The story "Dead Men's Path" written by Chinua Achebe depicts a very narrow disrespect for differences in people within our society and communities. The central character, Michael who is the headmaster at a Missions school, mocks the religion of the village priest. Achebe depicts Michael and the priest as very different people. He uses the priest as a foil to the headmaster to demonstrate the importance of dealing with those of a different faith and culture with respect and openness. The priest is a very old man, he is traditional and respectful. His traditional ways are obvious when he explains to Michael the importance of the path for the villagers. He hopes to help the younger man see his point of view of the importance of tradition, to encourage Michael to reopen the path. The priest explains to Michael, "This path was here before you were born and before your father was born. The whole life of this village depends on it". The priest is indicating that because it has always been it should always be a tradition. Secondly, the priest is very respectful of others and their beliefs and believes that Michael should try harder to be respectful. During their conversation, the priest listens to Michael patiently and shows him respect. He does so even despite the fact that Michael speaks aggressively and rudely, the priest responds to him calmly and even calls him "my son," a warm term indicating respect. When Michael makes fun of the priest's religion, the priest does not get mad nor say that Michael is wrong. He respects Michael's right to follow his own religious beliefs. .
In contrast to the priest, Michael is modern and disrespectful. We see his faithfulness to his modern ways when he disagrees with the old ideas and ways of the villagers. He hates the path because he finds the idea of children coming in to be born by the path "fantastic". Because Michael's thinking is modern, he puts the belief that ancestors come back via the path is the equivalence with a fantasy, a fiction.