. By D. Gioia and R. Gwynn. New York, NY: Pearson/Longman. 738-742. Print.