Chapter Three
The chapter opens with a description of Unoka, Okonkwo’s father, who once consulted the Oracle Agbala and was rebuked for his idleness and weakness. Unoka’s life is marked by poverty, lack of a barn, and eventual death from a swelling, a condition that required burial in the Evil Forest; he dies carrying his flute. Because of this legacy, Okonkwo inherits no title, barn, or wife. Determined to escape his father’s shame, Okonkwo approaches the prosperous Nwakibie, owner of three barns, nine wives, and thirty children, to request seed yams. He brings a pot of palm‑wine, a cock, and a kola nut, performs the customary rituals—breaking the kola nut, offering the wine, and addressing Nwakibie as “our father.” The gathering includes Nwakibie’s sons, wives, and other villagers; after drinking, the younger son Igwelo drinks the dregs of palm‑wine, a sign of a man about to marry. Okonkwo then pleads for seed yams, explaining his cleared farm and lack of stock. Nwakibie, after a brief speech about generosity, grants Okonkwo twice four hundred yams, promising a larger future farm. Okonkwo returns home hopeful but must support his mother and sisters. The narrative then follows the disastrous farming season: an early drought lasts eight market weeks, killing the first four hundred seeds; heavy rains later flood the fields, washing away yam heaps and uprooting trees. Despite these catastrophes, Okonkwo salvages the remaining seeds from Nwakibie and a friend, and resolves to rebuild. He reflects on his father’s final words: “Do not despair… a proud heart can survive a general failure.” This memory cements Okonkwo’s resolve to never be like his father. The chapter concludes with Okonkwo’s conviction that he can survive any hardship, setting the foundation for his later ambition and strict, fear‑driven household.