Things Fall Apart Okonkwo Quotes

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.

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.

The falcon cannot hear the falconer

Living fire begets cold, impotent ash.

Men have learned to shoot without missing their mark and I have learned to fly without perching on a twig.

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

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

If I hold her hand she says, ‘Don’t touch!’ If I hold her foot she says ‘Don’t touch!’ But when I hold her waist-beads she pretends not to know.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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.