Chinua Achebe Quotes

Chinua Achebe
Chinua Achebe
Nigerian Writer
Born: Nov 16, 1930
Died: Mar 21, 2013
Life Me Old People World You
Related authors: Ayn Rand Dr. Seuss H. L. Mencken Napoleon Hill Niccolo Machiavelli Thomas Mann Thomas Paine Voltaire
When suffering knocks at your door and you say there is no seat for him, he tells you not to worry because he has brought his own stool. Chinua Achebe
You Suffering Own Worry Say Tells Brought He Knocks Him Because His Stool Door Your Seat
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! Chinua Achebe
Government You Problem Other Worse Bad Bad Government Could Taking Over Know Always End Replace Get The Problem With Much Careful
People say that if you find water rising up to your ankle, that's the time to do something about it, not when it's around your neck. Chinua Achebe
Time You People Water Say Find People Say About Something Rising Ankle Around Up Your Neck
When old people speak it is not because of the sweetness of words in our mouths; it is because we see something which you do not see. Chinua Achebe
You People Words Speak Old Our See Something Because Mouths Which Old People Sweetness
A functioning, robust democracy requires a healthy educated, participatory followership, and an educated, morally grounded leadership. Chinua Achebe
Leadership Democracy Healthy Morally Participatory Robust Educated Requires Grounded
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
Light Hundred Hundred Years Bad Had Contact Terms Trade Years Very Five Africa African Literature Justify Produced Body Reason European Four Last Slave Slavery Presented Need
In fact, I thought that Christianity was very a good and a very valuable thing for us. But after a while, I began to feel that the story that I was told about this religion wasn't perhaps completely whole, that something was left out. Chinua Achebe
Good Religion Valuable Thought Christianity Valuable Thing Out About Something Fact Feel Perhaps Left Began Very In Fact After Story While Us Whole Thing
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
Great You Yourself People Try Situation Once Tell See Allow Students Great Thing Identify Make Surface Begin Situations Story Literature Might Far Far Away Then Us Your Even Away Thing
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
Women Men First Beginning Battles Administration Instance Came Led Up Revolt Different Places Land Century Different Places Who Defeated British Set
What a country needs to do is be fair to all its citizens - whether people are of a different ethnicity or gender. Chinua Achebe
Needs People Gender Country Citizens Fair Different Whether Ethnicity
The damage done in one year can sometimes take ten or twenty years to repair. Chinua Achebe
Sometimes Year Ten Take Repair Years Done Twenty Damage
A man who makes trouble for others is also making trouble for himself. Chinua Achebe
Man Trouble Others Also Himself Makes Making Who
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
Food You Yourself Somebody Difficult Tell Kind See Eats Someone More Color Students Performing Like Identify Looks Very Begin Wonders Different Door Literature Different Color Different Kind Far Far Away Then Really Next Next Door Who Away
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
Great You Problem Diversity Statement Through Simplify Instead Idea Stereotype Going Maybe Just Just One Large Whole
When a tradition gathers enough strength to go on for centuries, you don't just turn it off one day. Chinua Achebe
Day Strength You Enough One Day Tradition Go Off Just Centuries Turn
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. Chinua Achebe
You Yourself People Situation Once See Allow Identify Surface Begin Story Might Far Then Your Even
Democracy is not something you put away for ten years, and then in the 11th year you wake up and start practicing again. We have to begin to learn to rule ourselves again. Chinua Achebe
Democracy You Wake Up Year Rule Ourselves Something Ten Ten Years Put Learn Practicing Years Wake Up Begin Again Then Away Start
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
Art Good Humanity See Purpose Always How Existed Frustrate Good Art Help Serious Serve Position
The most important thing about myself is that my life has been full of changes. Therefore, when I observe the world, I don't expect to see it just like I was seeing the fellow who lives in the next room. Chinua Achebe
Life Myself World My Life Important Changes Has-Been See Seeing About Observe Like Most Fellow Most Important Thing Important Thing Been Expect Just The Most Important Room Next Full Who Therefore Lives Thing
Nigera is what it is because its leaders are not what they should be. Chinua Achebe
Leaders Because Should
They have not always elected the best leaders, particularly after a long period in which they have not used this facility of free election. You tend to lose the habit. Chinua Achebe
Best You Election Free Long Lose Free Election Facility Habit Tend Long Period Leaders Particularly Period Always After Which Elected Used
Art is man's constant effort to create for himself a different order of reality from that which is given to him. Chinua Achebe
Art Man Reality Constant Given Him Himself Effort Different Order Which Create
Stories serve the purpose of consolidating whatever gains people or their leaders have made or imagine they have made in their existing journey thorough the world. Chinua Achebe
Journey People World Made Whatever Thorough Consolidating Purpose Leaders Existing Stories Gains Serve Imagine
Oh, the most important thing about myself is that my life has been full of changes. Therefore, when I observe the world, I don't expect to see it just like I was seeing the fellow who lives in the next room. Chinua Achebe
Life Myself World My Life Important Changes Has-Been See Seeing About Observe Like Most Fellow Most Important Thing Important Thing Been Expect Oh Just The Most Important Room Next Full Who Therefore Lives Thing
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
Love Beautiful Me Heart Passion Language Poet Wild Side Chaotic Right Side Right Thing Seemed Poetry He Ideas Liked Wrote Always His May Just Loved The Right Thing Really Right Thing Flow
I think an artist, in my definition of that word, would not be someone who takes sides with the emperor against his powerless subjects. That's different from prescribing a way in which a writer should write. Chinua Achebe
Word Think Sides Way Definition Would Someone Write Writer Takes Emperor Powerless His Subjects Artist Different Which Against Should Who Prescribing
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