Sunday, December 1, 2013

Fishbowl #5: A Long Way Gone, Chapters 15-17

A few reminders if you're looking for an A for the day:

(A) Bring at least one quotation and/or page reference into at least one of your responses.

(B) Explain your thinking thoughtfully and thoroughly (try to avoid the one-sentence response).

(C) Keep it professional, including the usage of proper grammar and spelling.

(D) Comment frequently from the beginning of the conversation to the end.


Remember also that you're welcome to get into a hotseat in the inner circle for a little while and earn some of your daily participation points there.


Enjoy!

132 comments:

  1. Why do you think that Ishmael gets a headache when the drugs start succeeding in the rehabilitation center?

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  2. How significant do you think drugs have become to these boys? Why do they have such importance to them?

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    1. The drugs have provided an escape for Ishmael and the others seen on page 145, "now that we had time to think, the fastened mantle of our war memories slowly begin to open". Without the drugs to keep the boys from thinking about their actions, they are now forced to face their sins.

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    2. Yeah taking those drugs and fighting in the war were their life and they became a family from doing that. Also they numb the pain so much that he got shot like five times and didn't even get phased.

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    3. I think they become so important them because it blocks out all the horrible stuff and it makes them forget in a way and they the drugs kind of let, let go and move on so to say. I think they represent letting go. And I think the reason Ishmael and the other boys got enraged when the people at the center would not give the drugs is because they did not want to face reality they wanted to keep blocking that out.

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    4. I think that the drugs have played a huge role in these boys' lives. They got so use to be "numb" and it kind of kept them from thinking about the war. They were always so drugged up that they didn't realize how bad killing was. Now that they aren't in the war, they don't have an escape route for dealing with all the pain.

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    5. I think that the drugs played a large significance to the boys because the drugs allowed them to go out and kill people. During the beginning of their service as soldiers, I think the drugs eased the pain that the boys felt. Once they got used to killing, I think the drugs don't necessarily ease pain but they're just a reminder that they are what's getting them through the experience of being a soldier.

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    6. The drugs have caused the boys to feel numbness. For them to let go of the worries of killing. These drugs are also addictive. The boys get addicted to the drugs and go crazy if they don't get it. I think the drugs are very important to them, so they can feel that numbness.

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    7. The drugs have become vital to the boys because they help numb them to the pain of witnessing death and brutality, the drugs also help the boys forget their sense of morality in a way.

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    8. Since all the boys started doing drugs at such a young age that's just kinda how they grew up and it's a comfort thing for them. They are just used to it and, that's just how they were raised so it's normal to them to do drugs, and they feel off if they aren't high.

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    9. I think the drugs have became something that these boy could not live with out. They have been taking it to long to stop and not think about it. On page# 125. Ishmael says " We celebrated that day's achievement with more drugs..." I think the drugs are starting to bring joy to them and it helps them think what they are doing is right. It is messing with his brain big time.

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    10. I think drugs were important to the boys because it was a haze for them after loosing hope for survival. The drugs allowed them to take down their fears, but also their humanity. All of the boys basically have lost their connection to life and drugs was a way form them to get away from all the madness.

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    11. Drugs have become everything to these boys. They don't know how to live without them anymore. For the boys the drugs are significant because it takes the pain and suffering away from them and allows them to keep going. The drugs give them energy to keep going.

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    12. I feel like the drugs the boys use are a way of escape in a way. Escape because their minds get lost and they don't think about how much violence is going on and don't think how bad the war is.

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  3. Do you think Ishmael will remain violent his entire life? Will he forever be "in war"?

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    1. No I don't think that Ishmael will remain violent throughout his entire life. He is going through post- war stress and trauma which I would think most soldiers go through after leaving the violence of war. I think that Ishmael has the willpower to become the person he was before he entered the devastating and violent atmosphere of war.

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    2. No I don't think he will remain violent his whole life. I do think that he will have outbursts when he is dealing with getting over what he had to go through. I think he will be violent for years after but, it will not last forever because the intensity level of the violence was so high and I don't think he could do that to someone who isn't a part of the war if he has any sanity left.

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    3. I agree with Lizzie in the sense that Ishmael will not remain violent throughout his entire life. It is extremely traumatizing to go thorough the violence and brutality of war but I think for example writing this book will help Ishmael let out his experience and emotions and help him get past his post-war stress and trauma.

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    4. I do not think Ishmael will be violent his whole life. I think it is just like a soldier today in the USA. When they come home from war most of them are not violent for their whole life. I think he will be in a war mental his whole life just dealing with the dreams and what he will think about each day after this. But I think he will turn out fine.

