Money and Survival Theme Analysis

Discussion of money is constant throughout “Civil Peace.” In particular, much of the story describes the various entrepreneurial ventures through which Jonathan, who is almost destitute at the end of the Nigerian civil war, supports himself and his family during the newfound peace. Through its constant focus on Jonathan’s efforts to make money, along with scenes that show other characters’ desperation to get money, the story suggests that money is not just nice to have—it is essential, a key to both survival and future hope. Yet the story is also careful to show that Jonathan has a proper perspective on the importance of money relative to other things. He’s often grateful for his material possessions, but he’s even more grateful for the safety of his wife and children. Additionally, money isn’t only a positive thing in the story; having it makes Jonathan a target for dangerous thieves. In the story, then, money plays a complex role. It acts as both a tool for survival and a threat to it. And efforts to get money can inspire virtuous behavior that helps build community, or destructive behavior that tears it down. Jonathan experiences both of these sides of money, but his own behavior charts the virtuous mindset, using money for both the personal and societal good.

The story depicts money as a constant need in post-civil war Nigeria, and Jonathan works tirelessly to earn it. As soon as the war comes to an end, Jonathan digs his bicycle up from where he had hidden it and gets to work earning money by working as a bike-taxi driver. The bicycle is his most valuable possession, and this is because of its ability to earn him the money he needs to survive. Later, Jonathan’s bicycle again becomes useful when Jonathan rides it to get palm wine from neighboring villages and then waters the wine down and sells it to soldiers. Even Jonathan’s wife and children work: his children pick and sell mangoes, and his wife cooks breakfast for their neighbors. The entire family devotes their time to generating the money they need to survive and rebuild. While Jonathan and his family’s efforts show the importance of money, so too do the failures of those who lack such entrepreneurial instincts. Other former miners who can’t find work end up sleeping on the floor of the seemingly abandoned mining company office. One man who has his egg-rasher stolen simply collapses in grief. And the thieves respond to their lack of money by turning to crime. Money—whether the effort to gain it or the lack of it—defines the actions of all of the characters in the story.

While the story makes clear that money is the means to survival, it also indicates that, precisely because of its importance, money can also lead to conflict and danger. Jonathan notices that, upon returning to his home city, his humble family home has been left mostly intact while a huge concrete home owned by a wealthier neighbor has been reduced to rubble, presumably because the neighbor’s wealth and status made his property a bigger target for opposition forces. After Jonathan receives his egg-rasher—a payment for turning in his Biafran dollars to the Nigerian Treasury—he is extraordinarily careful in how he handles it because he knows having such an amount of money out in the open makes him a target for thieves. That night, thieves with guns do surround Jonathan’s home and threaten him and his family unless they get paid. Simply by having a house to live in, he and his family become a target for the thieves. The meagre wealth that Jonathan has almost gets him and his family killed.

Yet while the vital importance of money makes other characters put it first, such that they sacrifice their morals to get it, Jonathan never does the same. At the beginning of “Civil Peace,” Jonathan repeatedly emphasizes that the blessing of finding his bicycle in working order is nothing compared to the importance of the survival of his family during the war. Similarly, when the group of thieves demand Jonathan’s money, he doesn’t hesitate to give up the egg-rasher in order to ensure his and his family’s safety. While Jonathan understands the value of money and its importance in ensuring his and his family’s survival, he never treats money as the most important thing. Rather, Jonathan treats money as a vital means to an end: that his family survive and thrive. His commitment to those ends allows him to avoid the moral pitfalls of money—he devotes himself to earning it, but he won’t sacrifice himself or his family in that effort. Ultimately, the story portrays Jonathan’s attitude toward money as the correct and healthy one and implies that Jonathan’s behavior toward money should be a model for others.