124 result(s) for Chinua Achebe Quotes.
"The story of the people who are not able to tell their own story is the fundamental story of Africa."
"Until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter."
"We cannot see the future; we can only see the present. Forward, ever, backward, never!"
"You do not choose what to be in the world; you are chosen to be what you are."
"I would like the society that I live in to reflect my beliefs."
"Art is man's constant effort to create for himself a different order of reality from that which is given to him."
"There is no story that is not true. It is the storyteller who carries the truth."
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"The price of nigeria's unity is that we must all think in terms of our national past and our national future."
"You must show the world that you exist, that you are alive, and that your beat is the rhythm of the universe."
"The finest example of excellence is the bit of Earth that one stands upon."
"Writers don’t choose what they write; they write what they must."
"Culture is the kind of thing that makes you feel at home."
"A story is not just a story, it is a bridge to a culture."
"The story of life is about the connection between people."
"To be a philosopher is not merely to have ideas, but to have the courage to act upon them."
"We need to do more than simply hear the voices; we need to share the thought and vision."
"The writer's role is to look at the history and culture and ask questions about identity."
"Life is a gift, and there’s no way to measure its worth."
"You can only hear the sound of your own voice if you keep listening to it."
"It is the power of the spoken word that moves mountains."
"To the African, the act of storytelling is an invitation to explore and understand."
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"To be a man is to be a failure. In some way we all fail, but that is the essence of being human."
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
"The story is not the story of Europe, of its myths, but the story of Africa, of its realities."
"The writer's duty is to keep alive a sense of the world as it is and as it might be."
"I am ashamed of your tears, which are not my tears."
"Those who cannot hear the music think the dancers mad."
"It is the story of the folks who suffer losses in their lives and how they cope with that suffering."
"The beauty and tradition of African literature will survive and prevail."
"The purpose of literature is to turn blood into ink."
"There is no story that is not about some human being whose life must be constantly recreated."
"There is no life without laughter; laughter is an expression of joy."
"I think it is a writer's duty to be truthful."
"We cannot take the existence of a writer for granted."
"You can only be afraid of what you think you know."
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"The poet’s and writer’s task is not to recreate an empirical reality but to help us make sense of it."
"Literature is a great source of help to mankind."
"One of the greatest problems in life is to find a purpose."
"Art is a means of dealing with both the external and internal world."
"You are not a man unless your heart is at peace."
"We think we understand the simple things; then we end up executing complexity and confusion."
"The man who has not traveled widely thinks his mother is the best cook."
"In all my works, I have been a victim of my own truthfulness."
"Culture is a product of our society; it keeps us together against our foes."
"What you think you know can often limit your ability to actually learn."
"The story of my country is a story of inequality, of diverse tribes, and a patchwork of cultures."
"Words are not only the means of conveying ideas; they are also weapons and can be used to protect, support, and uplift."
"We cannot trample upon the humanity of others without dehumanizing ourselves."
"The difficulty is not that the world is not made for you; the difficulty is that you must shape it."
"Civilization is not a mere matter of culture; it is a matter of human relationships."
"I think it is the job of the writer to make the reader feel something."
"When we ask for freedom, we must look at the pack before we start the race."
"To be a writer is to be a coward hiding in the open."
"It is the storyteller, not the storyteller, who has the power."
"The past is never dead. It's not even past."
"Africa is a place that is eternally changing and forever new."
"The most authentic gift we can give to ourselves is to tell our own stories."
"To know what is right and not do it is the worst cowardice."
"There is no book that is not, in some way, a story of searching for meaning."
"Mistakes are a part of being human. Appreciate your mistakes for what they are: precious life lessons that can only be learned the hard way."
"The writer's role is to keep the balance between society and its individuals."
"It is the character of the man that is being revealed by his story."
"A single story can never convey the complexity of the human experience."
"Our greatest danger is not that we aim too high and miss it, but that we aim too low and reach it."
"A listener is not a passive consumer but an active participant."
"Art is a conversation between the artist and society."
"Storytelling has a way of free-ing us from the shackles of time."
"We can only see truth through the lenses of our own experiences."
"Every story is a journey to find out the truth behind the curtain."
"What we have to do is to keep looking for the vision that will open the book."
"Without books, history is silent, literature is dumb, science is crippled, thought and speculation have no aim."
"If you don't like someone's story, write your own."
"The story of my life is a story of my wounds."
"I would like to be remembered as a man who did the best he could with the talent he had."
"The trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership."
"We cannot trifle with the lives of men and women. They are too precious."
"Until the lions have their own historians, the tale of the hunt will always glorify the hunter."
"One of the most important things in life is to have a good story to tell."
"A man who uses force is afraid of reasoning."
"It is the story of society, and its myriad relationships, and what it means to be human."
"We all know that it is impossible to be in the wrong place at the right time."
"The man who cannot read has no advantage over the man who cannot read."
"Art is a means of survival."
"What you see and what you hear depends a great deal on where you are standing. It also depends on what you are looking for."
"You cannot put a limit on anything. The more you dream, the farther you get."
"A good story cannot be devised; it has to be distilled."
"To be a man is to be a musician."
"We need to be our own storytellers."
"You think you’re on level ground and then you start to walk and suddenly there are rocks everywhere."
"I believe that we can become the authors of our own stories."
"Life is like a book, and those who do not travel read only one page."
"The heart of the matter is that we need to pay attention to each other."
"I am always the hero and the villain in my own stories."
"Stories can conquer fear, you know. They can make the heart bigger."
"Let us be moderate in our expectations, but be alive."
"There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open."
"Education is a kind of education, but it’s not the kind that matters if it’s not connected to the heart."
"Every story belongs to the people who take it to heart."
"The story of my country is the story of the many nations within it."
"We cannot trample upon the humanity of others without devaluing our own."
"You do not just take. You have to give something to be able to take."
"The writer's duty is to keep awake the consciousness of the people."
"One of the truest tests of integrity is its blunt refusal to be compromised."
"The youth of Africa should be empowered to take charge of their future."
"There is no story that is not a story of the human spirit."
"For the writer, the danger of being misunderstood is very real."
"Art is not just for the sake of art; it should contain a message."
"We must fight against the narrative that tells us we are lesser beings."
"Language is a means of communion and I think it is the duty of the writer to keep the flame alive."
"A man who makes trouble for others is also making trouble for himself."
"Stories serve to connect us to our humanity."
"We cannot afford to mind the gap between the past and the present."
"The earth is not a gift from our parents; it is a loan from our children."
"Suffering is not an accomplishment; it is the greatest burden one can bear."
"Things fall apart; the center cannot hold."
"You can tell the character of every man when you see how he receives praise."
"To be a storyteller is to lead others away from ignorance and towards understanding."
"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."
"A good deal of the world’s troubles can be traced to the fact that the words we have are not strong enough to express our thoughts."
"All the world is made of stories, and they reflect what we value."
"We must fight for the right to tell our own stories."
"A writer only writes his or her story. The truth is one story at a time."
"I believe that the greatest gift an artist can give to the world is to be true to themselves."
"Change is in the air; you have a right to ask for freedom."
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