Story comparison Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Story comparison - Essay Example 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. â€Å"Dead Men’s Path† and â€Å"The Man to Send Rain Clouds† share the same clashes between modernity and traditions. In â€Å"The Man to Send Rain Clouds,† Michael Obi is the new headmaster of Ndume Central School. He seeks to inject modernity into the â€Å"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; â€Å"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. â€Å"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.