Civil Peace
Plot summary
The story starts off in eastern Nigeria after the civil war has ended. The protagonist, Jonathan Iwegbu, was able to keep his bicycle, which he turns into a taxi to make money. In two weeks he makes 150 pounds. Jonathan then travels to Enugu to search for his home, and to his surprise it is still standing when other structures around it are demolished. The house needs some repairs, so Jonathan finds some supplies around and hires a carpenter. He then moves his family back in. The entire family works hard to earn money and rebuild their lives. The children pick mangoes and Maria makes akara balls to sell. After finding that his job as a miner isn't a possibility he decides to run a bar for soldiers out of his house.
Jonathan gets an "egg rasher" (a butchered pronunciation of the Latin ex gratia, which translates into "as a favor") for turning in rebel currency to the Treasury, and in exchange they gave him 20 pounds legitimate currency. The next night, a large group of robbers show up at his house demanding 100 pounds. When Jonathan replies that he doesn't have that much money, the robbers break in and take the 20 pounds anyway. After they take the money, life goes on as usual for Jonathan because 'Nothing Puzzles God', meaning that the robbery has a greater meaning in God's eyes than how it seemed to Jonathan.
Character overview
Jonathan Iwegbu
Jonathan Iwegbu, the protagonist of "Civil Peace", is the optimistic nucleus of the entire narrative. Despite the recent devastation of the Biafran War, Jonathan exhibits a happy tone in the face of death. Jonathan's optimism is first demonstrated in the first paragraph when he exclaims how happy he is for his life. The quote repeated towards the end of the book reflects the theme is "Nothing puzzles God" [1] and then continues to explain "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."[2] The protagonist
The story starts off in eastern Nigeria after the civil war has ended. The protagonist, Jonathan Iwegbu, was able to keep his bicycle, which he turns into a taxi to make money. In two weeks he makes 150 pounds. Jonathan then travels to Enugu to search for his home, and to his surprise it is still standing when other structures around it are demolished. The house needs some repairs, so Jonathan finds some supplies around and hires a carpenter. He then moves his family back in. The entire family works hard to earn money and rebuild their lives. The children pick mangoes and Maria makes akara balls to sell. After finding that his job as a miner isn't a possibility he decides to run a bar for soldiers out of his house.
Jonathan gets an "egg rasher" (a butchered pronunciation of the Latin ex gratia, which translates into "as a favor") for turning in rebel currency to the Treasury, and in exchange they gave him 20 pounds legitimate currency. The next night, a large group of robbers show up at his house demanding 100 pounds. When Jonathan replies that he doesn't have that much money, the robbers break in and take the 20 pounds anyway. After they take the money, life goes on as usual for Jonathan because 'Nothing Puzzles God', meaning that the robbery has a greater meaning in God's eyes than how it seemed to Jonathan.
Character overview
Jonathan Iwegbu
Jonathan Iwegbu, the protagonist of "Civil Peace", is the optimistic nucleus of the entire narrative. Despite the recent devastation of the Biafran War, Jonathan exhibits a happy tone in the face of death. Jonathan's optimism is first demonstrated in the first paragraph when he exclaims how happy he is for his life. The quote repeated towards the end of the book reflects the theme is "Nothing puzzles God" [1] and then continues to explain "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."[2] The protagonist