0526088

Maggie Jiang

2007-6-21

Time-writing 3

Directions: In Dead Men’s Path the priest says “let the hawk perch and let the eagle perch.” Discuss what you think he means and what this saying reveals about him.

In “Dead Men’s Path” written by Nigeria, Michael Obi who is a headmaster of a school sticked to close a dean men’s path which is very important to the villagers in order to regulate his school. Finally the school’s building was ruined. During the process, a priest tried to persuade him not to close the path. But Michael did not accept his advice and something miserable happened.

In my view, the building was destroyed by the villagers. How can I say this? Because the priest once said to him that “Let the hawk perch and let the eagle perch.” This sentence is just a good advice in advance.

As we know, the hawk and the eagle is a kind of very ferocious animal. But they don not attack people if you do not disturb them. So when a hawk or an eagle is perching, the best way for us is to let it rest. If not, you will be hurt by it. Why did the priest use this sentence to persuade the headmaster? In the story, I think the hawk and the eagle mean the strong belief villagers have that the path connects the village shrine with their place of burial. If somebody destroys this belief, the people who depend on this belief will put the punishment on him just like the hawk. So the priest means that Michael should reopen the path and let this traditional belief exist or he will have troubles. Actually, in the end, he lost his position as the headmaster because of the villagers’ revenge.

This sentence also reveals that the priest is a very intelligent person.

In the story, the priest came to the office of Obi and told him how important the path is to the villagers. After Michael insisted on his decision, the priest said this sentence to him and said nothing anymore. I think the priest knew it would not work whatever he said to Michael because he was such an adamant person. But he still wanted to save him. He used this sentence to tell him what will happen if he did not reopen the path. In this way, he not only expressed his meaning but also gave a warning to Michael.