Punishment In Dead Men's Path
Pay In Full
It is said that in this life we shall pay for everything that we have committed. Let’s be certain that what goes around comes right back around. Indeed, Cicero asserts “Justice renders to each his due.” What this means to me is that if we decide to do a crime we should be ready to do the time. We will be talking about two short stories “Dead Men’s Path” by Chinua Achebe and “The Five-Forty-Eight” by John Cheever. We will prove and show that Michael Obi and Blake each experienced multiple punishments for the crimes that they committed. Michael is disrespectful and inconsiderate. Blake is arrogant towards his neighbor and callous towards his secretaries. Ultimately, we will see that Michael’s punishment was brutal; however Blake …show more content…
In both stories, one will find the main characters committing multiple crimes and as a result will be punished for them. Achebe confirms that Michael’s crime of closing the path is punished soon after by a women’s death as a result. “Two days later a young woman in the village died in childbed” (115). Cheever also confirms that Blake’s crime of using his secretaries are shortly followed by his punishment of him being paranoid everywhere he goes. “The train traveled up from underground into the weak daylight, and the slums and the city reminded Blake vaguely of the woman who had followed him” (241). As we can prove that both suffered punishment let us now focus on the worst and if the punishment was equal to the crime. Achebe writes that Michael’s ultimate punishment was that at the end of it all his hard work did not pay off for his work was destroyed. “Obi woke up the next morning among the ruins of his work” (115). This detail suggests that Michael’s punishment was equal to his crime for he lost all he had invested. Cheever emphasizes that Blake was powerful as he exploited Miss Dent when she was powerless. However, towards the end she held a gun a symbol of power and control, making him suffer, fearing for his life. “Do what I say. Put your face in the dirt. He fell forward in the filth” (247). This was an equal punishment for Blake’s crime finding himself powerless against the young Miss Dent as she washed her hands and walked
It is said that in this life we shall pay for everything that we have committed. Let’s be certain that what goes around comes right back around. Indeed, Cicero asserts “Justice renders to each his due.” What this means to me is that if we decide to do a crime we should be ready to do the time. We will be talking about two short stories “Dead Men’s Path” by Chinua Achebe and “The Five-Forty-Eight” by John Cheever. We will prove and show that Michael Obi and Blake each experienced multiple punishments for the crimes that they committed. Michael is disrespectful and inconsiderate. Blake is arrogant towards his neighbor and callous towards his secretaries. Ultimately, we will see that Michael’s punishment was brutal; however Blake …show more content…
In both stories, one will find the main characters committing multiple crimes and as a result will be punished for them. Achebe confirms that Michael’s crime of closing the path is punished soon after by a women’s death as a result. “Two days later a young woman in the village died in childbed” (115). Cheever also confirms that Blake’s crime of using his secretaries are shortly followed by his punishment of him being paranoid everywhere he goes. “The train traveled up from underground into the weak daylight, and the slums and the city reminded Blake vaguely of the woman who had followed him” (241). As we can prove that both suffered punishment let us now focus on the worst and if the punishment was equal to the crime. Achebe writes that Michael’s ultimate punishment was that at the end of it all his hard work did not pay off for his work was destroyed. “Obi woke up the next morning among the ruins of his work” (115). This detail suggests that Michael’s punishment was equal to his crime for he lost all he had invested. Cheever emphasizes that Blake was powerful as he exploited Miss Dent when she was powerless. However, towards the end she held a gun a symbol of power and control, making him suffer, fearing for his life. “Do what I say. Put your face in the dirt. He fell forward in the filth” (247). This was an equal punishment for Blake’s crime finding himself powerless against the young Miss Dent as she washed her hands and walked