Citation: Ogbedeto, C.C. & Iwuji, U.O. (2026). Symbolism and Humour in Nigerian Civil War Literature: A Study of Nwachukwu-Agbada’s “A Bath in the Dust”. Tasambo Journal of Language, Literature, and Culture, 5(2), 122-130. www.doi.org/10.36349/tjllc.2026.v05i02.014.
SYMBOLISM AND
HUMOUR IN NIGERIAN CIVIL WAR LITERATURE: A STUDY OF NWACHUKWU-AGBADA’S “A BATH
IN THE DUST”
Dr. Chimeziri C. Ogbedeto
Department of Humanities, Federal Polytechnic Nekede
Imo State, Nigeria
chimeziriogbedeto@gmail.com, cogbedeto@fpno.edu.ng
+2348103480313
And
Dr. Ugochukwu Ogechi Iwuji
Department of Humanities, Federal Polytechnic Nekede
Imo State, Nigeria, ugoiwuji@gmail.com, uiwuji@fpno.edu.ng, +2348068781712
Abstract
This paper expands epistemic boundaries in civil war
discourse. It investigates the intersection of symbolism and humour in
recreating a historical and tragic event, such as the civil war, using J.O.J
Nwachukwu-Agbada’s “A Bath in the Dust”, a short story in his anthology, A
Small Dirty Pillow Other Stories. It is different from other critical works on
civil war literature, which focus solely on relevant ideological, social and thematic
engagements of the war. Through the lens of symbols and humour, the thematic thrusts
of the war are revealed and interrogated. The study deploys the theory of New
Historicism in the critique of the primary text, since the story is a
historical event. The theory of New Historicism assumes that literature is an
account of its historical moment. It analyses a text based on the power
structures and ideologies of the times that produced it. Meaning in New
Historicism is essentially not a fixed one since history is not linear and there
is no single voice or interpretation that embodies a given historical moment.
The methodology used in the story is close reading, implicating aspects of the
theme, plot and characterization. The findings of the paper are relevant: one, symbolism
and humour are potent literary tools through which a historical moment can be recreated
and appreciated, and two, style can effectively implicate theme in a work.
Keywords: Civil War,
Humour, Literature, Literary Technique, New Historicism, Symbolism
Introduction
This
paper deploys the literary techniques of symbolism and humour to recreate the
tragic experiences of the civil war, using J.O.J Nwachukwu-Agbada’s “A Bath in
the Dust”, a short story in his anthology, A
Small Dirty Pillow Other Stories. Symbolism is a fundamental literary
technique where concrete objects, characters, or actions represent abstract
ideas and complex meanings. According to Abrams and Harpham (2015), a symbol
functions on both a literal and a figurative level, allowing a single image or
event to suggest broader moral, philosophical, or emotional realities.
Similarly, Baldick (2015) avers that symbolism compresses and enriches literary
narratives by making readers engage actively in interpretation. Frye (1957)
situates symbolism in its relationship to myth and archetype. According to
Frye, symbols connect individual texts to universal patterns of human
experience, such as life, death, rebirth, and transformation.
Humour in literature functions as an
aesthetic tool and a critical instrument, shaping how readers perceive
characters, situations, and social realities. In literary texts, this manifests
through exaggerated characters, predictable patterns, and ironic situations
that invite laughter while simultaneously exposing social absurdities. Humour
is not just entertaining; it is a potent tool through which a writer can relay
weighty issues. Thus, humour operates as a powerful tool for critique and
reinterpretation. Similarly, Simpson
(2003) explains that satire relies on humour to expose moral, political, and
social flaws, thus sharpening literary commentaries on societal contradictions.
At a broader theoretical level, Morreall (2009) can soften tragic experiences,
provide comic relief, or provoke deeper insight by allowing readers to view
situations from unexpected angles.
The use of symbolism and humour in
interrogating civil war literature is a novel area of study. Most civil war
discourses typically concentrate on the social conflicts and ideological
trajectories of the war. However, this study is unique as it interrogates civil
war literature through the lens of symbolism and humour.
Theory and Review of
Literature
New Historicism, developed primarily by
Stephen Greenblatt, is a literary-critical approach that emphasises the mutual shaping of literature and history.
According to Greenblatt (1980), literature cannot be understood in isolation
from its historical context; instead, texts reflect the social, cultural, and
political forces of their time. Gallagher and Greenblatt (2000) argue that
literature is a participant in the social and ideological currents of its era,
reflecting how societies negotiate power, identity, and authority.
