Chinua Achebe quotes

Chinua Achebe was a renowned Nigerian novelist, poet, and critic, best known for his groundbreaking novel "Things Fall Apart." His works explore the impacts of colonialism and the complexities of African identity and tradition. He is celebrated as one of Africa’s most influential literary figures. Here are 107 of his quotes:

The world is like a Mask dancing. If you want to see it well, you do not stand in one place. (Chinua Achebe)
Whenever you see a toad jumping in broad daylight, then know that something is after its life. View quote
Chinua Achebe
We shall all live. We pray for life, children, a good harvest and happiness. You will have what is good for you and I will have what is good for me. Let the kite perch and let the egret perch too. If one says no to the other, let his wing break. View quote
Chinua Achebe
You sound as if you question the authority and the decision of the Oracle, who said he should die." "I do not. Why should I? But the Oracle did not ask me to carry out its decision." [...] "The Earth cannot punish me for obeying her mesenger," Okonkwo said. "A child's fingers are not scalded by a piece of hot yam which its mother puts into its palm. View quote
Chinua Achebe
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. View quote
Chinua Achebe
One of the truest tests of integrity is its blunt refusal to be compromised. View quote
Chinua Achebe
The sun will shine on those who stand before it shines on those who kneel under them. View quote
Chinua Achebe
When suffering knocks at your door and you say there is no seat for him, he tells you not to worry because he has brought his own stool. View quote
Chinua Achebe
When there is a big tree small ones climb on its back to reach the sun. View quote
Chinua Achebe
People create stories create people; or rather stories create people create stories. View quote
Chinua Achebe
If one finger brings oil it soils the others. (Chinua Achebe)
No matter how prosperous a man was, if he was unable to rule his women and his children (and especially his women) he was not really a man. View quote
Chinua Achebe
You cannot plant greatness as you plant yams or maize. Who ever planted an iroko tree - the greatest tree in the forest? You may collect all the iroko seeds in the world, open the soil and put them there. It will be in vain. The great tree chooses where to grow and we find it there, so it is with the greatness in men. View quote
Chinua Achebe
A man to whom you do a favor will not understand if you say nothing, make no noise, just walk away. You may cause more trouble by refusing a bribe than by accepting it. View quote
Chinua Achebe
People from different parts of the world can respond to the same story if it says something to them about their own history and their own experience. View quote
Chinua Achebe
If the clan did not exact punishment for an offense against the great goddess, her wrath was loosed on all the land and not just on the offender. As the elders said, if one finger brought oil it soiled all the others. View quote
Chinua Achebe
Even the village rain-maker no longer claimed to be able to intervene. He could not stop the rain now, just as he would not attempt to start it in the heart of the dry season, without serious danger to his own health. View quote
Chinua Achebe
A man who lived on the banks of the Niger should not wash his hands with spittle. View quote
Chinua Achebe
As a man danced so the drums were beaten for him. View quote
Chinua Achebe
When the moon is shining the cripple becomes hungry for a walk. View quote
Chinua Achebe
If you don't like my story, write your own. (Chinua Achebe)
Beware Okonkwo!" she warned. "Beware of exchanging words with Agbala. Does a man speak when a god speaks? Beware! View quote
Chinua Achebe
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. View quote
Chinua Achebe
Writers don't give prescriptions. They give headaches! View quote
Chinua Achebe
The land of the living was not far removed from the domain of the ancestors. There was coming and going between them, especially at festivals and also when an old man died, because an old man was very close to the ancestors. A man's life from birth to death was a series of transition rites which brought him nearer and nearer to his ancestors. View quote
Chinua Achebe