The Dead Mans Path - Essay Example

Affiliation At the center of the two short stories is the practice of traditional cultural beliefs by the two societies from which the stories emerge. The quote that best depicts this theme in The Basis of the man to send rain clouds is “He felt good because it was finished and he was happy about the sprinkling of the holy water, now the old man could send the big thunderclouds for sure”. In the story of The Dead Man’s Path, the quote illustrating this theme is “This path was here before you were born, and before your father was born.

The whole life of our village depends on it. Our dead relatives depart from it, and our ancestors visit us by it. But most important, it is the path of children coming in to be born….” These two societies are still clinging on to the old beliefs and traditional rituals that were practiced by their ancestors. In the first story, they believe that, when one member of the society is dead, they have to go under a traditional ritual, where they are sprinkled with water so that they may never thirst again (Silko,).

It is also believed that in doing so, they will send strong thunderclouds after their burial. This is brought forth when Louise was speaking Leon before the burial ceremony of the old man. In the second story, there is an old path that the dwellers of that particular believe to be the path used by the dead while departing, and the ancestors when they are coming back to visit members of the society (Achebe,). This is the reason why violence erupts in the event of the path closure by the headmaster, Mr. Obi. The villagers could not bear the fact that they could no longer use the path when bidding farewell to their deceased.

These two instances show that members of the two societies cling strongly to their traditions. Works Cited Silko Marlon Leslie. “The Basis of the man to send rain clouds” 2014. Web 28 February 2014. Achebe, Chinua. “Dead Man’s Path”. 1953. Web 28 February 2014