Narrator and point of view

The short story “Dead Men’s Path” by Chinua Achebe is told from the perspective of a third-person narrator. The narrator focuses on the characters’ descriptions and their relation to each other. The narration also presents the conflict between Michael Obi, who wants to get rid of the ancestral footpath, and the village natives, who want to preserve their traditions.

The narrator is objective and does not want to influence the reader. The events are presented without comments, making the narrator an impassive observer with no emotional involvement in the events.

The narrator is omniscient, having access to the characters’ thoughts and feelings. At times, the narrator gives insight into what the characters feel: “Nancy was downcast”. We are also t...