Chapter 3

I'm at least glad to say that the book is getting more and more interested as I go further and further into the novel, but I am only on Chapter 3 so far. In the last blog I talked about why Okonkwo was so afraid of becoming like his father, and this chapter gave a little bit of insight as to why he feels this way apart from those I have mentioned earlier. I think that Okonkwo realized how much hard work and dedication could get him because he received hundreds of yam seeds from Nwakibie who normally didn't give out any seeds because the younger generations were becoming lasier and lasier as time went by. Another reason for his fear and anger towards those who are lazy is the story of Unoka being chastised by the Oracle. Okonkwo's hard work did come back to sort of stab him in the back because that whole year was completely messed up as far as the rainy and dry seasons are concerned. I found it funny though that the lazy people of the village who planted their seeds later in the year had a better turn out in the harvest than they steadfast planters who planted at the same time every year. Now that is validation for procrastination, so Mr. Farrell I will use this book as an excuse from here on out. Not really. Anyway, I think the tough year sort of hardened Okonkwo as a person and made him realize that he must work hard to survive let alone prosper in the eyes of the other villagers. Maybe this is why he is so gung-ho about working. I also found it amusing how Achebe compared yams to all the other crops by calling them women's crops. I'd like to know how he figured that out.