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Chinua Achebe Quotes

What a man does not know is greater than he Picture Quote #1

He is a fool who treats his brother worse than a stranger Picture Quote #1

I don’t care about age very much Picture Quote #1

When an old man dies, a library burns to the ground Picture Quote #1

As our fathers said, you can tell a ripe corn by its look Picture Quote #1

One would think he never sucked at his mother’s breast Picture Quote #1

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Presidents do not go off on leave without telling the country Picture Quote #1

Nobody can teach me who I am. You can describe parts of me, but who I am - and what I need - is something I have to find out myself Picture Quote #1

The whole idea of a stereotype is to simplify. Instead of going through the problem of all this great diversity - that it’s this or maybe that - you have just one large statement; it is this Picture Quote #1

... when we are comfortable and inattentive, we run the risk of committing grave injustices absentmindedly Picture Quote #1

The trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership. There is nothing basically wrong with the Nigerian land or climate or water or air or anything else. The Nigerian problem is the unwillingness or inability of its leaders to rise to the responsibility, to the challenge of personal example which are the hallmarks of true leadership Picture Quote #1

I tell my students, it’s not difficult to identify with somebody like yourself, somebody next door who looks like you. What’s more difficult is to identify with someone you don’t see, who’s very far away, who’s a different color, who eats a different kind of food. When you begin to do that then literature is really performing its wonders Picture Quote #1

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But I liked Yeats! That wild Irishman. I really loved his love of language, his flow. His chaotic ideas seemed to me just the right thing for a poet. Passion! He was always on the right side. He may be wrongheaded, but his heart was always on the right side. He wrote beautiful poetry Picture Quote #1

When the British came to Ibo land, for instance, at the beginning of the 20th century, and defeated the men in pitched battles in different places, and set up their administrations, the men surrendered. And it was the women who led the first revolt Picture Quote #1

The last four or five hundred years of European contact with Africa produced a body of literature that presented Africa in a very bad light and Africans in very lurid terms. The reason for this had to do with the need to justify the slave trade and slavery Picture Quote #1

There’s no lack of writers writing novels in America, about America. Therefore, it seems to me it would be wasteful for me to add to that huge number of people writing here when there are so few people writing about somewhere else Picture Quote #1

The writer is often faced with two choices--turn away from the reality of life’s intimidating complexity or conquer its mystery by battling with it. The writer who chooses the former soon runs out of energy and produces elegantly tired fiction Picture Quote #1

Joseph Conrad was a thoroughgoing racist. That this simple truth is glossed over in criticisms of his work is due to the fact that white racism against Africa is such a normal way of thinking that its manifestations go completely unremarked Picture Quote #1

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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 Picture Quote #1

A man’s life from birth to death was a series of transition rites which brought him nearer and nearer to his ancestors Picture Quote #1

What a country needs to do is be fair to all its citizens - whether people are of a different ethnicity or gender Picture Quote #1

My parents were early converts to Christianity in my part of Nigeria. They were not just converts; my father was an evangelist, a religious teacher. He and my mother traveled for thirty-five years to different parts of Igboland, spreading the gospel Picture Quote #1

If you’re rooted to a spot, you miss a lot of the grace. So you keep moving, and this is the way I think the world’s stories should be told - from many different perspectives Picture Quote #1

When I think of the standing, the importance and the erudition of all these people who see nothing about racism in Heart of Darkness, I’m convinced that we must really be living in different worlds Picture Quote #1

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Once you allow yourself to identify with the people in a story, then you might begin to see yourself in that story even if on the surface it’s far removed from your situation. This is what I try to tell my students: this is one great thing that literature can do - it can make us identify with situations and people far away Picture Quote #1

Once you have really done all you can, then you can show it to people. But I find this is increasingly not the case with the younger people. They do a first draft and want somebody to finish it off for them with good advice Picture Quote #1

My position is that serious and good art has always existed to help, to serve, humanity. Not to indict. I don’t see how art can be called art if its purpose is to frustrate humanity Picture Quote #1

The relationship with my people, the Nigerian people, is very good. My relationship with the rulers has always been problematic Picture Quote #1

The whole idea of a stereotype is to simplify. Instead of going through the problem of all this great diversity - that it’s this or maybe that - you have just one large statement; it is this Picture Quote #1

I liked Yeats! That wild Irishman. I really loved his love of language, his flow. His chaotic ideas seemed to me just the right thing for a poet. Passion! He was always on the right side. He may be wrongheaded, but his heart was always on the right side. He wrote beautiful poetry Picture Quote #1