A key principle of New Historicism is
the analysis of power relations
embedded in cultural production. Greenblatt (1988) introduces the
concept of “cultural circulation,” showing how literature participates in the
distribution of social energy and how texts can reinforce, challenge, or
negotiate prevailing power structures. Veenstra (1995) emphasises that New
Historicism does not treat history as a linear or objective record but focuses
on moments where literature and historical forces intersect to produce meaning,
accentuating the inseparability of textual and historical analysis.
Another central tenet is the interdisciplinary approach to sources.
Veeser (1989) notes that New Historicists often interrogate literary texts
alongside non-literary texts in order to allow critics reveal competing
narratives and ideological tensions within a society, reinforcing the idea that
meaning emerges from the interaction between multiple texts. Thus, New
Historicism challenges the idea of texts as autonomous and instead presents
them as active participants in historical processes.
New Historicism also stresses the constructed and contingent nature of history
and meaning. Greenblatt’s (1980, 1988) demonstrates that both history
and literature are mediated by interpretation and shaped by the ideological
forces of their time as texts encode the dominant cultural narratives while
simultaneously creating space for subversion or resistance. New Historicism
encourages readers to interrogate the assumptions, silences, and biases
captured in texts, making literature a site of continuous negotiation rather
than an objective reality.
Essentially, New Historicism
re-examines the role of the critic.
Gallagher and Greenblatt (2000) suggest that the critic is not merely a
translator of meaning but an active participant in the dialogue between text
and history. By analysing the reciprocal influence of literature and its
cultural context, New Historicists reveal how texts participate in the
construction of social knowledge and collective identity. The Nigerian Civil
War (1967–1970), also known as the Biafran War, is one of the most intensively
examined conflicts in African literature. This study further expands civil war discourse
by deploying the twin techniques of symbolism and humour to recreate the civil
war phenomenon, while implicating the trauma, loss and deprivation war brings
on a people. The study shows how literature reflects the social, cultural, and
political forces of its time.
Discourses in civil war literature have
sought to outline the conflict, violence, contradictions, losses and trauma of
the war. Achebe (2012) in his memoir There Was a Country, not only
recounts historical events but also critiques the political and ethnic
fragmentation that precipitated the conflict, illustrating how personal
testimony in literature can serve as historical and moral documentation.
Similarly, Maduka (1987) provides a critical survey of Nigerian Civil War
literature, highlighting how literature shapes public understanding of the war.
A dominant theme in Nigerian Civil War
writing is the exploration of trauma, loss, and memory. Diala (2014) emphasises
the politics of memory in war narratives, demonstrating how authors negotiate
the tension between individual suffering and collective national history. Eze
(2016) investigates how literature captures both the physical and psychological
dimensions of violence, emphasizing the experiences of marginalized communities
during and after the war. Authors like Okuyade (2011) and Afolayan (2015) have
highlighted the role of the child narrator and the evocation of innocence to
underscore the devastation of civilian life.
Language and narrative technique are
also pivotal in shaping interpretations of the war. Iyasere (1979) explores how
narrative form in Nigerian war fiction conveys the complexities of national
crisis, often using multiple perspectives, fragmented chronology, and shifting
voices to mirror societal disintegration. Oha (2010) examines the stylistic and
linguistic choices in Civil War poetry, revealing how metaphor, symbolism, and
oral traditions preserve memory while resisting the erasure of trauma. Gender and social dimensions of the conflict
have attracted increasing scholarly attention. Ibrahim (2017) critically
interrogates how female experiences during the war, often overlooked in
official histories, are represented in literature, exposing the intersection of
trauma, patriarchy, and violence. Similarly, Obumselu (2003) situates war
narratives within broader debates about national identity, historical
responsibility, and social reconstruction. Nigerian Civil War literature
functions as both historical reflection and moral inquiry. Scholars such as
Emeyonu (1991) and Cook (1977) note that war fiction often interrogates
nationalism, ideology, and human agency, positioning writers as both
chroniclers and critics of history. Achebe (2012) and Nwahunanya (1997)
reinforce this view, demonstrating that literary engagement with the Biafran
experience fosters ethical reflection and dialogue across generations.
This study is, however, unique as it
deploys the stylistic tools of symbolism and humour to investigate the
crudities and contradictions of the Nigerian civil war, thereby showing how
style can implicate theme in literature. The research is different as it does
not interrogate the ideological predilections of the war, neither does it
examine the ethical and social issues underlying the war.
Symbolism and
Humour in Nwachukwu-Agbada’s “A Bath in the Dust”
Nwachukwu-Agbada’s “A Bath in the Dust” is a story in an
anthology The Small Dirty Pillow and
Other Stories (2021 which recreates the Nigerian civil war fought between
1967 and 1970. The story revolves around Patrick Ariatu, a former primary
school teacher who becomes a shrewd trader at the outbreak of the war, making
him well-heeled. He is, however, cunning and stingy like Peter Nwana in
Achebe’s Chike and the River (1966). Patrick’s miserliness is his greatest flaw
in the story.
Nwachukwu-Agbada masterfully deploys the techniques of
symbolism and humour to weave a story about Patrick (Pat for short) and the
choices he makes during the war. Through these twin literary tools, he opens
fresh vistas about the civil war. The character of Patrick is symbolic of
craftiness and stinginess, depicting a prosperous war time merchant who is
disliked for his close-fistedness. Pat is described thus in the novel:
Patrick Ariatu was well known around particularly among the
Air Force men who lived in the village and brought him illegal goods. The girls
who lived there and plied their prostitution …knew him. They knew him in more
ways than one. As one who had money and knew the rank and file of the Air Force
community, any captors who tried to snatch him to …serve his fatherland did not
always succeed…But he had a fault: he hated spending his money, particularly on
sex, insisting that both he and the gratifiers enjoyed such acts together. Nor
did he like paying for anything at all. He was a miser which was only
discovered after each awful experience of his stinginess. Yet because he was
thought to be well-heeled with loose change at such a time of intense hardship,
girls easily fell into his trap only to become victims of his close-fistedness
later (p. 6).
The foregoing excerpt defines the character of Patrick
Ariatu. He is a crafty business man that buys illegal goods. He is an
unpatriotic citizen who refuses to fight a war his mates are engaged in,
choosing to bribe his way out whenever he is caught. He takes advantage of wartime
girls plying their trade without paying for their services. Pat is also mean to
his parents as he does not “really spend on Pa and Ma Ariatu” (p. 6). The
excerpt also reveals the gory image of the war which is filled with “intense hardship”.
Pat, thus, symbolises a mean wartime business man who does little or nothing to
alleviate the poor living conditions of his neighbours, but takes advantage of
them at will. The characterisation of Pat provides a comic relief due to the
contradictions and ironies it bears. It is ironic that a rich man does not pay
for anything at all. It is also a contradiction that a rich Pat does not take
care of his parents. Through the characterisation of Pat, however, the text makes
stark revelations about the Civil War realities.
Pat lives close to Uli, a town symbolic of international
connections. The world literally connected with the defunct Biafra Republic
through the airstrip in Uli. The story reveals that “The Uli emergency air strip
was “quickly constructed by the Biafrans as soon as Enugu airport was lost to
Federal troops…” (p. 1). “A Bath in the Dust” literally begins at the Uli air
strip with the arrival of Lawrence Kweluchi from Gabon with bales of stockfish
where two corpses were wrapped. Gabon symbolises friendship and trust, as it is
one of the few countries that recognised the young Republic of Biafra. It was
from Gabon that relief materials landed for the numerous hungry and
malnourished Biafran children. In the story, a humanitarian organisation, Caritas,
has just “brought in yet another consignment of relief materials and a few
passengers, mostly Biafrans abroad who negotiated their way into the little air
carrier to return home briefly” (p. 1). It is in this little carrier that Larence
Kweluchi arrives with two corpses of dead relatives covered as bales of
stockfish. There is an air of apprehension as the bales of stockfish he brings are
stolen. This is both comical and serious. It implicates the desperation and
greed of public officials at the airport who steal relief materials meant for
the poor and needy. Lawrence goes to complain to an Air Force officer, Ft. Lt.
Ibebuogu, standing nearby. He complains of how “My cousin’s children suffering
from kwashiorkor were brought to Gabon six weeks ago. A boy and a girl” (p. 2)
and how they died in the course of treatment. Determined to prove a point to
the children’s parents, Lawrence decides to fly the corpses as bales of
stockfish to be buried at home.
