"Civil Peace" by Chinua Achebe

"Civil Peace" is a short story which was written in the 20th century by Chinua Achebe. Nigeria was torn apart by a civil war, and currently in Nigeria the country is united after the bloody war. The author tries to encourage his native Nigerian people with a short story that is filled with optimism. Chinua Achebe's short story can be analyzed in regard to the three important literary elements which are characterization, tone, and conflict. Achebe's goal as a writer was to depict his people. He learned about his own people, who were once a part of the Igbo civilization by "interviewing older people and reading the writings of colonial administration missionaries" ("Short Stories for Students Volume" pg. 17). Once the civil war began, he decided to shift gears, from writing novels, and focus on poetry and short stories, which one is "Civil Peace." Achebe was born in 1930 in a village in eastern Nigeria. His father worked for a Church Missionary Society. Achebe's early education was through the society's school, Achebe began learning English at the age of 8 (Wikipedia pg. 1). Once he was 14, he became one of the few selected to attend the Ibadan University, he studied English literature. After he graduated, Achebe had a short stint as a teacher. A year later he became a producer for the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation, where he remained for 12 years ("Short Stories for Students Volume" pg. 17). After his producing days, he decided to become a full time author, where he published a few novels, short stories, and essays on politics and literature. In 1994, Achebe had to flee Nigeria because of the threat of being jailed. He moved to the United States and is currently a professor. In 1999, he was awarded the goodwill ambassador to the world the United Nations population Fund (Wikipedia page 3). "Civil Peace" has an interesting plot structure. The main character in Civil Peace is Jonathan Iwegbu. He is married and has three children. Jonathan is optimistic about everything because he has his wife, kids, house and a way to make a living. Other important characters in this short story are Maria and the children. They are very cooperative in rebuilding their family's life. The leader of the thieves and his people are other major characters towards the end. He and his people are trying to get some money form the Iwegbu family. Nigeria has just gone through a civil war. The Iwegbu family has come back, without knowing if Jonathan will have his job, or even if they will still have a home. When he comes back, his bike is still there, he ends up using the bike as a taxi. Then, they went back to the neighborhood, to find that their house was still standing, unlike some other houses. He then began to fix up the house. The children picked mangoes and sold them for pennies. With the money Jonathan made he opened up a bar in his house. Jonathan went back to his old work place, the Coal Corporation where he used to mine, but it has not opened. Then, when one night the whole family was sleeping, all of a sudden they heard an extremely loud knocking. They asked for help, but nobody came to their help, they were all alone. Jonathan ended up giving his 20 pounds to the thieves. After the traumatic experience they went through, they went about the next day, as if nothing had happened at all. Their neighbors had come over to sympathize, and Jonathan told them that "I count it as nothing" ("Civil Peace" pg. 34). "Civil Peace" can be analyzed for the author's use of characterization. Characterization is the way a character is depicted. Jonathan Iwegbu is shown as a thankful person, happy for what he still has. Jonathan is what we would call the protagonist. In the beginning of the short story it says: "Jonathan Iwegbu counted himself extra-ordinarily luck. 'Happy Survival' meant so much more to him than just a current fashion of greeting old friends in the first hazy days of peace. It went deep to his heart. He had come out of the war with five inestimable blessings - 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 - a miracle too but naturally not to be compared to the safety of five hum heads" ("Civil Peace" pg. 29). That shows how thankful he is for his family, even though he lost one child, he did not give up, yet went to work form the first day back, trying to make a living, with his bicycle, now turned into a tax, "He put it into immediate use as a taxi" ("Civil Peace" pg. 29). Now, we approach the antagonist of the short story, the leader of the thieves. He and his people are taking advantage of the weak structure of the government currently in Nigeria. They are not afraid of the neighbors and police as evident by this, "Police-o! Thieves-o! Neighbors-o! Police-o! ... Neighbors are you asleep?" ("Civil Peace" pg. 32). They all were awake, but they were scared of the thieves. The masterful use of characterization was scattered brilliantly throughout the short story. "Civil Peace" can also be analyzed for the author's use of tone. Tone is the attitude implied by the author. Through the short story there is optimism. As I stated in the above paragraph, he had lost one of his children, but he was not going to be held back, "... heads of three out of their four children" ("Civil Peace" pg. 32). The biggest surprise for the Iwegbu family must have been them discovering that their house was still there, "This newest miracle was his little house in Ogui Overside" (Civil Peace" pg 34). Next to their little house, there used to stand a house of a very wealthy man, which was no nothing but a "mountain of rubble" ("Civil Peace" pg. 34). This must have given them more drive and made them even more optimistic. At the end of the story, the neighbors came to sympathize, but they needed none "...is it greater than other things that went with the war? ("Civil Peace" pg. 34). Of course it wasn't, the country had gone through a civil war, thousands dead, many homeless. Yet, the Iwegbu family had a home, away to make money, and most importantly, a family. There was a superlative use of tone throughout the short story. Another way "Civil Peace" can be analyzed is for the author's use of conflict. Conflict could be man versus man, or an internal struggle. There were times when Jonathan could've easily given up, "At first he went daily, then every other day and finally once a week ... some of the miners who had nowhere to retreat at the end of the day would just sleep at the gate..." ("Civil Peace" pg. 33). Unlike these men Jonathan took matters into his own hand, for the sake of his family, he had a choice; he could've given up like them. The main conflict of the story is between the Iwegbu family and the thieves: "open dis window and give us one hundred pond .. we de come inside .. automatic fire rang through the sky" ("Civil Peace" pg. 33). These thieves wanted money, and threatened to harm them. Jonathan in fear gave up his 20 pounds, which he had worked hard for. The conflicts were: the civil war, then survival, and at the end being afraid of getting hurt by thieves. The exquisite use of conflict was the main center point of the short story. Therefore, the short story, "Civil Peace", exhibits three literary elements that contribute to the understanding of the story as does Achebe's life. A few major points were the Iwegbu family coming back after a civil war, not knowing what to expect. They didn't know if they would have a house, Jonathan's job, or any safety. Jonathan, throughout the short story, says "Nothing puzzles God" ("Civil Peace" pg. 32). He knows that he would make a way for things to happen, and for them to somehow live. It could be learned through the analysis of the literary elements that one should never be down about something, and always be optimistic, and try their best. Work Citied "Civil Peace." Chinua Achebe, - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 14 Mar. 2006 . "Chinua Achebe -- Britannica Concies Encyclopedia - The online encyclopedia