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Friendship Quotes

Motivational Quotes

Inspirational Quotes

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Text Quotes

What a man does not know is greater than he (Chinua Achebe Quotes) He is a fool who treats his brother worse than a stranger (Chinua Achebe Quotes) I don’t care about age very much (Chinua Achebe Quotes) When an old man dies, a library burns to the ground (Chinua Achebe Quotes) As our fathers said, you can tell a ripe corn by its look (Chinua Achebe Quotes) One would think he never sucked at his mother’s breast (Chinua Achebe Quotes) Presidents do not go off on leave without telling the country (Chinua Achebe Quotes) Nobody can teach me who I am. You can describe parts of me, but who I am - and what I need - is something I have to find out myself (Chinua Achebe Quotes) The whole idea of a stereotype is to simplify. Instead of going through the problem of all this great diversity - that it’s this or maybe that - you have just one large statement; it is this (Chinua Achebe Quotes) ... when we are comfortable and inattentive, we run the risk of committing grave injustices absentmindedly (Chinua Achebe Quotes) The trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership. There is nothing basically wrong with the Nigerian land or climate or water or air or anything else. The Nigerian problem is the unwillingness or inability of its leaders to rise to the responsibility, to the challenge of personal example which are the hallmarks of true leadership (Chinua Achebe Quotes) I tell my students, it’s not difficult to identify with somebody like yourself, somebody next door who looks like you. What’s more difficult is to identify with someone you don’t see, who’s very far away, who’s a different color, who eats a different kind of food. When you begin to do that then literature is really performing its wonders (Chinua Achebe Quotes) But I liked Yeats! That wild Irishman. I really loved his love of language, his flow. His chaotic ideas seemed to me just the right thing for a poet. Passion! He was always on the right side. He may be wrongheaded, but his heart was always on the right side. He wrote beautiful poetry (Chinua Achebe Quotes) When the British came to Ibo land, for instance, at the beginning of the 20th century, and defeated the men in pitched battles in different places, and set up their administrations, the men surrendered. And it was the women who led the first revolt (Chinua Achebe Quotes) The last four or five hundred years of European contact with Africa produced a body of literature that presented Africa in a very bad light and Africans in very lurid terms. The reason for this had to do with the need to justify the slave trade and slavery (Chinua Achebe Quotes) There’s no lack of writers writing novels in America, about America. Therefore, it seems to me it would be wasteful for me to add to that huge number of people writing here when there are so few people writing about somewhere else (Chinua Achebe Quotes) The writer is often faced with two choices--turn away from the reality of life’s intimidating complexity or conquer its mystery by battling with it. The writer who chooses the former soon runs out of energy and produces elegantly tired fiction (Chinua Achebe Quotes) Joseph Conrad was a thoroughgoing racist. That this simple truth is glossed over in criticisms of his work is due to the fact that white racism against Africa is such a normal way of thinking that its manifestations go completely unremarked (Chinua Achebe Quotes) 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 (Chinua Achebe Quotes) A man’s life from birth to death was a series of transition rites which brought him nearer and nearer to his ancestors. (Chinua Achebe Quotes) What a country needs to do is be fair to all its citizens - whether people are of a different ethnicity or gender. (Chinua Achebe Quotes) My parents were early converts to Christianity in my part of Nigeria. They were not just converts; my father was an evangelist, a religious teacher. He and my mother traveled for thirty-five years to different parts of Igboland, spreading the gospel. (Chinua Achebe Quotes) If you’re rooted to a spot, you miss a lot of the grace. So you keep moving, and this is the way I think the world’s stories should be told - from many different perspectives. (Chinua Achebe Quotes) When I think of the standing, the importance and the erudition of all these people who see nothing about racism in Heart of Darkness, I’m convinced that we must really be living in different worlds. (Chinua Achebe Quotes) Once you allow yourself to identify with the people in a story, then you might begin to see yourself in that story even if on the surface it’s far removed from your situation. This is what I try to tell my students: this is one great thing that literature can do - it can make us identify with situations and people far away. (Chinua Achebe Quotes) Once you have really done all you can, then you can show it to people. But I find this is increasingly not the case with the younger people. They do a first draft and want somebody to finish it off for them with good advice. (Chinua Achebe Quotes) My position is that serious and good art has always existed to help, to serve, humanity. Not to indict. I don’t see how art can be called art if its purpose is to frustrate humanity. (Chinua Achebe Quotes) The relationship with my people, the Nigerian people, is very good. My relationship with the rulers has always been problematic. (Chinua Achebe Quotes) The whole idea of a stereotype is to simplify. Instead of going through the problem of all this great diversity - that it’s this or maybe that - you have just one large statement; it is this. (Chinua Achebe Quotes) I liked Yeats! That wild Irishman. I really loved his love of language, his flow. His chaotic ideas seemed to me just the right thing for a poet. Passion! He was always on the right side. He may be wrongheaded, but his heart was always on the right side. He wrote beautiful poetry. (Chinua Achebe Quotes)

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