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    5. No I don't think that Ishmael will remain violent throughout his life. I agree with Lizzie because I think that Ishmael is experiencing post-war stress. He has gone though so many violent acts and it will take a long time for him to recover. Slowly, the more Ishmael is in rehab, his violence will die down.

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  4. Looking at the big picture, do you think that using the drugs was a good or bad thing for Ishmael? On one hand, if he hadn't used them he probably would have gotten killed, but on the other hand, those drugs are taking a huge mental toll on him.

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    1. Although drugs are bad, in this war Ishmael has experienced, I feel like its what got Ishmael through the war. Its what kept him going, its what gave him energy, and to kill humans.

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  5. How does Ishmael remember even the little things that happened before and during the war? Especially since he was so young!

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    1. I think that Ishmael can remember the little things that happened before and during the war because of the vivid, violent images he saw. After he saw such violent, gory crimes committed that must be extremely difficult for him to simply just forget. In a way seeing these events was Ishmael's innocence being taken from him.

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  6. When taken to the rehabilitation center, the boys feel like they're being punished. Why do you think that is?

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    1. They have become accustomed to being soldiers, and are even eager to commit such violent acts. They feel punished because they are now denied that experience. Ishmael and the others wonder if they failed in someway to perform their duties.

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    2. The boys have finally felt like they have a place to call home and a family to be around all the time. They have grown to love war and love giving people what they believe they deserve. I personally believe they have grown to be just like the rebels and once they are a part of that world its hard to be removed mentally and physically.

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    3. Because they feel as though they are getting taken away from they're only family and that's all they know is kill or be killed.

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    4. The boys may be feeling punished because they were taken out of war. Ishmael thought, " We will fight til the end." But then he was taken out of the war when he wanted to be in it most. He wanted to fight to the end. The boys were also brainwashed and the war was the only thing they knew.

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    5. They feel like they are being punished, I think, because they had guns in their hand and they probably felt safe. How would you feel if someone did that to you? They might think they did something wrong to deserve that punishment.

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  7. Many times during these chapter the doctors tell Ishmael, "It's not your fault." Why do you think this angers the boys? And why do the doctors keep telling them this?

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    1. I think the doctors want the boys to know that they shouldn't feel guilty, that even though what they did isn't okay, it's not their fault given the circumstances. The boys don't like hearing it, because right now they don't feel guilty for what they've done. They feel proud.

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    2. The boys are either angered by the CIVILIAN'S words, or they secretly feel that they are responsible. However, the reason the doctors repeat these words so often is because they are waiting for the boys to break. Waiting for their trauma to catch up to them. Stating that it is not their fault could become a mantra for the boys when facing their past actions.

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  8. "My squad was my family, my gun was my provider and protector, and my rule was to kill or be killed." p 126. I think that this quote is significant to the book because it shows that Ishmael really didn't have any contact with other people besides the people he was in war with. His outlook on life had changed, and his rule was "to kill or be killed." I find this really sad that someone so young had to go through such a traumatizing situation.

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  9. Why do you think that Ishmael wanted to keep fighting in the war? Do you think he enjoyed it? Why?

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    1. I think to Ishmael the war is an escape, so not being able to fight in the war forces him to think about what has happened to him in his life.

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    2. I think that Ishmael wanted to continue to fight in the war because that was what he needed to do. Ishmael had learned to fight and that is all that he had been doing for a very long time. While under the influence of drugs.

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    3. I think he got use to it and since he didn't have any family at that point, he made the soldiers his family. When his time was done in the war, he didn't want to leave his "brothers".

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    4. Ishmael wanted to continue fighting because he has been trained to fight the rebels and to kill them no matter what. It is forced into their heads and it sticks there forever. Like military personnel are made into killers, Ishmael is turned into a killer, and you never are the same after you are turned into a killer.

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    5. I don't necessarily think he enjoyed it but I do think that he thought he had a sense of importance and purpose. He also developed a strong relationship with the other soldiers and even referred to them as family. I don't think that he enjoyed killing innocent civilians but due to his use of such powerful drugs I think he didn't have complete control and didn't have the knowledge and wisdom as he did without the use of drugs.

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    6. I believe that Ishmael wants to keep fighting because when he holds that gun in his hand he feels powerful. He doesn't have to run for miles and hide from the rebels. These men that he has been fighting with have become the closest thing to family he has left and he doesn't want to loose them just as he lost his family and friends previously.

