Timed-Writing Three

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. 


There are many stories and films in which priests or fortunetellers play the role of revealing secrets or pointing directions. And this story, The Dead Men’s Path, is no exception.

When Michael Obi had made up his mind to destroy the path, the priest came to him. As was often the case, the priest said very little, but each sentence with sophisticated meaning. “Let the hawk perch and let the eagle perch.” This sentence obviously means: although Michael had made great contributions to local education as the headmaster of the school, the villagers’ traditional customs should never be involved in his revolution. If Michael’s education is the hawk, then the villagers’ privilege is the eagle. The villagers had already permitted to let the hawk perch, so why couldn’t the hawk spare some space for the eagle.

From this saying, we can see the priest is a man (or woman) with a great foresight. He took both factors into account, and allowed for both sides’ benefits. Education is important, while traditions no less. So instead of fully opposing Michael, he left him a way, pointing a direction that will lead to a happy ending for both.

On the other hand, the saying also reveals that the priest was willing to show tolerance and accept what the villagers were not willing to accept. From the traditional perspective, Michael Obi’s behaviors had triggered the villagers’ most sensitive nerve. In a village where modernization had not yet started, going against traditions were dangerous behaviors. At that time, Michael Obi was at the risk of receiving vengeance from the villagers who would not tolerate him any more. While the priest, as the representative of the village, showed tolerance in the first place.

Above are the priest’s personalities revealed by his words. As a character of directing, the priest successfully fulfilled his task with this one sentence, pointing the right way, leaving us enough to think about.