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Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Quotes

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Famous Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Quotes

“When it comes to dressing well, American culture is so self-fulfilled that it has not only disregarded this courtesy of self-presentation, but has turned that disregard into a virtue. "We are too superior/busy/cool/not-uptight to bother about how we look to other people, and so we can wear pajamas to school and underwear to the mall.”

PeopleWellsLooksSelfSchoolCultureVirtueBusySuperiorsBotherFulfilledDressingsCourtesyAmerican CulturePresentationUnderwearDisregardMallsPajamasUptightDisregardedDressing Well
Author:Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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“There were people thrice her size on the Trenton platform and she looked admiringly at one of them, a woman in a very short skirt. She thought nothing of slender legs shown off in miniskirts--it was safe and easy, after all, to display legs of which the world approved--but the fat woman's act was about the quiet conviction that one shared only with oneself, a sense of rightness that others failed to see.”

PeopleWorldEasyQuietSafeSizeOneselfConvictionLegsFatsDisplayPlatformsSkirtsApprovedSlenderThriceShort SkirtsFat Women
Book:Americanah
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“Of course I am not worried about intimidating men. The type of man who will be intimidated by me is exactly the type of man I have no interest in.”

MenMotivationalCoursesWomenInterestFeminismTypeFeministWorriedEmpoweringWomen EmpowermentStrong WomenEmpowering WomenMen WomenIntimidatingIntimidatedBeing A WomanEmpowered WomenWomen Empowering WomenInspirational WomenInspirational Strong WomenBeing A Strong WomanStrong Women And LoveWomen Best InspirationalStrong Women MotivationInspirational FeministImages Of Strong WomenAmbitious WomenEmpowering Female
Author:Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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“He was already looking at their relationship through the lens of the past tense. It puzzled her, the ability of romantic love to mutate, how quickly a loved one could become a stranger. Where did the love go? Perhaps real love was familial, somehow, linked to blood, since love for children did not die as romantic love did.”

ChildrenRealPastDiesAbilityBloodStrangerLoved OnesReal LoveRomantic LoveLinkedLensesTenseChildren LovePuzzled
Book:Americanah
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“If I had not grown up in Nigeria- and if all I knew of Africa were of popular images- I too would think that africa was a place of beautiful landscapes, beautiful animals and incomprehensible people fighting sensless wars, dying of poverty and aids- unable to speak for themselves and waiting to be saved by a kind white foreigner.”

PeopleIfsThinkingKindWarBeautifulFightingSpeakWaitingWhiteAnimalPovertyDyingAidsSavedLandscapeForeignersNigeriaBeautiful Landscapes
Author:Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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“If you don't understand, ask questions. If you're uncomfortable about asking questions, say you are uncomfortable about asking questions and then ask anyway. It's easy to tell when a question is coming from a good place. Then listen some more. Sometimes people just want to feel heard. Here's to possibilities of friendship and connection and understanding.”

PeopleIfsWantFeelsSometimesAsksEasyUnderstandingHeardPossibilityConnectionsAskingUncomfortableAsking QuestionsGood Place
Book:Americanah
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“She rested her head against his and felt, for the first time, what she would often feel with him: a self-affection. He made her like herself. With him, she was at ease; her skin felt as though it was her right size.. It seemed so natural, to talk to him about odd things. She had never done that before. The trust, so sudden and yet so complete, and the intimacy, frightened her.. But now she could think only of all the things she yet wanted to tell him, wanted to do with him.”

ThinkingFeelsFirstsMadeSelfDoneWantedFeltNaturalFirst TimeSkinsSizeAffectionIntimacyEaseOddFrightenedOdd Things
Author:Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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“We teach girls to shrink themselves, to make themselves smaller. We say to girls: 'You can have ambition, but not too much. You should aim to be successful, but not too successful. Otherwise, you will threaten the man.' Because I am female, I am expected to aspire to marriage. I am expected to make my life choices, always keeping in mind that marriage is the most important. Now, marriage can be a source of joy and love and mutual support, but why do we teach girls to aspire to marriage and we don't teach boys the same?”

MenShouldMindImportantJoyChoicesGirlWomenInspiringBoysTeachSupportSuccessfulToo MuchHe ManSourceAmbitionFemaleAnd LoveAimExpectedBeing SuccessfulMutualAspireShrinksLife ChoicesFlawlessMutual SupportSay To A Girl
Author:Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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“At about the age of seven … I wrote exactly the kinds of stories I was reading: All my characters were white and blue-eyed, they played in the snow, they ate apples, and they talked a lot about the weather: how lovely it was that the sun had come out. This despite the fact that I lived in Nigeria; we didn’t have snow, we ate mangoes, and we never talked about the weather, because there was no need to.”

NeedsKindCharacterFactsStoriesAgeReadingWhiteSunBlueSevenLovelySnowWeatherDespiteApplesNigeriaBlue Eyed
Author:Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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“If I were not African, I wonder whether it would be clear to me that Africa is a place where the people do not need limp gifts of fish but sturdy fishing rods and fair access to the pond. I wonder whether I would realize that while African nations have a failure of leadership, they also have dynamic people with agency and voices.”

PeopleIfsNeedsWould BeNationsVoiceRealizingWonderClearFairsFishesAccessAgencyFishingPondsSturdyFailure Of Leadership
Author:Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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“Some people ask: "Why the word feminist? Why not just say you are a believer in human rights, or something like that?" Because that would be dishonest. Feminism is, of course, part of human rights in general-but to choose to use the vague expression human rights is to deny the specific and particular problem of gender. It would be a way of pretending that it was not women who have, for centuries, been excluded. It would be a way of denying that the problem of gender targets women.”

PeopleWayHumansUseProblemWould BeCoursesAsksWomenRightsFeminismCenturyParticularExpressionHuman RightsFeministDenyGenderBelieverTargetWhy NotPretendingVagueMen WomenExcluded
Book:We Should All Be Feminists
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