Things Fall Apart is the debut novel by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe, first published in 1958. It depicts pre-colonial life in the southeastern part of Nigeria and the arrival of Europeans during the late 19th century. Profoundly inspirational Things Fall Apart quotes will encourage growth in life, make you wiser and broaden your perspective.
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Famous Things Fall Apart Quotes
He saw himself and his father crowding round their ancestral shrine waiting in vain for worship and sacrifice and finding nothing but ashes of bygone days Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart
Among the Ibo the art of conversation is regarded very highly, and proverbs are the palm oil with which words are eaten. Okoye Chinua Achebe
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
Having spoken plainly so far, Okoye said the next half a dozen sentences in proverbs. Among the Ibo the art of conversation is regarded very highly, and proverbs are the palm oil with which words are eaten. Chinua Achebe
Okonkwo felt a cold shudder run through him at the terrible prospect, like the prospect of annihilation. He saw himself and his father crowding round their ancestral shrine waiting in vain for worship and sacrifice and finding nothing but ashes of bygone days, and his children while praying to the white man’s god. Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart
Eneke the bird was asked why he was always on the wing and he replied: ‘Men have learnt to shoot without missing their mark and I have learnt to fly without perching on a twig. Chinua Achebe
Let us not reason like cowards, if a man comes into my hut and defecates on the floor, what do I do? Do I shut my eyes? No! I take a stick and break his head. That is what a man does. Okonkwo
Living fire begets cold, impotent ash. He Chinua Achebe
After such treatment it would think twice before coming again, unless it was one of the stubborn ones who returned, carrying the stamp of their mutilation a missing finger or perhaps a dark line where the medicine man’s razor had cut them. Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart
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.Chinua Achebe
But I fear for you young people because you do not understand how strong is the bond of kinship And what is the result? An abominable religion has settled among you. A man can now leave his father and his brothers. He can curse gods of his fathers and his ancestors, like a hunter’s dog that suddenly goes mad and turns on his master. I fear for you; I fear for the clan.
When the moon is shining the cripple becomes hungry for a walk. Chinua Achebe
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
He who brings kola brings life. 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. Okonkwo
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
Okonkwo was not a man of thought but a man of action. Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart
Some days I wish I could go back in life. Not to change anything, but to feel a few things twice.
Okonkwo was deeply grieved He mourned for the clan for the warlike men. Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart
The sun will shine on those who stand before it shines on those who kneel under them. Chinua Achebe
The world is large; I have even heard that in some tribes a man’s children belong to his wife and her family. Okonkwo
One day, you will wake up and there won’t be any more time to do the thing you’ve always wanted. Do it now Paulo Coelho
One of the greatest crimes a man could commit was to unmask an Egwugwu in public, or to say or do anything which might reduce its immortal prestige in the eyes of the uninitiated. And this was what Enoch did.
There is no story that is not true. Chinua Achebe
And at last, the locusts did descend. They settled on every tree and on every blade of grass; they settled on the roofs and covered the bare ground. Mighty tree branches broke away under them, and the whole country became the brown earth color of the vast, hungry swarm Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart.
You might as well say that the woman lies on top of the man when they are making the babies. Chinua Achebe
He was not an albino. He was quite different. He sipped his wine. And he was riding an iron horse. The first people who saw him ran away, but he stood beckoning to them. In the end the fearless ones went near and even touched him. The elders consulted their Oracle and it told them that the strange man would break their clan and spread destruction among them. Obierika
Before you heal someone, ask him if he’s willing to give up the things that made him sick. Hippocrates
He who brings kola brings life. Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart.
Among the Igbo the art of conversation is regarded very highly, and proverbs are the palm oil with which words are eaten. Chinua Achebe
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
Living fire begets cold, impotent ash Chinua Achebe
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
It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things Leonardo da Vinci
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
An old woman is always uneasy when dry bones are mentioned in a proverb Chinua Achebe
When he walked, his heels hardly touched the ground and he seemed to walk on springs, as if he was going to pounce on somebody. And he did pounce on people quite often. Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart
Always remember to fall asleep with a dream and wake up with a purpose.
It was like beginning life anew without the vigor and enthusiasm of youth, like learning to become left handed in old age. Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart
When the moon is shining the cripple becomes hungry for a walk Chinua Achebe
You have a manly and a proud heart. A proud heart can survive a general failure because such a failure does not pick its pride. It’s more difficult and more bitter when a man fails alone.
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. Chinua Achebe
Okonkwo was ruled by one passion to hate everything that his father Unoka had loved. One of those things was gentleness and another was idleness. Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart
Today I will go out with the flow of life and trust the process. I will not stress over things I can’t control.
If ever a man deserved his success, that man was Okonkwo. At an early age he had achieved fame as the greatest wrestler in all the land. That was not luck. 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 say yes his chi says yes also Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart
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
Living fire begets cold, impotent ash. He Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart
You will continue to suffer if you have an emotional reaction to everything that is said to you. True power is sitting back and observing everything with logic. If words control your that means everyone can control you. Breathe and allow things to pass. Bruce Lee
Never kill a man who says nothing.
We have heard stories about white men who make the powerful guns and the strong drinks and took slaves away across the seas, but no one thought the stories were true. Chinua Achebe
He has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart. Obierika, Things Fall Apart
As the elders said, if a child washed his hands he could eat with kings. Chinua Achebe
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
If you eyes are opened, you’ll see the things worth seeing Rumi
A child cannot pay for its mother’s milk. Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart
Men have learned to shoot without missing their mark and I have learned to fly without perching on a twig. Chinua Achebe
Nwoye always wondered who Nnadi was and why he should live all by himself, cooking and eating. In the end he decided that Nnadi must live in that land of Ikemefuna’s favorite story where the ant holds his court in the splendor and the sands dance forever. Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart
Be strong when things fall apart.
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. Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart
