Sanderson holds a master of fine arts degree in fiction writing and is an independent writer. In this essay, she examines how Chinua Achebe's ideas about the roles of the story and the storyteller in society are reflected in his short story.

At first blush, Achebe's short story "Civil Peace" appears to be a sad tale of one man's failure to cash in on the meager rewards of post-civil war Nigeria.

Jonathan's windfall of twenty Nigerian pounds is taken from him in a midnight scene filled with portents of violence and bloodshed. But, if the reader examines Achebe's own words about the storyteller's responsibility in society, "Civil Peace" can be construed as a story that teaches its readers about survival and about the merits of a never-say-die attitude.

In an interview with Eleanor Wachtel, aired in January 1994 on the Canadian Broadcasting System's show Writers and Company and...