The theft of two corpses at the airstrip and the events
underlying it greatly amuse the air force officer: “He thought about this
fellow who declared a wrong commodity and was now compelled to state the truth”
(p. 3). The scenario is both humorous and ironic. It is a comic relief that a
person could wrap corpses in a bale of stockfish – an act that is almost
unbelievable. It is further humorous that a serious discussion with an air
officer centres on how corpses wrapped in a bale were stolen. This was a time
when he could have imported essential commodities into a land in dire need of
them. It becomes even more amusing when
Lawrence asks in anger: “So we steal everything here? Even corpses? (p. 4). This
suddenly annoys the air officer who decides to arrest him for bringing in
“corpses as bales of stockfish” P. 2). The story of stolen corpses is also
ironic as there is no need “flying corpses into a land that is already filled
with death” (p. 3). It is inconceivable that a land with a high mortality rate
is receiving dead bodies from abroad. The allusion to Biafra as a land of death
is a fitting metaphor describing the millions of people who died in the war. It
is artistic that Nwachukwu-Agbada uses humour to render the ugly incidents of
the Nigerian civil war.
The story of stolen corpses may be comical, however, it
opens a rare vista to appreciate the absurdities of the war. A time of war
devalues the sanctity of human lives and demeans our shared humanity. The case
of a wrapped corpse in a bale of stockfish is one of those absurdities of the
civil war that could be prevented if the purveyors of war were checked. It is
even more absurd that “bales of stockfish” meant for the countless number of
kwashiorkor-stricken Biafran children could be stolen. Ironically, Ft. Lt.
Ibebuogu and his Air Force personnel who should be guarding relief materials
sent to Biafra are the ones complicit in their theft:
Although Ft. Lt. Ibebuogu pitied the complainant, there was
nothing much he could do for him. The airstrip personnel, largely made up of
air force men, made brisk business with relief materials meant for the poor and
starving children of Biafra. Even Ibebuogu himself benefitted from these
corrupt deals (p. 3).
The war produces inhuman and patently corrupt public
servants. Corruption debases humanity and worsens the living conditions of a
people. The theft of relief materials meant for the poor and hungry Biafrans is
a height of inhumanity. Through the story, Nwachukwu-Agbada gives further insight
into the cause of malnutrition in Biafra – the air force personnel guarding
materials steal and sell them.
Wart time is an improbable period of great tragedies.
Families are wiped out by either the barrels of the gun or malnutrition and
starvation. Lawrence Kweluchi who loses two relatives and flies their corpses
as bales of stockfish also loses his own life. While speaking with the air
officer, Ibebuogu, “fighter planes emerged from nowhere and covered the sky in
manner that reminded the flight lieutenant of the conquest of the horizon by
the kites during the dry season burning in his own village” (p.4). Fighter
planes in Biafra were symbols of death. They drop bombs which send defenceless
people to their early graves. The use of simile in the excerpt illustrates the
monstrosity of the fighter jets in the skies. When these fighter planes hover
while Ibebuogu is discussing with Lawrence, everyone runs for cover: “People
ran helter-skelter, some running into others. People went on their stomach
including the air force personnel” (p. 4). The imagery of “helter-skelter”
betokens the confusion and trauma of self-defence in a war. The shout of “take
cover” (p.4) symbolises a warning for caution. So when Ibebuogu shouts ‘Take
cover” all the people at the airstrip including the personnel of the strip and
visitors obey at once for their safety. However, “Law Kweluchi stood where
Ibebuogu had left him and taken to his heels” (p. 4). The graphic imagery of a
typical pandemonium arising from an air attack is evident in the story:
Female handbags flew in the air. A few elderly men who came
to beg for relief materials threw away their walking sticks. White shirts
abandoned the bodies of those who wore them, hey being able to reveal targets
to the cursed pilots. Men groaned. Children screamed…Sounds of strafing filled
the air before the war aircraft let off some bombs from their anuses and
disappeared hastily as they had come (p. 5).
The foregoing excerpt is tense and dramatic. It is a lucid
account of one of the horrible moments of the war, when bomber jets encircle
the skyline to let off lethal weapons. Any object that can draw the attention
of the “cursed pilots” is quickly discarded. The quality of clothes worn
becomes immaterial as personal safety is treasured. The groaning of men and
children is symbolic of the pain that the war brings. No one would willingly
wish to die in the war, a reason great efforts are made to avert dean and
danger.
War brings death nearer than ever to humanity. Lawrence
Lekwachi, a Gabon-based Biafran could not have imagined that his return with
the corpses of his relations would be to die. When the casualties are counted
after the disappearances of the fighter planes. “Ten bodies littered the area,
including Larence Lekwachi’s (p. 5). They were immediately buried “and within
the same period work on the runway started in earnest” (p.5). This is an
indication that wartime does not give room for mourning as everyone is concerned
with personal safety and survival.
