Things Fall Apart: Important Quotes Explained | SparkNotes

“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; and our own brothers who have taken up his religion also say that our customs are bad. How do you think we can fight when our own brothers have turned against us? 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.”

This exchange occurs at the end of Chapter 20 during the conversation between Obierika and Okonkwo. In
the discussion, which centers on various events that have come to
pass since the arrival of the colonialists, Obierika seems to voice
Achebe’s own thoughts on colonialism. Upset by the fact that the
white men have come and completely disregarded the Igbo sense of
justice, Obierika points out the impossibility of the colonialists
understanding anything about the Umuofians without speaking their
language. He points out the ludicrousness of denigrating unfamiliar
customs.

Yet, Obierika does not lay the blame wholly on the side
of the white man. He feels also that the Umuofians who have converted
to Christianity have consciously and wrongly turned their backs
on their own “brothers.” This assessment complicates our understanding
of the novel, as Achebe prevents us from seeing matters in clear-cut
terms of good (black) versus bad (white). Indeed, Achebe elsewhere
attempts to demonstrate the validity of some questions about Igbo
culture and tradition. If religion and tradition are the threads that
hold the clan together, and if that religion is flawed and that
tradition vulnerable, it becomes hard to determine who is at fault
for the resulting destruction. Certainly, Achebe does not blame
the villagers. But, while this quotation displays his condemnation
of the colonialists for their disrespect toward Igbo customs, it
also shows his criticism of some clan members’ responses to the
colonial presence.