Things Fall Apart Important Quotes

If a child washed his hands, he could eat with kings.

The sun will shine on those who stand before it shines on those who kneel under them.

When things are shaky and nothing is working, we might realize that we are on the verge of something. We might realize that this is a very vulnerable and tender place, and that tenderness can go either way. We can shut down and feel resentful or we can touch in on that throbbing quality. (9)

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 says yes his chi says yes also. Okonkwo said yes very strongly; so his chi agreed.

When things are shaky and nothing is working, we might realize that we are on the verge of something.

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.

We think that the point is to pass the test or to overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don't really get solved. They come together and they fall apart.

We think that the point is to pass the test or overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don't really get solved. They come together and they fall apart. Then they come together again and fall apart again. It's just like that. The healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen: room for grief, for relief, for misery, for joy. (10)

Things fall apart; the center cannot hold.

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

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.

Let the kite perch and let the eagle perch too – If one says no to the other, let his wing break.

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

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.

An old woman is always uneasy when dry bones are mentioned in a proverb

Feelings like disappointment, embarrassment, irritation, resentment, anger, jealousy, and fear, instead of being bad news, are actually very clear moments that teach us where it is that we're holding back.

Living fire begets cold, impotent ash.

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

Only to the extent that we expose ourselves over and over to annihilation can that which is indestructible in us be found.

A man's life from birth to death was a series of transition rites which brought him nearer and nearer to his ancestors.

The falcon cannot hear the falconer

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.

Most of us do not take these situations as teachings. We automatically hate them. We run like crazy. We use all kinds of ways to escape - all addictions stem from this moment when we meet our edge and we just can't stand it. We feel we have to soften it, pad it with something, and we become addicted to whatever it is that seems to ease the pain.

Sometimes good things fall apart so better things could fall together.

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.

There is no story that is not true.

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.

All Quiet on the Western Front.