Running Head: FICTION ANALYSIS 1 FICTION ANALYSIS 6 Fiction Analysis Chinua Achebe excels in the application of his characters because he exploits characterization flawlessly and ingeniously in various instances in his works. In the short story “Dead Men’s Path,” Achebe employs the character of Michael Obi to explore every single aspect of the text. Obi is a visionary, enlightened, enthusiastic, and progressive individual who aims to revitalize the fortunes of his society through education. Amidst his attempts to change the society, Obi is indulged in conflicts, some interpersonal and others with the prevailing culture. The mission is for the community to accept the modern culture at the expense of the deteriorating traditional Igbo cultures. Throughout the plot, Achebe employs Obi to exploit each intent of the text. Michael Obi is a critical character to Achebe’s “Dead Men’s Path” because his actions exploit important aspects of thematic expressions, setting exploitation, and ideological conflicts among others. The first aspect of the text that is illuminated by the character of Obi I the setting. “Dead Men’s Path” is set in Nigeria in 1949. The plot takes place within an Igbo culture that is rich and whose members are motivated to maintain the culture. In 1949, most Nigerians still lived within the realm of their cultures. The persistence on the traditionalism was anchored on the oppressive activities of the colonizing Europeans. Most Nigerians did not like the Europeans who forced them into hard labor, soiled their culture, and discriminated against their skin color. In retaliation, the Nigerians saw anybody who supported the European as a traitor. People did not care much about the future as the present anguish clouded their judgments. In simple terms, the Igbo community, and Nigeria by extension, in 1949, was a hostile context for any foreign ideas. There are various aspects that Achebe uses to create an even better understanding of the context using the character of Obi. The position of Obi in the context is emphasized by just how much the Igbo community was missing by insisting on the traditional culture. In different areas, Obi describes the context as one that lacks “beautiful flowers,” which is an outgrowth of civilization. Other portrayals of face value issues that describe the context include the “admired wife” (147), “beautiful wife” (149), and the description of “not handsome” qualities that emanate from a culture that is stuck in the past. Evidently, the context is stuck in a conflict between the present and the future, something that Obi explains with his visual representations. Additionally, the extent of the conflict between the community and the school is highlighted in a number of ways. Significant of the explorations is the path that cuts through the school compound. Evidently, members of the society do not see any benefits of the school. They would confirm their displeasure with the change by creati.

1. Running Head: FICTION ANALYSIS 1
FICTION ANALYSIS 6
Fiction Analysis
Chinua Achebe excels in the application of his characters
because he exploits characterization flawlessly and ingeniously
in various instances in his works. In the short story “Dead
Men’s Path,” Achebe employs the character of Michael Obi to
explore every single aspect of the text. Obi is a visionary,
enlightened, enthusiastic, and progressive individual who aims
to revitalize the fortunes of his society through education.
Amidst his attempts to change the society, Obi is indulged in
conflicts, some interpersonal and others with the prevailing
culture. The mission is for the community to accept the modern
culture at the expense of the deteriorating traditional Igbo
cultures. Throughout the plot, Achebe employs Obi to exploit
each intent of the text. Michael Obi is a critical character to

