THINGS FALL APART Quotes

"Mosquito [...] had asked Ear to marry him, whereupon Ear fell on the floor in uncontrollable laughter. "How much longer do you think you will live?" she asked. "You are already a skeleton." Mosquito went away humiliated, and any time he passed her way he told Ear that he was still alive." — Chinua Achebe (Things Fall Apart (The African Trilogy, #1))

"A child cannot pay for its mother’s milk "A child cannot pay for its mother’s milk." — Chinua Achebe (Things Fall Apart (The African Trilogy, #1))

"The world has no end, and what is good among one people is an abomination with others." — Chinua Achebe (Things Fall Apart (The African Trilogy, #1))

"At the most one could say that his chi or. personal god was good "At the most one could say that his chi or ... personal god was good. But the Ibo people have a proverb that when a man says yes his chi says yes also. Okonkwo said yes very strongly; so his chi agreed. " — Chinua Achebe (Things Fall Apart (The African Trilogy, #1))

"You do not know me,’ said Tortoise. ‘I am a changed man "You do not know me,’ said Tortoise. ‘I am a changed man. I have learned that a man who makes trouble for others makes trouble for himself." — Chinua Achebe (Things Fall Apart (The African Trilogy, #1))

"It always surprised him when he thought of it later that he did not sink under the load of despair." — Chinua Achebe (Things Fall Apart (The African Trilogy, #1))

"The world is large,” said Okonkwo "The world is large,” said Okonkwo. “I have even heard that in some tribes a man’s children belong to his wife and her family.” “That cannot be,” said Machi. “You might as well say that the woman lies on top of the man when they are making the babies." — Chinua Achebe (Things Fall Apart (The African Trilogy, #1))

"Among the Igbo the art of conversation is regarded very highly, and proverbs are the palm-oil with which words are eaten." — Chinua Achebe (Things Fall Apart (The African Trilogy, #1))

"If you don't like my story, write your own" — Chinua Achebe (Things Fall Apart (The African Trilogy, #1))

"Do not despair. I know you will not despair "Do not despair. I know you will not despair. You have a manly and a proud heart. A proud heart can survive a general failure because such a failure does not prick its pride. It is more difficult and more bitter when a man fails alone." — Chinua Achebe (Things Fall Apart (The African Trilogy, #1))

"Age was respected among his people, but achievement was revered "Age was respected among his people, but achievement was revered. As the elders said, if a child washed his hands he could eat with kings." — Chinua Achebe (Things Fall Apart (The African Trilogy, #1))

"Mr. Brown had thought of nothing but numbers "Mr. Brown had thought of nothing but numbers. He should have known that the kingdom of God did not depend on large crowds. Our Lord Himself stressed the importance of fewness. Narrow is the way and few the number. To fill the Lord's holy temple with an idolatrous crowd clamoring for signs was a folly of everlasting consequence. Our Lord used the whip only once in His life - to drive the crowd away from His church." — Chinua Achebe (Things Fall Apart (The African Trilogy, #1))

"Perhaps down in his heart Okonkwo was not a cruel man "Perhaps down in his heart Okonkwo was not a cruel man. But his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness. It was deeper and more intimate that the fear of evil and capricious gods and of magic, the fear of the forest, and of the forces of nature, malevolent, red in tooth and claw. Okonkwo’s fear was greater than these. It was not external but lay deep within himself." — Chinua Achebe (Things Fall Apart (The African Trilogy, #1))

"When the moon is shining the cripple becomes hungry for a walk" — Chinua Achebe (Things Fall Apart (The African Trilogy, #1))

"Then listen to me,' he said and cleared his throat "Then listen to me,' he said and cleared his throat. 'It's true that a child belongs to its father. But when a father beats his child, it seeks sympathy in its mother's hut. A man belongs to his fatherland when things are good and life is sweet. But when there is sorrow and bitterness he finds refuge in his motherland. Your mother is there to protect you. She is buried there. And that is why we say that mother is supreme. Is it right that you, Okonkwo, should bring your mother a heavy face and refuse to be comforted? Be careful or you may displease the dead. Your duty is to comfort your wives and children and take them back to your fatherland after seven years. But if you allow sorrow to weigh you down and kill you, they will all die in exile." — Chinua Achebe (Things Fall Apart (The African Trilogy, #1))

"A man who calls his kinsmen to a feast does not do so to save them from starving. They all have food in their own homes. When we gather together in the moonlit village ground it is not because of the moon. Every man can see it in his own compound. We come together because it is good for kinsmen to do so." — Chinua Achebe (Things Fall Apart (The African Trilogy, #1))

"If I hold her hand she says, ‘Don’t touch "If I hold her hand she says, ‘Don’t touch!’ If I hold her foot she says ‘Don’t touch!’ But when I hold her waist-beads she pretends not to know." — Chinua Achebe (Things Fall Apart (The African Trilogy, #1))

"There is no story that is not true "There is no story that is not true." — Chinua Achebe (Things Fall Apart (The African Trilogy, #1))

"There is no story that is not true, [ "There is no story that is not true, [...] The world has no end, and what is good among one people is an abomination with others." — Chinua Achebe (Things Fall Apart (The African Trilogy, #1))

"The white man is very clever "The white man is very clever. He came quietly and peaceably with his religion. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. Now he has won our brothers, and our clan can no longer act like one. He has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart." — Chinua Achebe (Things Fall Apart (The African Trilogy, #1))

The End