English Essay 1 – Literary Analysis Research Paper
Professor Giovannucci Perri
Cultural Imperialism And Its Negative nIfluences
Is cultural imperialism truly hazardous? I for one cannot answer such a provocative question. Throughout my life, I have lived within countries influenced by westernized policies, and as a citizen of such a society, I have viewed both the benefits and the detriments of cultural imperialism. The mere thought of having an outsider attempt to change one’s cultural traditions raises criticism. The authors Chinua Achebe, Nasser Jubran and Gabriel Garcia Marquez are experts at analyzing how cultural imperialism promotes criticism and help me, the reader understand more clearly how foreign influence negatively impacts a culture. In their stories “Dead Men’s Path”, “Fishhooks” and “The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World”, there are interrelated symbols and images that portray cultural imperialism and discuss the reaction of local people towards it.
Chinua Achebe’s “Dead Men’s Path” portrays the negative response of local traditional people towards the concept of cultural imperialism. In this story, a newly appointed headmaster attempts to improve his school through westernization and building hedges and planting flowers. Through his attempt he discovers an old woman walking across the school compound on a path towards a sacred burial ground. The headmaster then covers the path with barbed wire and is later visited by a priest asking to undo the covering of the path; however the headmaster argues and insists that the path must be covered. Achebe immediately “depicts the importance of the relationship between the natural and the supernatural” (Emenyonu and Uko). The supernatural individual, also known as the headmaster rejects religious and traditional authenticities the society holds....