Context square Assignment

20190404034952new_doc_2019_04_03_22.40.26_20190403224128 (1)

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Contexts

History

Geography

Identity

Literary

Of Production

(Author)

Chinua Achebe is the author of the short story entitled ‘Dead Men’s Path’ which was first published in 1953. What influenced the Nigerian born author in writing the story were the traditional cultural behaviors practiced in African society and the conflict that arose between them and the modern culture which was being introduced.

The writing of “Dead Men’s Path” took place in a village in Nigeria since the setting presented a footpath of the ancestral beliefs and customs practiced by the community. This short story presents a Nigerian village during the British colonial period and the efforts that were made so that the village could reform through education (Msiska, 2014).

The author of ‘Dead Men’s Path’ is Chinua Achebe, who was born in a village in the eastern part of Nigeria (Gilley, 2016). He was writing about the people living in Nigeria during the pre-colonial period and how missionaries interfered with their customs bringing in a conflict between traditional beliefs and modernization.

Oral traditions have been the main influence which has encouraged Chinua Achebe’s writing. The narratives were obtained from the tales told by grandparents to their children in African villages (Altıntas, 2015). As Achebe was growing up in the villages, he heard these stories both at home and in school.

The performance styles by storytellers were the use of repetition, hyperbole, symbolism, and imagery. Most of the literature contemporary with the author was about their origin, beliefs, and customs practiced by their forefathers and important rituals to the community.

(806 words)