Reading Log

Reading Log for "Dead Men's Path"

Who's the Winner?

The final triumph of the local people impressed me a lot. Their respect for ancestors and heritage enables them to conquer the yoke of western culture burdened on their mind and win to preserve their own beliefs and tradition. However, in fact, I can not conceal my considering their outdated beliefs as superstitious and nonsensical ones. Thinking of a path that is used for the dead to depart and the newborn to come is ridiculous and it only exists in fantasy.

Look at the innocent Mr.Obi, a poor puppet of the Mission authorities, who devoted all his life to promoting the teaching standard of the school and imbuing the local people with modern thoughts, was finally dismissed because of the conflict between the western and local culture. He did ignore the tribal beliefs and tradition, but what he did, if put in the background of this modern world, was constructive and useful to the local people.

In my view, it is a seemingly triumph that the local win, what they lose is far more priceless. They lose the opportunity of keeping pace with the outside world, lose the chance of learning modern science and knowledge, and also, they lose their skill of living in this ever-changing new world. After all, in the long run, they are the losers.

On the other hand, however, although the white lose this battle of cultural conflict, it can not be denied that they are the winners. Why? The last sentence of the story brings a lot of food for thought. The white Supervisor attributes the conflict to Mr.Obi's misguided zeal and considers it as a "tribal-war situation'"(54), which actually is a war between two races, between western and local cultures. This is where a skillful strategy lies. The western Mission authorities mitigate the conflict by dismissing the headmaster in order to gain trust of the local people. A headmaster is a lost, but trust is even more worthwhile. Maybe the Mission will assign another equally young and energetic, but cleverer and more skillful headmaster to continue eradicating local beliefs and undermining tribal affiliations. Then, next time facing such conflict, having both trust and strength in their hands, their triumph will come. Trying to achieve their ultimate goal by making concessions at first, they surely are skillful winners, aren't they?