When he reappears, Ft. Lt. Ibebuogu looks “dirtier, having
thrust his body on the dusty grounds of the airstrip to save his life…” (p.5).
The foregoing excerpt symbolises the state of a society before and after a war.
Ibebuogu who looked resplendent in his military uniform now looks scruffy in a bid
to save his life. Suddenly, he becomes sober having survived an attack and
losing a companion, Lawrence who “A few moments ago…was here talking about
stolen corpses…” (p. 5). This makes a sordid revelation of how cheap life could
be in wartime. People that who seen together could be missing after an air
raid.
While people groan and die in a wartime, a few others may be
making gains out if the situation. One of those making brisk business out of
the war situation is Patrick Ariatu, the protagonist of the story. It is he who
“buys the stolen corpses” wrapped as bales of stockfish. Pat is excited with
the transaction because “Not only did the corrupt Air Force official sell them
cheap, a bale or two seemed to be unusually weighty, an indication that they
probably contained many more lengths of stockfish” (p. 7). That day, Pat counts
himself a lucky man. He moves the bale into an inner room “where he was sure no
enemy, thief or apostate would get into (p. 7). He separates the heavier bale
from the lighter ones, proposing to sell the former at Otuocha market now also
dubbed “Attack market”. He is sure they are “stuffed with more fish” (p. 7).
Unknown to him, they contain the corpses of children.
“Attack market” is a symbol of desperate trading and battle
line business. “Ahia attack” as it is called by locals is fraught with risks
but can be rewarding to the traders. It is “ahia attack” that Kainene, a main
character in Adichie’s Half of a Yellow
Sun (2006) embarks upon and dies. “Ahia attack” entails trading across
enemy lines and selling goods stolen from relief airoplanes. Many war victims
in Biafra especially girls take to “ahia attack” as a last resort in fending
for themselves and their families,
Maria Ekwem is a character in Nwchukwu-Agbada’s “A Bath in
the Dust” who engages in “ahia attack”. A tall, dark-complexioned lady, Maria
comes to Mgbodi town to engage in ahia attack – buying and selling goods stolen
from relief airplanes and even engaging in prostitution. She withdraws her
warmth from Patrick when she discovers he is a chronic miser and “had sworn
never to part her legs for him again” (p. 7). The imagery evoked by the
foregoing bespeaks the trials and helplessness of people during the war. People’s
resolve are tested and where there is a deficit of courage, some may trade
their sexuality for survival, leading to more humanitarian crises as wartime
illegitimate children are likely to die of hardship and disease.
Maria is the antagonist of the story – the nemesis of
Patrick Ariatu. Maria learns about the several bales of stockfish purchased by
Pat and decides to pay him a visit with the aim of purchasing taking some and
selling at ahia attack and making a little profit for herself. When she knocks
at the door of his two-room apartment, “Pat went on his stomach and rolled into
a corner of the sitting room” (p. 7). He mistakes the knock as that of soldiers
who come to harass him for money when they are broke: “All Ariatu had geared
himself to hear was a soldierly order declaring him conscripted as they had
done a few times in the past” (p. 8). The foregoing scenario illustrates the
gale of fear and anxiety associated with wartime. There is no absolute comfort
even if one were prosperous like Pat, who constantly fears being conscripted by
soldiers, even if he always has money handy to bail himself. He feels relieved
upon seeing the nubile Maria, and in his “characteristic opportunistic style”, takes
advantage of her, after which he simply “wiped out” (p. 8). Maria “thought that
he would stroll out a few minutes and return in his manner of avoiding
responsibilities, thinking she had gone” (p. 8). Seeing that Pat has unusually
delayed in coming, she decides to rob the house of all valuables and cash, as
revenge for the inexplicable stinginess of Pat towards her and the other
ladies.
It is a comic relief that Pat, the miser, who likes
collecting from other people but hates paying for anything, could be so easily
dispossessed of his wealth. Maria returns with the driver who drives her
rickety Land Rover, and with the help of the driver, carts away every valuable
in the house. When Pat returns, he goes berserk with rage upon discovering that
his purchases and cash were gone. It is his father who reveals the identity of
the culprit. Thus, they begin a hot chase for Maria. “The old man led the way.