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    7. I think the war was a way for Ishmael to get back at the rebels for hurting his family and friends . And I think to an extent he did enjoy it because it gave a sense of power. A power that made him feel like he was in charge now and that no one can stop him for getting revenge on the rebels.

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    8. When he was alone the war was the only thing he had so, he wanted to stay because if was comfortable for him there. I think he had so many emotions and the violence of the war made him forget about everything going on and it brought him pleasure and so he doesn't want to leave that behind because he doesn't want to face reality.

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  10. On page 138 Ishmael said "We where unhappy because we deeded our guns and drugs". How long do you think it will take for Ishmael to become truly happy again ?

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    1. I think it will take Ishmael a long time to come around again. At this point who knows if he will ever be truly happy again. He has witnessed so much violence and taken place in it as well. Without the drugs and guns he feels alone. Drugs and guns have been a part of him for a while now and he will have to learn to live without them just as he had before.

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    2. I think that Ishmael we try to be happy again but mental he will never be happy because he will always have this on his mind for the rest of his life. I think he will look happy on the outside but in the inside he will not be so happy. I think it is really hard to become happy again after something like this takes place in a persons life.

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  11. Ishmael never states why he or the other boys were chosen. Why would he do this? He hints at it being random. I feel as if he has the reason deep down but is making us wonder why he leaves that out. What do you think? War is never random, why would he be chosen?

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    1. One reason for those specific boys being chosen could be age, or it could very well be based on the length of time those boys have spent as soldiers.

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    2. I think Ishmael leaves it out or writes it as a random picking, is because his squad and him have maybe gone too far in words of war and violence and drugs. Their lieutenant may being saving their lives before they go too far done the rabbit hole and lose themselves in their minds.

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  12. "The forest was wet and the rain washed the blood off the leaves as if cleansing the surface of the forest, but dead bodies remained under the bushes and the blood that poured out of the bodies stayed on top of the soaked soil, as if the soil had refused to absorb any more blood that day." -Page 150 Why do you think Ishmael includes this in the book? What do you think the rain symbolizes?

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    1. Ishmael may include this in the book because this was something that he may have remembered well and stuck out to him. It says that the rain can get rid of the blood and clean things. But what you have done is still there. He still killed the people. The rain symbolizes maybe his memory how he can get rid of it the best he can but, it will still be there.

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  13. During chapter 16, Why does Ishmael flashback twice to his time as a soldier?

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    1. Ishmael has so many different feelings that it may be easier for him to get past what happened in the war before he can go back and deal with life before the war.

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    2. I think that while Ishmael is in the rehabilitation center he is craving violence, he is in his mind still very much a part of the war. He sees dead bodies and blood as water. Guns and drugs give him pure joy and he feels as though he needs them. By dreaming of war, Ishmael is taken to his safe place. The place that he so longs to be.

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    3. I don't think this will be the last of his flashbacks that is going to happen to anyone when they get out of the war. I am sure he will have many more. I also think that he craves the war and having flashbacks help him satisfy that craving just a little.

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    4. I think that Ishmael just can't help but to think about his past. It was so gruesome that it must haunt him no matter how hard he tries to forget. Furthermore, I think that subconsciously, he knows that in order to move on with his life, he needs to deal with his past first.

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  14. "I am very proud to have served my country with you boys. But your work here is done, and I must send you off. These men will put you in school and you will find another life." p.129.

    What is the significance of this quote? How do you think the boys that got chosen to be taken away felt about this situation?

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    1. I think they feel angry because they did not have a choice in the matter and all they know now is all they have know for a long time. But I think they always have to think that they are no longer in danger. That they are lucky someone came to help a certain few out. So I think they are angry but at the same time they should realize that they will have the opportunity to live their life and the other may not.

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  15. Who in this chapters has the biggest impact on Ishmael and his road to recovery?

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    1. In these chapters I think Esther made the biggest impact on Ismael's road to recovery. She was the one that could get through to him and let him tell her about the war, also his experiences. On page 154 it says, " When I unwrapped it, I jumped up and hugged her..." This shows that Ishmael had felt better, he probably hasn't hugged anyone for the past 4 years. So it was a major breakthrough that Esther brought onto him.

