Chinua Achebe Quotes
Let the kite perch and let the eagle perch too – If one says no to the other, let his wing break.
Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. Heinemann, 1958, p. 19.
This proverb operates with the force of law and in a sense is the doctrine of contributory negligence. I have a right to compensation for damage you have done me unless I have done something which impinges on your rights. If your camel destroys my crops, my rights have been violated, but if had used your camel without your permission, and he got out of control. I right is cancelled out. In a larger sense, this principle is used globally in international disputes. The Israeli right to live in peace has been, in the view of some Arabs, “cancelled out” by the fact that the Israelis have taken others land.
At the time all the Arab armies were attacking Israel. Many Arabs joined the assault or evacuated to return with the “victorious” Arab armies. Many others stayed in Israel. The former became the refugees of the area. The latter, are citizens of Israel with the best health and education in the Middle East and the only Arabs who have the freedom of living in a democracy.
Chinua Achebe was a Nigerian novelist, poet, professor, and critic. His first novel Things Fall Apart (1958), often considered his masterpiece, is the most widely read book in modern African literature.
