Important Quotations Explained
1. Turning
and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon
cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart;
the center cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed
upon the world.
2. 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.
3. Among
the Igbo the art of conversation is regarded very highly, and proverbs
are the palm-oil with which words are eaten.
4. He
had already chosen the title of the book, after much thought: The
Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger.
5. “Does
the white man understand our custom about land?” “How can he when
he does not even speak our tongue? But he says that our customs
are bad; and our own brothers who have taken up his religion also
say that our customs are bad. How do you think we can fight when
our own brothers have turned against us? 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.”