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    2. The nurse has the biggest impact on Ishmael and his road to recovery because she gave Ishmael someone to talk to. She made him fell safe and she didn't judge him for his past. Also she acts like a mother to him and she reinforces the feeling of him being a child. And here is a quote. "I didn't completely trust Esther. I only liked talking to her because I felt that she didn't judge me for what I had been a part of;"

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    3. I believe that the nurse had the biggest affect on Ishmael's road to recovery. She was a beacon of hope for Ishmael, and seems like she genuinely cares. After not having seen his mother in years she is somewhat of a motherly figure to Ishmael. He may still have trouble trusting and getting attached to other people because of the amount of loved ones he has lost in the past due to the war.

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  16. On page 130, Ishmael states, "in the truck were three MPs-city soldiers." Why does he automatically hate the "sissy city soldiers" and judge them? They might not be fighting in the war, but maybe they are making civilians feel safe and protecting them from harm.

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    1. Ishmael may think that because he knows that just from the way they look and dress they have not experienced the real war. He is judging him because he feels like it is unfair that he is a kid fighting in the war and he is an adult that is just some man standing around a city

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    2. He feels as if he had actually provided the country with a higher sense of security by killing the rebels as apposed to the city soldiers who have never seen war and they don't really know what it is to go through hell and back like Ishmael has.

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  17. On page 138 Ishmael states "We were unhappy because we needed our guns and drugs." Why do you think Ishmael found so much comfort in such violent and destructive things?

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    1. I don't think it was so much comfort in a violent way. I think he was happier because having a gun in his hand means he can fight for himself and he might feel safer. The drugs cleared his mind and maybe helped him heal his "wounds" emotionally.

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    2. The guns and drugs were required for their survival during this war, and taking away both of those objects that now provide security for the boys has angered/threatened them. Even though they were no longer apart of the war, the group of boys still felt like they were in a similar situations.

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    3. Drugs are addictive and ease the senses of people so that what they are doing feel like it is easier, and Ishmael can only cause violence to stay alive.

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    4. Having the gun gave Ishmael power that allowed him not to worry. He no longer had to run and hide because he could protect himself. Seeing the others killing and partaking in such violent actions also made it seem like it may not be the wrong thing to do.

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  18. "When I was a child, my grandmother told me that the sky speaks to those who look and listen to it." She said "In the sky there are always answers and explanations for everything: every pain , every suffering, joy, and confusion. That night I wanted to talk the sky to talk to me." Why do you think Ishmael wanted the sky to talk to him, If so what does this represent ?

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    1. I think he just wanted to be close to his grandmother again. He's all alone and has no one to talk to, he needs someone to explain why this is happening, and to comfort him. The sky represents his family; the people he really wants to talk to.

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  19. "My squad was my family, my gun was my provider and protector, and my rule was to kill or be killed." pg 126 This war in Sierra Leone has really screwed Ismeal Beah over. He lost his blood related family, and his everyday life now has a possibility of death. Beah and his squad are now doing drugs and killing people. If you relate what he went through, to what we go through our lives, I think we have it super easy and there is not enough anger in our country to start an all out war against each other. Would you say we as Americans have a really easy life com paired to Beah's and others around the world?

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    1. Good question Jackson. Of course I think that the American people have a much easier life compared to Ishmael's and others around the world. Ishmael as a child was forced into fighting, but in America children are not put into the wars. Adults fight for the freedom of America, but when Ishmael was a child he was forced to fight the wars the adults should have.

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    2. I agree with you Jackson he was in the war for 3 years and he saw a lot of things. We are born lucky being an american and born in america and we have a specialty of having this over other countries. The weirdest things in his life were family since all of his real were killed. That's why I think it makes him such a good soldier because he fights his anger for them and he has nothing left to lose.

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  20. Ishmael talks about how him and the boys don't sleep inside, "At night, after we had exhausted fighting, we would bring our mattresses outside in the yard and sit on them quietly until morning arrived and it was time for breakfast" Why do you think they do this?

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    1. The boys may do this because this is probably how they lived during the war. They never slept and stayed awake. Ishmael would talk a lot about how he would never sleep, this probably had an effect on him. He probably slept outside because they aren't comfortable with sleeping inside or out of their natural environment.

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    2. Perhaps they are searching for a reminder of their time as soldiers. In a new environment these boys will search for any similarities to the previous one.

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  21. On page 126. Ishmael says, "The villages that we captured and turned into our bases as we went along and the forests that we slept in became our homes." This shows the lack of security and sense of belonging that Ishmael has during his time as a child soldier. How will this have an affect on Ishmael later on in his life?

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  22. During and in the end of chapter 17 the nurse keeps saying,"It's not your fault what happened to you." pg150. Why do they keep repeating that if they make Ishmael mad.

