Civil Peace

“Civil Peace” portrays the uneasy peace that followed the Nigerian Civil War. Achebe narrates the story from the perspective of ordinary people and victims of the war, allowing them to speak and tell their stories. Jonathan Iwegbu considers his condition “happy survival” because he still has his spouse and three of his four children.

Jonathan can still make a living through hard work and persistence. The Iwegbu family is not defeated. His wife Maria makes and sells Akara balls, and his children pick and sell mangoes and sell them to soldiers’ wives. Through the industrious nature of the Iwegbu family, Achebe captures optimism about moving forward after the war, even amidst the rubble, suffering, and fragile social order.

Achebe points out that there are other histories to be told such as that of the bicycle, which has a material “history of its own” (82). When an officer claimed he needed the bicycle for an “urgent military action” (82), Achebe shows how poverty and social instability can cause people to lie and cheat to survive.

Jonathan buries his bicycle near where his youngest son is buried to avoid another confrontation with those who steal and cheat to survive.