you can trust!." Civil Peace. 14 Mar. 2006 9354491?Query+chinua%20achebect=>. R, Korb. "Civil Peace." Short Stories for Students. ed. 2001

Civil Peace. One rarely hears those two words together. It is usually either Civil War, or perhaps Civil Chaos, but rarely is it Civil Peace. This is because it is not the times of peace that are remembered, but the times of war. It is during these times that people truly shine as the need arises or are exposed for their truer, more evil selves. Like Jamie Sullivan said in A Walk to Remember, "There would be no compassion without suffering." Chinua Achebe's Civil Peace is a story about going through hardships and never forgetting what is most important. Civil Peace is set in the early 1970's in the country of Nigeria. There had been a civil war in the late 1960's that had had a devastating effect on the country. When the civil war had begun, the country's armed forces were totally unprepared and untrained, so for the first couple years of the war, the country was in turmoil. It wasn't until the government was able to reconcile their forces and produce a considerable army that the unrest was brought to a halt. Civil Peace takes place right after the war, when the citizens of Nigeria begin their attempt to rebuild their country. Jonathan Iwegbu, the main character in this story, is one of those citizens. He acknowledges that the war is over and begins to do his part in reconstruction. He is a religious man and is quite thankful for what he has, and as little as that may be, he still considers himself lucky. He is the head of his family which includes his wife, Maria, and his three children, all of which support him in what he does. The other major character in this story is the leader of the thieves' gang that calls on Jonathan's... Cultural/Historical Analysis-Civil Peace, Chinua Achebe
I think this story has great potential to be the subject of an historical and cultural analysis. The story is based on the Civil War in Nigeria. This fact provides lots of insight into this story. Facts about how people lived during this time and what happened can be very beneficial in learning the themes of this story. I think one of the themes is be thankful for what you have been given, which can be seen in the line that was repeated over and over. The line is "Nothing puzzles God." It would be interesting to find out how much religion played into the lives of those who lived in Nigeria during this time. Culture also plays a big role in this story. Family seems to be a big part of it and a belief in God also prevails. As far as clues in the story, it is very easy to see that a war has gone on, that people are not in good financial standing, the country is a mess, and many people have lost family members and belongings. All of these clues are important because they give you even more insight into the characters lives and allows you to read into the story more and understand the themes. I think one of the first things that should be researched are the war in Nigeria and the author. Just knowing information about the author helps alot. I have read another piece by Achebe and I know that he is Nigerian. Knowing this gives him even more credibility when reading this piece. I think it would also be interesting to research relations between people living in the country because we see that gangs of thieves were hurting their fellow Nigerians. As in any story, culture is of utmost importance. It would be good to research African culture and how the Europeans affected this culture and how it changed after the war during the "Civil Peace."