Berlin of 1884 was effected through the sword and the bullet. But the night of the sword and the bullet was followed by the morning of the chalk and the blackboard. The physical violence of the battlefield was followed by the psychological violence of the classroom.”
-- Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o (chapter 1)

Importance: Here, Ngũgĩ shows the connection between psychological and physical violence. Education, too, can be a weapon as effective as a sword or bullet.

Culture embodies those moral, ethical and aesthetic values, the set of spiritual eyeglasses, through which they come to view themselves and their place in the universe... Culture is a product of the history which it in turn reflects... Culture is a product and a reflection of human beings communicating with one another in the very struggle to create wealth and to control it.”
-- Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o (chapter 1)

Importance: In this passage, Ngũgĩ explains that culture is neither self-evident nor static, but rather something created and...