They trotted and ran, trotted and ran. A
bale of stockfish was one of the costliest foodstuffs in Biafra. It was not
only scarce, but it was sought after by every Biafran not only because it was a
delicacy, it was the magic cure for kwashiorkor” (p. 11). The foregoing illustrates
the symbolism of the stockfish in war-torn Biafra. This is why it was a point
of attraction to rogue air officers at the airport who would usually steal it
and sell to the likes of Pat. There were fifteen bales of stockfish in Pat’s
house before the robbery by Maria.
Ironically, Pat’s father whom he never cares for is the one
leading the way in pursuit of Maria, the thief. Pat is quick to tell the old
man that fifteen bales of stockfish were stolen, but lacked the courage to
mention that a cash value of twenty thousand pounds was stolen “lest he
incurred the resentment of his parents whom he never gave any money claiming he
had none” (p. 11). A reader could be amused and happy that Pat would face such
comeuppance – a case of one reaping what one sows – or the predictable lot of
children who never take care of their parents. Fortunately, Pat sees Maria and
her driver bent over the bonnet of the Land Rover, apparently because the
vehicle is spoilt. On shouting, “Hollam”, Maria and the driver jump into the
bush. Pat eventually got to the van and “fainted on the large heap of the bales
in what looked like a last effort to retrieve his stolen wares. As for his
money he could not see any signs of it anywhere in the vehicle” (p. 12). While a
few men go after the thieving Maria, some of the villagers express disbelief at
how some women have turned robbers. A
villager argues that since women now fight at the battlefront and even “tap raffia
palms and cut oil palm nuts” (p. 13), they could do anything. There is comic
relief, however, when Okeke the village imbecile exclaims: “No woman will be on
top of me” (p. 13).
The climax of the story takes place at the arrival of Ft.
Lt. Ibebuogu, the air force officer, who had vowed to recover the corpses
packaged in a bale of stockfish. He orders his men to “rip open the bales of
stockfish” (p. 13). Suddenly people become shocked when the two bales carrying
the corpses are ripped open. Indeed, “some of those who gathered initially took
to their heels” (p. 14), unable to contain their shock at seeing a human corpse
wrapped as fish. Pat is promptly arrested and bundled into the military
vehicle. The crowd quickly disappeared after seeing the horrible content of the
bale. Even Pa Ariatu “had disappeared when he realised that his son had got
into trouble” (p. 14). Ft. Lt. Ibebuogu says the case “will be treated as
murder” (p. 14). Pat’s grief is heightened by the silence of the crowd – he is
thus left to bathe in the dust.
The story likens Pat to “one who saw a stream, was given a
piece of soap, was shown a hidden groove, but would not take his bath there.
Instead he chose to bathe in the open, in the dust” (p. 14). This epigram
criticises Pat for undermining his God-given prosperity by being mean and
close-fisted to everyone around him. Thus, everyone allows him to bathe in the
dust because he cares for no one. Pat
may be no different from enemy fighters who raid the land and take advantage of
the people. He is crafty and mean, finds it difficult to show kindness even to
his own parents. Pat adds no value to anyone even when he is in a position to
do so.
Literature, according to Greenblatt
(1980), cannot be understood in isolation from its historical context; instead,
texts reflect the social, cultural, and political forces of their time. This is the whole essence of the New Historicist theory.
Nwachukwu-Agbada’s “A Bath in the Dust” is an archetypal civil war story that
reflects the social conflicts and contradictions of the period. A New Historicist study of this nature
reinforces how texts participate in the construction of social knowledge and
collective identity.
Conclusion
The uniqueness of this research lies its ability to
investigate the intersection of symbolism and humour in recreating the gory
tales of the civil war. It is different from other civil war critiques which
may focus on exploring relevant thematic and ideological preoccupations of the
war. Nwachukwu-Agbada’s “A Bath in the Dust” is a carefully woven story that
deploys symbolism and humour to render a beautiful account of the Nigerian
civil war. The story is unique with its ability to create humour amid horror
and the crudities of the war. Through the various symbols around which the
story is woven, a reader or critic can fully appreciate the historical civil
war. There is Uli, symbolising the link Biafra has with the wider world, “ahia
attack”, indicating battle line trading and prostitution, Gabon, connoting a
war-time ally to Biafra, stockfish, signifying an essential commodity which
cures kwashiorkor in war-torn Biafra. Then, there is Patrick Ariatu symbolising
the mean wartime business men who take advantage of helpless people. Maria
Ekwem is a symbol of “ahia attack” and women of easy virtue – all products of
the war – who must rely on their physical assets and acts of chicanery to make
a living.
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