Colonialism

Quote

Character

Chapter

“They settled on every tree and on every blade of grass; they settled on the roofs and covered the bare ground.”

Narrator

7

“At first, a fairly small swarm came. They were the harbingers sent to survey the land. And then appeared on the horizon a slowly-moving mass like a boundless sheet of black cloud drifting towards Umuofia.”

Narrator

7

“If one finger brought oil it soiled the others.”

Obierika

13

“We have heard stories about white men who made the powerful guns and the strong drinks and took slaves away across the seas, but no one thought the stories were true.”

Obierika

15

“Living fire begets cold, impotent ash.”

Okonkwo

17

“Does the white man understand our custom about land?” “How can he when he does not even speak our tongue?”

Okonkwo

20

“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.”

Okonkwo

20

“He mourned for the clan, which he saw breaking up and falling apart, and he mourned for the warlike men of Umuofia, who had unaccountably become soft like women.”

Okonkwo

21

“He had already chosen the title of the book, after much thought: The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger.”

Narrator

25