Achebe's use of storytelling further illustrates how Okonkwo's resentment of his father grew, as well as how his own determination to succeed was tested — the two sides of his characterization as tragic hero.
The separation between the man's world and the woman's world in Umuofian culture is again emphasized in this chapter — first, in the roles of the women in the ritual wine-drinking and, later, in the classification of crops. Coco-yams, beans, and cassava are considered women's crops; in contrast, the yam is identified as the "king of crops" — a man's crop.
Chapter 3 also illustrates several traditional ideas and truths that shape day-to-day Igbo life. These principles are often expressed through indirect language and symbols in the following proverbs:
- "A toad does not run in the daytime for nothing."
- "The lizard that jumped from the high iroko tree to the ground said that he would praise himself if no one else did."
- "[Because] men have learned to shoot without missing, [Eneke the bird] has learned to fly without perching."
- "You can tell a ripe corn by its look."
