Where are some quotes in Things Fall Apart that represent the theme of education?

Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart is a twentieth century narrative that recounts the tragic demise of Okonkwo, the leader of the African Igbo community of Umuofia, through a series of colonial invasions from European missionaries.  Perhaps one of the most prominent quotes from the novel is presented in Chapter 20 when Obierika and Okonkwo are discussing the changes that the white men are bringing:

“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 . . .” (Chapter 20).

This quote exemplifies the theme of education as it pertains to this novel.  There is a disconnect between the African tribes and the white settlers/missionaries because they do not understand the customs, language, or perspectives of the other.  Therefore, education becomes paramount in how the Igbo cling to their traditions and how the colonial imposition is able to infiltrate the African community. 

The following quotes take up different aspects on the theme of education in Things Fall Apart:

• “Among the Igbo the art of conversation is regarded very highly, and proverbs are the palm-oil with which words are eaten” (Chapter 1).  This metaphor appears in the beginning of the novel to establish the importance of language among the Igbo community.  This is significant because as the novel progresses, language becomes the way through which the white men are able to take control of the tribes.  This presents education as a colonialization tactic.

• “Whenever Mr. Brown went to that village he spent long hours with Akunna in his obi talking through an interpreter about religion. Either of them succeeded in converting the other but they learned more about their different beliefs” (Chapter 21).  This quote expertly upholds the theme of education in the novel.  Mr. Brown, the white Christian missionary, tries to sway Akunna to Christianity.  The dialogue between the two men shows that both men have faith in a belief system that is rather similar, but their inability to understand the customs behind the other prevents them from finding common ground.

• “Mr. Brown learnt a good deal about the religion of the clan and he came to the conclusion that a frontal attack on it would not succeed.  And so he built a school and a little hospital in Umuofia.  He went from family to family begging people to send their children to his school . . . Mr. Brown begged and argued and prophesized.  He said that the leaders of the land in the future would be men and women who had learnt to read and write.  If Umuofia failed to send her children to the school, strangers would come from other places to rule them” (Chapter 21). This excerpt presents the theme of education as a necessity for cultural survival and community control.  As Mr. Brown states, education is the means through which dominance is communicated and maintained, making it vital for the clansmen to be educated.  However, the antithesis to this is that the Igbo were educated, but not in the Eurocentric system of values. 

• “[Mr. Brown] had just sent Okonkwo’s son, Nwoye, who was now called Isaac, to the new training college for teachers in Umuru” (Chapter 21).   This is another quote exemplifying the role of education in the Igbo transitioning to post-colonial civilization.

• “The white man is very clever. He came quietly and peaceably with his religion.  We were amused at his foolishness and allowed his to stay.  Now he has won our brothers, and our clan can no longer act like one.  He has put his knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart” (Chapter 20). This quote shows how the tribe has fallen apart from within, and this was accomplished through the religious education that Mr. Brown promoted.  He gave members of the tribe new perspectives and information that went against what they previously knew, and this caused divisions within the clan.