2. Achebe’s “Dead Men’s Path” because his actions exploit
important aspects of thematic expressions, setting exploitation,
and ideological conflicts among others.
The first aspect of the text that is illuminated by the character
of Obi I the setting. “Dead Men’s Path” is set in Nigeria in
1949. The plot takes place within an Igbo culture that is rich
and whose members are motivated to maintain the culture. In
1949, most Nigerians still lived within the realm of their
cultures. The persistence on the traditionalism was anchored on
the oppressive activities of the colonizing Europeans. Most
Nigerians did not like the Europeans who forced them into hard
labor, soiled their culture, and discriminated against their skin
color. In retaliation, the Nigerians saw anybody who supported
the European as a traitor. People did not care much about the
future as the present anguish clouded their judgments. In simple
terms, the Igbo community, and Nigeria by extension, in 1949,
was a hostile context for any foreign ideas.
There are various aspects that Achebe uses to create an even
better understanding of the context using the character of Obi.
The position of Obi in the context is emphasized by just how
much the Igbo community was missing by insisting on the
traditional culture. In different areas, Obi describes the context
as one that lacks “beautiful flowers,” which is an outgrowth of
civilization. Other portrayals of face value issues that describe
the context include the “admired wife” (147), “beautiful wife”
(149), and the description of “not handsome” qualities that
emanate from a culture that is stuck in the past. Evidently, the
context is stuck in a conflict between the present and the future,
something that Obi explains with his visual representations.
Additionally, the extent of the conflict between the community
and the school is highlighted in a number of ways. Significant
of the explorations is the path that cuts through the school
compound. Evidently, members of the society do not see any
benefits of the school. They would confirm their displeasure
with the change by creating a path that cuts through the school
compound. While the protagonist does not express many

3. feelings around the path, it predicts the possible occurrence of a
conflict.
Achebe uses the brewing conflict to create a context of
opposing ideologies. Every faction of the ideas seems motivated
to maintain their stand. Through, Obi, the author is accorded the
freedom to exploit both sides of the argument. Obi is a Nigerian
who understands the culture. He notes that the Igbo people do
not let go of their beliefs at all costs. At the same time, Obi is a
learned individual who has seen the benefits of education in
different nations. He then attempts to use that knowledge to
represent the ideas of the other side of the argument. Achebe
explains the extent of the divisions by noting the barbed wire
fences that separate the two ideologies. Only Obi can integrate
with the Europeans as freely as he can relate with the Africans,
even if for a short period. In that sense, Obi is a link in the
contexts. His character is used to give the ideas about the actual
occurrences in the Nigerian society both from the native and the
European sides. Since he embraces both modernity and
traditionalism, Obi is the best anchor of contextual exploitation
in the text.
“Dead Men’s Path” also employs the character of Obi to exploit
the thematic conflicts in the text. There is a conflict between
modern European ideas and the African understanding of their
abilities. The text is based on deeply rooted local customs of the
Igbo community. Conversely, there are emerging international
standards that are intended to revitalize the “destructive”
customs. Obi is portrayed as an educated African who has an
insight into the modern ideologies. He is well-educated, and his
passion is to aid the community in achieving the probable
success linked to education. Obi exploits the brewing
ideological conflicts through a number of his characteristics. In
the opening paragraph, Achebe describes him as a twenty-six-
year-old who manifests physical aspects attributable to older
individuals. In that sense, Achebe implies that even though Obi
is young, he is mature enough to represent both sides of the
arguments. In fact, he has a two-sided personality that

4. effectively symbolizes the entire conflict in the text.
Obi also executes the relativity of the ideological conflicts
through his intelligence and unique understanding of different
concepts. In the primary paragraphs, Obi is portrayed as a
highly intelligent and ambitious individual. Intelligence is a
critical factor when it comes to conflict resolution techniques.
The arbitrator must be intelligent enough to understand the
inputs of both sides of the argument. Using that intelligence,
Obi consistently pretends to play a neutral ground in the issues,
which is critical in the gradual, but eventual, revitalization of
the traditional stand. Obi also manifest a unique characteristic
that helps his character fit in the realms of the ideological
conflict: he does not respond to unspoken feelings. Obi views
the world from a rational point of view. In that sense, he is
blind to the emotional prospects that form the lenses of many
people in their viewership of the world. That characteristic is
confirmed when his wife is irritated at just how different he is
to other unmarried members of the teaching staff. Being focused
on pragmatism is critical to Obi’s role as a mediator in a
number of ways. Primarily, it portrays that character as one that
will only listen to the sound of action. If traditional culture
produced better results in as far as the future of the society is
concerned, Obi would adopt traditionalism. Conversely, if
modernity represents the future, Obi would easily adopt the
European ideologies. It is simpler to understand that having a
partial character made it simpler for Obi to make decisions on
what path of the movement he would like to join. In the long
run, modernity prevailed.
Besides the cultural conflicts, Obi is also an embodiment of
interpersonal conflicts in the story. The scope of Obi’s
character is wide, and that gives the author an opportunity to
exploit multiple issues. Primary among the issues explored in
the text is the perception of change. Achebe understands that
change is a continuous aspect of society. Things change whether
people want them or not.in the context of the Igbo community,
the change was not one thing that they would easily accept.

