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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Jonathan is usually a ____ sleeper.

2. Who yells, "shut up?"

3. What does Jonathan tell the thief he can have if he can find it in the house?

4. Who helped the thief do what he offered?

5. Who agrees with the thief about what it is time for?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why do the men with the thief leader disagree with him?

2. What do the thieves ask for, and what do they say they will do if they don't get it?

3. Who is at the door and what do they want?

4. After calling for the police, how does the thief continue to mock Jonathan?

5. How does Achebe show possible military corruption in the story when the thief is offering to call for help on behalf of the Iwegbu family?

6. How does the thief's concept of civil peace affect the Iwegbu family?

7. How do you know about what time it is when Jonathan falls asleep?

8. Why is the family even more frightened after the thieves call for help?

9. What happens once the Iwegbu family knows who is at their door?

10. What does the thief think civil peace is?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Jonathan kept his money in the house in a strong box. How does this help the thief? How does this help Jonathan and his family? If the money had been in a bank, how would this have affected the story?

Essay Topic 2

How do the words and character actions in the last two paragraphs of this story embody the overall theme of survival of not just Jonathan and his family, but his neighbors?

Essay Topic 3

Achebe fictionalized what happened in civil war torn Nigeria after the late 1960s. He has posited that it is the African writer's duty to accurately tell the stories of his people. How is this belief reflected in Civil Peace?

(see the answer keys)

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