Intro. (Attention!!)

The things that happen these days are very strange You see that? A man may go to England, become a lawyer or a doctor, but it does not change his blood It is like a bird that flies off the earth and lands on an anthill. It is still on the ground We shall all live. We pray for life, children, a good harvest, and happiness You will have what is good for you, and I will have what is good for me Let the kite perch, and let the eagle perch too. If one says no to the other, let his wing break We returned to our places, these kingdoms, but no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation With alien people clutching their gods. I should be glad of another death The first voice gets to Chukwu, or God's house. That was a favorite saying of children Nwoye knew it was right to be violent, but somehow, he still preferred the stories that his mother used to tell Our own men and our sons have joined the ranks of the stranger They have joined his religion, and they help to uphold his government Whether he spoke good or broken English depended on what he was saying, where he was saying it, to whom, and how he wanted to say it Of course that was to some extent true for most educated people, especially on Saturday nights But he was rather outstanding in thus coming to terms with a double heritage He says that our customs are bad And our own brothers, who have taken up his religion, also say that our customs are bad His fear was greater than these. It was not external, but it lay deep within him It was the fear of himself, lest he should be found to resemble his father Among the Igbo, the art of conversation is regarded very highly