5. Resultantly, interpersonal conflicts emerged. One of the most
prominent conflicts is the one between Obi and the priest. Both
characters are motivated to change society. However, both of
them have different strategies to exploit the mission. This
conflict confirms the fact that during changes, conflicts emerge
and everybody would want to explore a path that befits his/her
beliefs. Showcasing a variant conflict in the text gives Achebe
an elaborated platform to exploit how extensively the society
would have to embrace diversity to grow. Being a multifaceted
individual with an understanding of the conflicting change
paradigms, Obi is anchored at the center of the conflicts to
instill a sense of substance.
To conclude, Achebe’s “Dead Men’s Path” is primarily based on
the activities of the character of Michael Obi. Obi uses his
characteristics to describe the context and how necessary a
change would help the community. He also employs his know-
how from both conflicting factions to forge a path of solution.
Put simply, the position of traditionalism and that of modernism
are both exploited effectively through the character of Obi. In
the end, the decisiveness of the character helps in reaching an
amicable solution that is acceptable to both the conflicting
ideologies and parties.
References
Achebe, C. (1953). Dead men’s path. Retrieved September, 20,
2012.
3

6. Title of Your Paper
Your First and Last Name
Professor’s Name with title
Course Title and Number
Date
1
Creating Training Tools
This is a very interesting assignment. You are to imagine
your manager has requested that everyone in the company take
the StrengthsFinder test. Now, your manager has asked you to
put together a training tool on how to best coach and develop
employees in the decision-making process who have varied
strengths. In this section you will start by informing the reader
(your professor) the purpose of this assignment. You are to
ensure that the first word of each paragraph is indented a ½
inch. Also, each paragraph is to have a minimum of three to six
sentences.
Decision Making Process
You are to start this section by briefly describing the simple 5-
step decision making process. This process includes stating the
problem, gathering information for weighing options,
considering the consequences, making the decision, and
evaluating the decision. Next, you are to create a scenario in
which you will state a decision that two employees have been
asked to make.
Decision Making Scenario
A possible example of a decision that has to be made could be
making travel arrangements (to include hotel accommodations)
to attend a business meeting in New York City the following

7. week, Monday morning starting at 9:00 a.m. You are free to
use any business decision. Once you have described the
decision then you are to identify the two employees with
different strengths. Make sure that you identify the specific
Clifton StrengthFinder trait. Also, explain how each individual
would approach the decision based on their unique strength.
Employee Training and Development
As a manager one of your roles is to train and/or develop
your employees. In this section you are to identify at least two
(2) different strengths (you may use the two above) and
describe the process you would use to develop these employees.
Be specific by incorporating a scenario into this section. As
with other sections, please ensure that the first word of the
paragraph is to be indented a ½ inch. Also, there needs to be a
minimum of three to six sentences in each paragraph.
Conclusion
The conclusion sums up what you have discussed in your
assignment. The first sentence, as with other new paragraph
should be indented a ½ inch. Ensure that you use the
grammarly.com tool so that you will be able to detect any
grammatical or sentence structure issues. Finally, when you
submit your paper for grading it will automatically go through
the safeassign tool. The similarity percentage should be no more
than 30. Should it be higher, you will need to review and revise
the paper. If you follow this template you will be able to
accomplish this assignment without any difficulties. Remember
the page length requirement for this assignment is three (3) to
five (5) pages. Also, you MUST adhere to the university’s
student writing standards (SWS) requirements. You can access
this document in the course information section of the course
shell or in the instructions for this assignment.