The Irony of the Gardener - “Vengeful Creditor”
Achebe expounds, “She (Mrs. Emenike) learnt that her gardener had not gone to school at all but to a Ford Foundation man who had offered him seven pounds, and bought him a bicycle and a Singer sewing-machine for his wife.” The Ford Foundation man, an American, deals with the Gardener superiorly than the Emenikes (who are his countrymen). The Emenikes had the resources to elevate the gardener and remunerate him satisfactorily but they did not. For a Moral Criticism, the Emenikes handling of the gardener illustrates how the well-off Nigerians inhibited their deprived countrymen more than the imperialists. The despotism exhibited by the wealthy aggravates the disparities between the well-heeled and common Nigerians. If the Emenikes and other well-to-do Nigerians elevated other underprivileged Nigerians, then the disparate imbalance in wealth circulation would have begun to disappear.
“The palm of the hand” - “Vengeful Creditor”
Mr. Emenike appeals to Martha’s obliviousness so that she cannot agonize about her daughter working as a maid as an alternative of attending school; “But my belief is that a child who will be somebody will be somebody whether he goes to school or not. It is all written here , in the palm of the hand.” If Mr. Emenike relied on the ideology of the ‘palm’ he would not have made an effort to enroll his children in school; he would have let his children’s destinies be resolved by the palms.
The Irony of a Genius - “Vengeful Creditor”
Mr. Emenike regards Veronica as genius due to her aptitude to make up songs and clasp ideas expeditiously. However, the act of attempting to poison the child using ink settles that she is not a genius.
The Inspector’s Report - “Dead Men’s Path”
The report controverts Michael Obi’s expectancies. Achebe explicates, “That day, the white Supervisor came to inspect the school and wrote a nasty report on the state of the premises but more seriously about the "tribal-war situation developing between the school and the village, arising in part from the misguided zeal of the new headmaster." Michael Obi terminated the path to emphasize the worth of modernization. He held that the shutting of the path would delight the white inspector who is perceptibly an advocate of civilization. However, the inspector deems him liable for the school’s skirmish with the community. The report infers that Obi, notwithstanding his education, is not the ultimate headmaster. Accordingly, Michael Obi’s act of bidding to enchant the white inspectors is self-crippling.
