When Mr Obi saw a woman walking down the path to the place of burial he asked a teacher who had been at the school for three years about it. Even though this teacher told the headmaster that the path was ‘very important’ to the villagers Mr Obi wanted to do things his way, without consideration for others or the consequences on the school. Mr Obi was threatening towards the villagers when he put sticks across two places where the path entered and left the school, and the ‘strengthened with barbed wire.’
The village priest went to see Mr Obi, and tried to explain about the path and its roots. Mr Obi would not listen. Soon after this a village women died while giving birth. As Mr Obi had not listened to the village people and come up with a compromise the villagers blamed him for the death, and ruined the school. They pulled down hedges and buildings. That day the supervisor came, and he saw the state of the school. Because of Mr Obi’s insensitivity and lack of respect for others peoples beliefs and traditions he was reprimanded.
As in Dead Man’s Path Snapshots of a wedding has an element of change from the more traditional ways. Neo was the only member of her family who had completed her ‘O’ levels, because of this ‘she walked around with her nose in the air.’ She thought that as the rest of her family had not reached the same academic level as her they were beneath her in society. Neo was set to marry Kegoletile, but Kegoletile had got a girl called Mathata pregnant as well as Neo. This made Neo’s family scorn her more as they said that Kegoletile was ‘running after the education and not the manners.’ Everyone thought much more highly of Mathata as she respected people. This shows that in education and money is more important now than when Neo’s family were young.
One day when Neo went to see her aunt and spoke to her with ‘careless disrespect,’ this apparently went with her ‘so-called, education, status.’ Neo’s aunt told her how ‘everyone’ hated her and how everyone was wandering why ‘a nice young man like kegoletile’ would want to marry ‘bad-mannered rubbish.’ The aunt also told Neo how they thought Kegoletile would be ‘better off’ if he married Mathata. Neo stared ‘terrified’ at her aunt and quickly left the house. The old ways comes back into Neo’s life because she gets herself pregnant by Kegoletile. This is because she is now feeling insecure and wants the wedding to her to be secured.
The wedding was more traditional, and Kegoletile’s maternal aunts told Neo how she ‘must’ (they say must as it is tradition amongst all the families) ‘carry water’ and that ‘he is the owner of the house and must be obeyed. Do not mind if he stops now and then and talks to other ladies. Let him feel free to come and go as he likes.’ This means that the aunts are telling Neo to let Kegoletile have as many affairs as he wants and there is nothing wrong with it. They are implying that it is wrong that Kegoletile does not. I think as Kegoletile and Neo were younger they had different plans, for them both to get good jobs and work. This would mean they were both bringing money into the household and so the family could become rich quite fast.