Chinua Achebe Quotes

1930–2013 Nigeria

Chinua Achebe (November 16, 1930 – March 21, 2013) was a Nigerian novelist, poet, and critic. His first novel, Things Fall Apart (1958), is the most widely read book in modern African literature.

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Also known as: An Image of Africa, Anthills of the savannah, Arrow of God, Beware Soul Brother, Girls at war and other stories, Home and Exile

Random Chinua Achebe quote

93 quotes

A man of worth never gets up to unsay what he said yesterday.

Man of the People (1966)

Whenever you see a toad jumping in broad daylight, then know that something is after its life.

Things Fall Apart (1958)

A man who lived on the banks of the Niger should not wash his hands with spittle.

No Longer at Ease (1960)

In Chief Nanga’s company it was impossible not to be merry.

Man of the People (1966)

Until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.

There is a moral obligation, I think, not to ally oneself with power against the powerless.

I have learned that a man who makes trouble for others makes trouble for himself.

When there is a big tree small ones climb on its back to reach the sun.

No Longer at Ease (1960)

When the moon is shining the cripple becomes hungry for a walk.

Things Fall Apart (1958)

By immediately identifying his people as “men of soul” .

Beware Soul Brother and Other Poems (1972)

Proverbs are the palm-oil with which words are eaten.

Things Fall Apart (1958)

If one finger brings oil it soils the others.

No Longer at Ease (1960)

A proud heart can survive general failure because such a failure does not prick its pride. It is more difficult and more bitter when a man fails alone.

Things Fall Apart (1958)

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.

No Longer at Ease (1960)

He calls the ground where men return in death a place of “safety” and “strength” .

Beware Soul Brother and Other Poems (1972)

Among the Igbo the art of conversation is regarded very highly, and proverbs are the palm-oil with which words are eaten.

One of the truest tests of integrity is its blunt refusal to be compromised.

Privilege, you see, is one of the great adversaries of the imagination; it spreads a thick layer of adipose tissue over our sensitivity.

We had all accepted things from white skins that none of us would have brooked from our own people.

Man of the People (1966)

"Beware Okonkwo!" she warned. "Beware of exchanging words with Agbala. Does a man speak when a god speaks? Beware!"

Things Fall Apart (1958)

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: Chinua Achebe (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.