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    1. I think they keep repeating it because after awhile Ishmael will have to understand that what happened really wasn't his fault. He may not believe it right now but he will have to sometime down the road. I think that him believing that it's his fault is just another step in his healing process and then overcoming that belief is also another step in his healing process.

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    2. I think the nurse keeps repeating that phrase because she may think someday it will get through Beah and he will finally realize why he feels like it was his fault.

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  23. "We got more upset day by day and, as a result, resorted to more violence" p.139 I think that they wanted to prove a point and so they resulted to violence to show that they should still be soldiers fighting in the war. I also think that the boys were very frustrated for being kept captive, and they were probably frustrated because they were not allowed to have drugs anymore and were starting to have withdrawals.

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  24. Do you think music will overcome violence in Ishmael's life?

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    1. Yes because with his passion of hip hop, words and poetry help express deeply.

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    2. I think that it will, because music brings back good memories for Ishmael. Memories with Junior, and his friends before war or any type of violence occurred. He was innocent when he used to listen to music, and listening to it now probably makes him feel innocent again.

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  25. Do you think the boys still think about their families a lot?

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    1. I've wondered that too because at this point in the book it seems that the only thing on their minds is violence and war.

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    2. I think the drug that the boys are on are not allowing them to think about their families and mainly just think about killing. They have almost been brain washed to do this and not have a soft side and to think about their family's. I think if they were not on the drug they would think about their family's every day in everything they do.

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    3. I feel like in a way, their minds being on violence and war ties back to their families. For Ishmael, his family was killed in the attack on the village they were staying in and that had to do with war and now that I am thinking about it, I think that his loyalty to killing people was some sort of vengeance for his family being killed. So yes I do think the boys, especially Ishmael, think about their families.

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    4. In chapter 17, it is very significant because at one point, Ishmael tries to remember his childhood. But as he was trying to remember, he says, "It was impossible, as I began getting flashbacks of the first time I slit a man's throat" (160). Before, the happier times and memories of Ishamel's childhood was what kept him stable as a fugitive from the rebels. Now, he can't remember any of those happier times. The war in Sierra Leone truly destroys childhood by denying him the happier times he had as a kid. At the end of the chapter Beah tells Esther about the moon he sued to see as a child. This moment is important because it is a breakthrough that allows him to begin his healing process.

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  26. Why does Esther seem to have a strong liking to Ishmael and Alhaji? Are they different from all the other boys? Or does she just want Ishmael to warm up to her?

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    1. I would say Esther and Ishmael have a bond. Like a brother, sister relationship. I would say Ishmael and Alhaji are just like the other boys

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    2. I just think that Esther really cares about Ishmael, and his recovery process. She wants to do anything she can to help him. She knows that he doesn't have any family, and is trying to be there for him.

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  27. At the end of chapter 17, the book talks about the history of Ethiopia and the meeting of the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon. On page 164, Ishmael says, "I wished that my journey had been as meaningful and as full of merriment as theirs." After looking back at his journey, do you think Ishmael's journey was as "meaningful and as full of merriment" as the journey of the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon?

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  28. On page 153, Ishmael talks about how he trusts one. Is this really possible for him to trust nobody? I would think that Ishmael trusts his friends at least a little bit.

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  29. "My squad was my family, my gun was my provider and protector, and my rule was to kill or be killed." pg 126. This shows how Ishmael's mentality has changed since the beginning of the book as a result of the war going on in Sierra Leone, he went from being an innocent child listening to rap music to needing a gun to be his provider and protector, from being a carefree kid to having to "kill or be killed"

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    1. I agree with you! I think that it is horrible how much things have changed in Ishmael's life.

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  30. "I was very suspicious of people's intentions." p 153. I think that Ishmael had trust issues because he didn't know how to trust people, because before he never really could trust anybody. He never really learned how to trust someone, or trust that someone would be there for him, because almost everyone he had loved had disappeared at one time or another.

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  31. "I told Esther about the shapes I used to see in the moon when I was much younger. She was fascinated." Ishmael says on page 166, is she fascinated by how much imagination Ishmael had, and maybe still has, and how someone can see shapes in the moon? What do you think about someone being able to find shapes in the moon?

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  32. On page 141 Ishmael is talking to the nurse when she says, "You can go if you want to, but I suggest that you stay in bed tonight". This shows the atmosphere of the rehabilitation center, and how patient they are there. Do you think this is the best way for the kids to heal, or do you think they would heal better if the people were stricter and firm with what they did?

