{
  "type": "quote",
  "site": {
    "name": "Leafy Quotes",
    "language": "en",
    "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com"
  },
  "formats": "Every page has two versions with the same data: JSON (the page address + .json) and markdown (the page address + .md). Append .json or .md to any `url` in this document.",
  "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ngugi-wa-thiongo/a-grain-of-wheat/as-long-as-he-did",
  "json": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ngugi-wa-thiongo/a-grain-of-wheat/as-long-as-he-did.json",
  "markdown": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ngugi-wa-thiongo/a-grain-of-wheat/as-long-as-he-did.md",
  "id": "c9a08db7-56b0-4683-bb39-97df161a358c",
  "slug": "as-long-as-he-did",
  "text": "As long as he did not know the truth, he could interpret the story in the only way that gave him hope: the coming of black rule would not mean, could never mean the end of white power.",
  "language": "en",
  "author": {
    "name": "Ngugi wa Thiong'o",
    "slug": "ngugi-wa-thiongo",
    "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ngugi-wa-thiongo"
  },
  "book": {
    "title": "A Grain of Wheat",
    "slug": "a-grain-of-wheat",
    "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ngugi-wa-thiongo/a-grain-of-wheat"
  },
  "character": null,
  "chapter": null,
  "chapter_parent": null,
  "page": 38,
  "verified": false,
  "original": null,
  "other_languages": [],
  "topics": [
    {
      "name": "truth",
      "slug": "truth",
      "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/truth"
    },
    {
      "name": "hope",
      "slug": "hope",
      "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/hope"
    }
  ],
  "source": {
    "name": "Wikiquote",
    "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/A_Grain_of_Wheat#Quotes",
    "license": {
      "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0",
      "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/"
    }
  },
  "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:53:04",
  "more_from_book": [
    {
      "id": "b6b024e8-602f-4fd7-9833-09b73bbe8302",
      "slug": "i-despise-the",
      "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ngugi-wa-thiongo/a-grain-of-wheat/i-despise-the",
      "text": "I despise the weak. Why? Because the weak need not remain weak. Listen! Our fathers fought bravely. But do you know the biggest weapon unleashed by the enemy against them? It was not the Maxim gun. It was the division amongst them. Why? Because a people united in faith are stronger than the bomb. They shall not tremble or run away before the sword.”",
      "language": "en",
      "character": null,
      "chapter": null,
      "chapter_parent": null,
      "page": null,
      "verified": false,
      "original": null,
      "other_languages": [],
      "topics": [
        {
          "name": "community",
          "slug": "community",
          "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/community"
        },
        {
          "name": "strength",
          "slug": "strength",
          "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/strength"
        }
      ],
      "source": {
        "name": "Wikiquote",
        "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ng%C5%A9g%C4%A9_wa_Thiong'o#A_Grain_of_Wheat_(1967)",
        "license": {
          "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0",
          "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/"
        }
      },
      "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:53:05"
    },
    {
      "id": "fd2f642c-1614-4538-b2b8-8757147012e2",
      "slug": "they-looked-beyond",
      "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ngugi-wa-thiongo/a-grain-of-wheat/they-looked-beyond",
      "text": "They looked beyond the laughing face of the whiteman and suddenly saw a long line of other red strangers who carried not the Bible, but the sword. The iron snake... was quickly wriggling towards Nairobi for a thorough exploitation of the hinterland.",
      "language": "en",
      "character": null,
      "chapter": null,
      "chapter_parent": null,
      "page": null,
      "verified": false,
      "original": null,
      "other_languages": [],
      "topics": [
        {
          "name": "colonialism",
          "slug": "colonialism",
          "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/colonialism"
        }
      ],
      "source": {
        "name": "Wikiquote",
        "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/A_Grain_of_Wheat#Quotes",
        "license": {
          "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0",
          "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/"
        }
      },
      "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:53:04"
    },
    {
      "id": "f8b59c47-4130-4f48-9829-d7e2060949a5",
      "slug": "at-githima-people",
      "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ngugi-wa-thiongo/a-grain-of-wheat/at-githima-people",
      "text": "At Githima, people believed that a complaint from [Karanja] was enough to make a man lose his job. Karanja knew their fears. Often when men came into his office, he would suddenly cast them a cold eye, drop hints, or simply growl at them; in this way, he increased their fears and insecurity. But he also feared the men and alternated this fierce prose with servile friendliness.",
      "language": "en",
      "character": null,
      "chapter": null,
      "chapter_parent": null,
      "page": null,
      "verified": false,
      "original": null,
      "other_languages": [],
      "topics": [
        {
          "name": "power",
          "slug": "power",
          "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power"
        },
        {
          "name": "fear",
          "slug": "fear",
          "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/fear"
        }
      ],
      "source": {
        "name": "Wikiquote",
        "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/A_Grain_of_Wheat#Quotes",
        "license": {
          "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0",
          "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/"
        }
      },
      "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:53:04"
    }
  ]
}