Perspectives

Literary perspective

Chinua Achebe’s short story “Dead Men’s Path” can be analyzed from the perspective of postcolonialism. 

The action takes place in 1949, when Nigeria was under British rule. The story also deals with the rejection of the native tradition and embracing modernization.

It shows that colonizers or even people who adopt the colonizers’ attitude might not attribute value to the natives’ culture. An ex…

...

Works with the same theme 

A short story similar to “Dead Men’s Path” is Kazuo Ishiguro’s “A Family Supper”. Like “Dead Men’s Path”, the story presents the conflict between the narrator’s father, who engages in traditional Japanese customs in his daily life, and the narrator, who leans towards modernity. The narrator lives in America, where he adapts to Western values and detaches himself from the Japanese customs, which comes as a disappointment to his family.

Another short story that explores the theme of tradition versus modernity is “Chameleon” by Ranbir Sahota. “Chameleon” tells the story of Ri…