Let the kite perch and let the eagle perch too – If one says no to the other, let his wing break.
CHINUA ACHEBENo 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.
More Chinua Achebe Quotes
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Privilege, you see, is one of the great adversaries of the imagination; it spreads a thick layer of adipose tissue over our sensitivity.
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Among the Igbo the art of conversation is regarded very highly, and proverbs are the palm-oil with which words are eaten.
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If you don’t like someone’s story, write your own. If you don’t like what somebody says, say what it is you don’t like.
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The problem with leaderless uprisings taking over is that you don’t always know what you get at the other end. If you are not careful you could replace a bad government with one much worse!
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No man however great is greater than his people.
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The world is like a Mask dancing. If you want to see it well, you do not stand in one place.
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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.
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A man who makes trouble for others is also making trouble for himself.
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My son even if you want to fall, at least fall where your bones can be gathered.
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A man who does not lick his lips, can he blame the harmattan for drying them?
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Literature, whether handed down by word or mouth or in print, gives us a second handle on reality.
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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.
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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.
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Each of my books is different. Deliberately. I wanted to create my society, my people, in their fullness.
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As a rule I don’t like suffering to no purpose. Suffering should be creative, should give birth to something good and lovely.
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The damage done in one year can sometimes take ten or twenty years to repair.
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Just think of the work you’ve set yourself to do, and do it as well as you can.
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Nigeria is what it is because its leaders are not what they should be.
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If you only hear one side of the story, you have no understanding at all.
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A coward may cover the ground with his words but when the time comes to fight he runs away.
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A goat does not eat into a hen’s stomach no matter how friendly the two may be.
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If you have leaders who are prepared to incite group against group it is very easy to manufacture reasons and excuses.
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It has always been quite apparent to me that no important story can fail to tell us something of value to us.
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When I began going to school and learned to read, I encountered stories of other people and other lands.
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Nobody can teach me who I am.
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Every generation must find its mission and fulfill it, as Fanon said – or betray it. So it is not something that you can write up on the wall, saying this is what has to be done. Every generation has to discover what it needs to do.
CHINUA ACHEBE