Dead Men's Path by Chinua Achebe/ Question-Answers/ RBSE

Chapter – 7

Dead Men’s Path                                                                                           Chinua Achebe

 

Short Question -Answers

Q 1. Why was Obi given the responsibility of the Ndume Central School?

Answer. Ndume Central School was an unprogressive school. Michael Obi was an energetic youngster with wonderful ideas. Moreover, he had had sound secondary school education. That’s why he was given the responsibility of Ndume central school as a headmaster.

Q 2. What are the two aims of Michael?

Answer. Michael Obi had two objectives. First,a high standard of teaching was to be insisted upon in Ndume Central School. Second, the school compound was to be turned into a place of beauty..

Q 3. What did the priest of Ani tell Obi about the path?

Answer. The priest of Ani told Michael Obi that the path was very old. The whole life of the village depended on the road. The dead relatives of the villagers were taken along the route and their ancestors visited by that route. But most importantly it was the path of children coming in to be born.

Q 4. Why was the path is important for villagers?

Answer. The route was important for the villagers because it connected the village shrine with their place of burial.

Q 5. What did the diviner suggest at the death of a young woman?

Answer. The diviner said that the fence used to bar the path was an insult to their ancestors. He suggested heavy sacrifices to calm the ancestors. 

Q 6. Describe the report prepared by the white supervisor?

Answer. The white Supervisor wrote a nasty report on the state of the premises but more seriously about the tribal-war situation developing between the school and the village, arising in part from the misguided zeal of the new headmaster.

Long Question Answers

Q 7. Describe the condition of Ndume central school before and after Michael Obi.

Answer. Ndume central school was an unprogressive school. When Michael Obi became the headmaster of the school, the level of education at the school was not good. Michael was a man of creative ideas. He increased the level of studies at school. He taught children the modern perspective; to laugh at the superstitious and irrational ideas. Michael closed the road, which passed to the burial place through the school campus. He and his wife turned the school campus into a beautiful place. To beautify the school campus, Michael Obi  grew beautiful hibiscus and allamanda flowers. 

Q 8. Draw a character sketch of Michael Obi.

Answer. Michael Obi was the new headmaster of Ndume Central school. His body was weak but he was an energetic man. He had very great ideas in his minds. He had had a sound secondary school education. He was outspoken in his condemnation of the narrow views of the older and often less-educated ones. He was quite passionate and his mind was full of modern methods. Though he looked more than his age, he was not unhandsome. He had two aims for his school, One, he wanted high standard of teaching in his school. Two, the school compound was to be turned into a place of beauty. He blocked the way which passed through the school campus. He wanted his students to overcome superstitious and irrational ideas. He did not let anybody overpower him. When the Priest of Ani came to Obi, he didn't follow his advice rather he did what he had decided to do. All these things show that he was a main of strong character and determination. He was dutiful, honest and wanted to do the best for his school.

Q 9. Why were the school building and the hedges ruined?

 When Michael Obi became the headmaster of the school, He increased the level of studies at school and also made the school campus beautiful by planting several beautiful plants like Hibiscus, Allamanda etc. One evening when he was admiring his work, he was scandalized to notice an old woman from the village hobble across the compound through a marigold flower-bed and the hedges. On having a closer look, he found faint signs of an almost disused path from village. He discussed about it with the teachers and finally decided to block the path. Three days later he was visited by the priest of Ani who advised him to reopen the path. But Obi didn't budge from his decision. Two days later a young woman died in child birth. When the diviner was consulted, he said that it was due to their ancestors being insulted by the fence and prescribed heavy sacrifices. It resulted into the total ruin of the school building and hedges.