Dead Mens Path Tradition

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Tradition provides important ties with the past ancestries, heritage, core values are often all part of that connection and bring value and meaning into one’s life, which is passed on from one generation to another, while the importance culture is the customs and beliefs identifying and shaping moral values of individual within a society or even the community.
Culture can form undetectable and obscure bonds between members in the community; it keeps people of the same cultural background together. Culture is strengthened in this way because it can give background reference to its later generations of its ability of keeping the long-term tradition, gaining the sense of belonging of people to one’s culture. If one loses sight of its culture …show more content…

The head master saw an elderly woman walking through the school yard. He was so disgruntled when he saw an elderly lady .Obi complains to one of the teacher’s about the situation she replied to him that it is symbolic. “The Path,” said the teacher apologetically, “appears to be very important to them. “Although it is hardly used, it connects the village shrine with their place of burial” (271). Here tradition is presented another was the reaction of Obi after he saw what happen and he put up a fence which he was confronted by tradition again. “Look here, my son,” said the Priest bringing down his stick,” “This here path was here before your father was born the whole life of this village depends on it our dead relatives depart by it and our ancestors visit us by it .But most important, it is the path coming children coming in to be born. (271). the author also discusses Obi disrespecting the tribe’s culture. “The villagers might, for all I know decide to use the schoolroom for a pagan ritual during the inspection.”(271) Ceremonial ritual is a part of their culture religion and belief for protection from disastrous action and to communicate with the dead ancestors. The importance of the customs and belief ended up to be disastrous and dreadful death have come upon the village because of the …show more content…

The grandmother who is the main character of the story refused to go to Florida she wanted to go to Tennessee to visit friends. “The grandmother didn’t want to go to Florida. She wanted to visit some connections in east Tennessee.” Here she showed her first persuasion “now look here, Bailey.”….. “Here this fellow that calls himself misfit is loose from the Federal Pen and headed towards and you read here what it says he did to those people.” (p.353) she would dress like any southern lady casual but modest. “A navy blue straw sailor hat with a bunch of white violets on the brim and a navy blue dress with a small white dot in the print .Her collars cuffs were white organdy trimmed with lace and at her neckline she had pinned a purple spray of cloth violets containing sachet.” (p.354)This is another event of foreshadowing the author used to tell what the out one of the story is going to be which is death of the whole family. In the second half of the story O’Connor constant give us examples of the grandmother’s compelling and persuasive behavior which one would consider to be an annoy old woman. Here they are passing a graveyard with the same amount of graves to the amount of people in the car. “They passed a large cotton field with five graves or six graves fenced in the middle of it, like a small island.” “Look at the graveyard!” the grandmother said

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