The District Commissioner shows up in Umuofia after Okonkwo murders a white man towards the end of the novel. The District Commissioner plans to write a book on his experiences in Nigeria, and the title he chooses—The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger—reveals his superior attitude towards the Igbo people, whom he treats as objects of study rather than as actual people with their own complex customs and beliefs.
District Commissioner Quotes in Things Fall Apart
The Things Fall Apart quotes below are all either spoken by District Commissioner or refer to District Commissioner. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 25
Quotes
One of the most infuriating habits of these people was their love of superfluous words, he thought.
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District Commissioner Character Timeline in Things Fall Apart
The timeline below shows where the character District Commissioner appears in Things Fall Apart. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 20
...including some men of title. The white men have also built a court where a District Commissioner judges cases, and messengers called kotma guard the prison. The messengers are especially hated for...
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Chapter 23
...all the men in Umuofia walk around armed with a gun or a machete. When the District Commissioner returns from his tour, Mr. Smith goes to speak with him, and three days afterwards,...
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At the meeting, the District Commissioner tricks them, handcuffing the men while Ekwueme is telling the story of Enoch's crime. The...
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The court messengers, however, shave the men's heads as soon as the District Commissioner leaves. The court messengers do not allow the clan leaders to leave when they need...
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Chapter 25
The District Commissioner arrives at Okonkwo's compound with an armed band of soldiers and court messengers and demands...
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Obierika leads the way with five or six others, and the Commissioner follows along with his men. They're led to a tree behind Okonkwo's compound where they...
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The Commissioner orders his chief messenger to take down the body and to bring all the men...
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