Achebe examines fanaticism, extremism, and authority through Michael Obi's stubborn decision to blockade the villagers' ancestral footpath, which runs through the school's compound. Michael Obi is portrayed as a confident, intelligent, hardworking man who has earned the position as headmaster of Ndume Central School at the age of twenty-six. Michael Obi is a proponent of modernity and wishes to modernize the "backward" villagers, who subscribe to their traditional culture. With his new position of authority, Obi becomes callous, unsympathetic, and zealous in his mission to educate and modernize the villagers. When the village priest visits Obi to persuade him to open the ancestral footpath, Obi is obdurate and does not consider or respect the priest's viewpoint. Obi also disregards the priest's proverb to "let the hawk perch and let the eagle perch," which results in his tragic downfall.
Overall, Achebe examines how authority, power, and zeal can adversely affect how individuals coexist with others who practice different customs and cultures. As humans, elevated status can impact our ability to compromise and view situations from other people's perspectives. In the short story, Michael Obi's title as headmaster inflates his ego, and he refuses to sympathize with the village priest's perspective. The proverb regarding the hawk and eagle perching on the same branch is significant and illustrates the concept of coexistence, which is something Obi dismisses because of his elevated status as headmaster and zealous attitude.
Thursday, September 5, 2019
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