Final timed-writing
06301030075
Ruby Zeng
June 21, 2007
Timed-writing three
Direction: 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 , when the priest comes to negotiate with Michael Obi about the path, he once says ” let the hawk perch and let the eagle perch.” The saying seems not easy to understand. But when connect it with the whole story, I find that the saying is meaningful and profound.
During their talk, the priest explains the origin of the path and tries to make Michael Obi understand that the path is essential to the local people. He does not want to come into conflict with Michael Obi but he is refused directly and rudely. So he leaves and says the saying as a conclusion. It means although he can not persuade Michael Obi, he hopes that Obi will understand the deep meaning of the saying and change his minds.
The saying shows that when different people from various backgrounds live together, it is important to respect everyone’s will, religion and culture. It just likes in the forest, different kind of birds live together and man has no rights to disturb their life. The priest compares Michael Obi and his school to the hawk, he and his tribe to the eagle. He believes that they are equal and they can share the same earth so it is reasonable that they should not disturb each other.
Then what does the saying reveal in the priest? The influence of the saying on the priest can be discussed in two aspects.
On one hand, the saying reveals in the priest’s attitude towards Michael Obi and his school. When talking to Michael Obi, he keeps calm and never says a bad word about school. Even when the Michael Obi says proudly that the aim of school is to eradiate the stupid ideas about the path, the priest still shows great respect and patience. He never criticizes about Michael Obi because he knows human’s character is diverse and it is no use to change other’s conceptions. His attitude indicates that he just wants to save the path in order to avoid the further conflicts.
On the other hand, when he fails to persuade Michael Obi, the priest leaves directly. He stops arguing with Michael Obi. In the saying, the hawk and the eagle are different. They perch in different places, eat different food and have different life style. But they never disturb each other. Now the priest believes that he can not make Michael Obi change his mind so just let it be. He hopes that the god will solve the problem just like the nature will decide the perching places for birds. His abnegation is not a kind of concession but it shows his truly faith of the natural principles and his religion.
As a whole, the saying stands for a gritty and profound spirits of villagers and their religion. I think it gives voice to a very simple principle, that is, we would rather understand and respect than sharpen the cultural differences. And it also calls for a sense of tolerance to make people live in harmony. The saying is both meaningful to the story, and the busy world today.
|
Marilyn (18.4.12 06:50) providing him with a meal and talking about her love of novels and stories and the power of words to hold sway over the reader. Jones dismisses it all as worthless admitting that he never reads fiction. Alva is taken aback and the subject of books is abandoned. Then Lance says he would much rather learn how Alva came to live in such a remote part of the world. Alva confesses that it is a rather long story. Would her care to hear it all? It might just take the entire afternoon. Lance has little to do but wait until his plane is repaired and he agrees. Dissertation Format - BA Football Degree - Custom Management Dissertation - Coursework Writing Help - Project Management Dissertation - Dissertation Research Proposal |