CIVIL PEACE by Chinua Achebe (NEB XI)

CIVIL PEACE by Chinua Achebe

About the Author:

´  Chinua Achebe (16^th November 1930 -21^st March 2013) was a Nigerian novelist, poet, professor, and critic who is regarded as a dominant figure in modern African literature.

´  He is also considered as the father of African literature. Achebe is the author of five novels, four children's books, six collections of essays, and several volumes of poetry and short stories.

´  He studied English, history, and theology at University college, the University of Ibadan.

´  His first novel Things Fall Apart (1958), a story of English colonialism told from an African point of view, is the most widely read book in modern African literature.

´  Achebe was raised in Ogidi, Nigeria by Christian convert parents; therefore, he had an abundance of knowledge about both European and African traditions and culture.

´  The truthful knowledge Chinua possessed about Nigeria influenced him to write a book portraying Africans as realistically as possible.

Setting

´  Setting of Time

´  The realistic story ‘Civil Peace’ has presented the setting of Civil Peace in Nigeria after the three years long Nigerian Civil War (1967-1970). The story is set after the Civil War showing the effects of Civil War on people.

´  Setting of Place

´  The setting of “Civil Peace” is Enugu, the former capital of Biafra (Eastern Nigeria)

Characters

´  Jonathan Iwegbu (the protagonist)

´  Maria Iwegbu (Jonathan’s wife)

´  Their children

´  The Thieves (the antagonist as they harass and rob Jonathan’s family)

´  The officer (who tried to commandeer Jonathan’s bicycle)

´  The Nigerian Government

About the Story

Civil Peace

´  The title of Chinua Achebe's short story “Civil Peace” is especially interesting because it is used in an ironic sense. The title of the story is ironic because even though the war had come to an end, the area was still chaotic and filled with strife (conflict).

´  The realistic short story Civil Peace (1971) presents the effects of the Nigerian Civil War on the people.

´  The story Civil Peace is about a Nigerian family living in Enugu (southeastern Nigeria) who also had to go through the destructive Nigerian Civil War and its effects.

Civil War

´  The Nigerian Civil War began in 1967 was fought between the government of Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra when the Igbo tried to separate from Nigeria to form the independent Republic of Biafra.

´  After three long years of Civil War, the Ibo (Ibo or Igbo people are an ethnic group in Nigeria) were forced to surrender in 1970, ending the war.

´  The Biafrans suffered a severe famine due to the effect of war. Nearly a million people died of starvation.

Theme

´  In the story 'Civil Peace' we have the theme of :

´  optimism,

´  struggle,

´  the pain of war,

´  political corruption,

´  survival, resilience,

´  acceptance and

´  the importance of faith

Summary of the Story

´  Jonathan Iwegbu (the optimistic protagonist) considered himself to be extra-ordinarily lucky because he had come out of the war with five inestimable blessings.

´  The blessings were his head, his wife Maria's head and the heads of three out of their four children.

´  As a bonus he also had his old bicycle and a little house in Ogui Overside (Ogui is a locality in the Nigerian city of Enugu) which were left undamaged even after the war.

´  His bicycle also had a story of its own as he almost lost it when an army officer tried to commandeer it in the name of military use.

´  He doubted the genuineness of the officer as the man lacked the firmness of typical officers. He took the advantage and saved his bicycle by offering the man 2 pounds in exchange.

´  Maria had retailed extra stock-fish and corn meal to the camp officials to earn those 2 pounds. Jonathan was going to use the money to buy firewood but instead had to use it to save his bicycle.

´  That night he buried his bicycle in the clearing of the bush where the dead of the camp including his youngest son were buried.

´  He dug it up again after a year and immediately used it as a taxi to earn. His standard charge per trip was six pounds and earned one hundred and fifteen pounds in a fortnight.

´  He went to Enugu after collecting some money and became quite surprised and delighted to find his little house undamaged by the war when the nearby huge concrete structures were a mountain of rubble .

´  He collected bits of zinc, wood, soggy sheets of cardboard lying around the neighborhood and repaired his house with the help of a destitute carpenter.

´  After the repair, his family moved to the house and started working hard to earn their living.

´  His children picked mangoes near the military cemetery and Maria made breakfast akara balls and sold it for few pennies.

´  With his family earnings, he bought fresh palm wine and opened up a bar for the soldiers. Jonathan worked as a coal miner in the past.

´  Seeing some of his fellow ex-miners sleeping outside the doors of the offices and cooking what meal they could scrounge together in Bournvita tins because they had nowhere to go made him feel blessed.

´  The people were given a bonus of twenty pounds in exchange for the Biafran money they had turned over to the government’s treasury. Jonathan also received the bonus, (Nigerians called it egg-rasher).

´  He was extra careful to keep his money safe as he had seen a man collapse in near madness a couple of days ago when his bonus was stolen. He also could not sleep that night.

´  When he was finally asleep he was awakened again by a violent knock. When he asked who was knocking, the reply came from the thieves.

´  Maria was the first to call out for help followed by Jonathan and their children. They cried for help from the neighbors and the police but no one responded.

´  The thieves mockingly asked to call soldiers and repeated their cry for help knowing that nobody would come.

´  The thieves threatened them to enter inside their house, fired the rifle and demanded for hundred pounds.

´  All family members were terrified. Jonathan swore to god and explained that he only had the egg-rasher he received that day.

´  Though some thieves did not believe his words and murmured about him having more money, they accepted the amount of 20 pounds and returned.

´  The next day when the neighbors went to commiserate Jonathan’s family, they were already doing their regular day’s work.

´  Jonathan was already strapping his five-gallon demijohn(large bottle with a short neck).

´  Maria was turning over akara balls in a wide clay bowl of boiling oil.

´  His eldest son was rinsing out dregs of palm-wine from old beer bottles.

´  Jonathan explained his neighbors that the loss of 20 pounds was nothing as he did not have to depend on it nor was the sum greater than other things he lost in the war.

Plot and Tone

Plot

´  Exposition- The story starts with Jonathan, the protagonist, thanking God for allowing him and his family to be alive after the civil war that happened in Nigeria. 

´  Rising Action- Jonathan and his family trying to settle and reestablish their lives after the Civil War by working to earn money.

´  Climax- In the middle of the night some thieves come to Jonathan's house to steal his money (20 pounds egg-rasher).

´  Falling Action- Jonathan gives up all his money to the robbers for the safety of his family.

´  Resolution- Jonathan would rather have his family unharmed than put up a fight for money.

Tone

´  Jonathan Iwegbu, the optimistic protagonist of “Civil Peace”, exhibits a optimistic and hopeful tone in the story through his speech and actions.

Critical Analysis

´  War and optimism. Jonathan has a very optimistic attitude which is demonstrated when he instead of thinking about loss, finds happiness in the safety of his family and belongings.

´  Optimism is also portrayed by the greeting ‘Happy Survival’ Jonathan uses which shows he is clearly happy about the tragedy he and his family survived.

´  The religious language - "blessing" and "miracle" are used a lot. This suggests how his attitude is actually shaped by humility. He seems to understand his life is a beautiful gift.

´  His key phrase - "Nothing puzzles God" - reflects his ability to move forward without being consumed by darkness.

´  Achebe uses the phrases ‘come out of the war with their heads’ and ‘civil peace’ to remind us the devastating effect of the violent war.

´  The army officer is used to demonstrate the condition of Nigeria where people can not even trust the authorities because of corruption and bribery.

´  The thief leader indicates the story’s irony by speaking thee title phrase: “Civil Peace”. It is ironic because the period is neither civil nor peaceful; the presence of the thieves is evidence of that.