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  33. "Whenever I turned on the tap water, all I could see was blood gushing out. I would stare at it until it looked like water before drinking and taking a shower." Ishmael stated. (p. 145) I feel like the war impacted him so much that he can't live his every day average life. How would it impact you?

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    1. Well since it is a war, I think that it would affect me the same. Clearly Ishmael has some sort of PTSD from the war and I definitely think that I would react in some way similar to the way Ishmael acted. I think I would be really depressed after what has happened.

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  34. In chapter 16, I think that Ishmael goes back to his contrast between natural beauty and human ugliness. "We fought all day... the soil ahd refused to absorb any more blood for that day" (150). This shows Beah's chance at redemption because the motif of nature is used as something beyond a human's good and evil.

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  35. On page 165, Ishmael stated " None of these thing are your fault" She would say sternly at the end of each conversation. Even though I had heard that phrase form every staff member -and frankly I had always hated it- I began that day to Believe it. What kind of impact do you think this had on Ishmael, and do you think he will continue believing this?

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    1. That since he was drugged he couldn't control what happened to him and what he does so that's why they say it and that's why he begins to believe it.

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  36. At this point in the book do you think there is any hope for full metal rehabilitation for Ishmael?

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    1. Yes and no. Ishmael can have a relatively normal life, but he will forever be changed by the war. There is nothing that can permanently rid him of his memories. Nothing to prevent him from being aware of his violent past.

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    2. Maybe later because on the back of the book he looks really happy and pretty recovered except the nightmares. that he occasionally has.

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    3. I think he will be able to heal very well and be close to being a normal person. But he will never forget what happened in the war. There will always be memories that will hurt him to remember and can't handle. He will still have a hard time with life and being with people, which may be hard in his future.

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    4. I think that there is a little hope to become not full but really close. It will take a long time but I think he will be able to do it. His life will never be normal in my mind with the dreams and the flashbacks he has. I know it would be hard for me to create a normal life after all this

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    5. I think he can recover and be able to live a normal life, but I think the war will always affect him. It was part of his life, and he isn't going to just forget about it. The war shaped Ishmael into a new person and he kind of had to grow up really fast at a young age.

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    6. I think that maybe if he wants to try to get mental rehabilitation, then he can be close to normal, but he will always have the memories of the war.

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  37. Is it better for Ishmael to think about his past and remember those horrible things, or do you think it is better for Ishmael to just forget it all and move on?

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    1. He should never forget his past actions, but he should attempt to forgive.

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    2. I think it is completely better to forget about the events, but nobody can do that. Ishmael needs to open himself emotionally and he needs to vent what he is thinking and feeling so then he can build himself back up again so then he may regain his personality that is not apparent at this point in time.

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    3. I think it's gonna be pretty hard to forget all those horrific images and messed up things he did to people. Like he made people dig their own graves and then bury themselves and he could hear them mumble and wiggle under the dirt.

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    4. I think Ishmael shouldn't forget his past. I think remembering his past helped him redeem himself. I think that he should remember his past so he can also learn from those experiences.

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  38. "Several days later, Poppay returned during lunchtime, limping but with a smile on his face." p. 140 Why do you think the staff kept such a positive attitude/ patience with the boys, even though the boys are so rude and mean to the staff?

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  39. Do you think Ishmael's relationship with the nurse will grow and become significant?

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    1. Yeah, I was thinking same thing. I want to say yes but I honestly don't know what their future will become. The nurse I feel like just wants to help Ismael till he is recovered. On Ismaels side he may see opportunity.

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  40. I think that Ishmael and Esther will end up being good friends and have trust in each other. Esther having a Walkman for Ishmael with rap tapes for it and taking him into the city a lot will probably get Ishmael to trust her and enjoy seeing her. However, I feel that it is rather sad that Esther has to basically buy Ishmael's friendship, but it is not unreasonable due to what he has been through. Also, Ishmael seems to be very strong and I'm sure he will be happy again one day and feel less like he needs to harm anyone not in the child army.

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  41. "Whenever I turned on the tap water, all I could see was blood gushing out. I would stare at it until it looked like water before drinking or taking a shower." Ishmael is having all sorts of gory and scary nightmares and illuisons. Why do you think this started after he came out of the war, not during? Do you think he's finally starting to realize what horrible things he did, and how everything he's done is wrong?

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  42. "I just wanted to stop my blood from flowing," said Ishmael on page 141. What is the significance of blood besides death? What does it represent?

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  43. As American we have life easy. We have running water and food to eat. With these blessings we need to take action. Most people don't know that Sierra Leone is one of the poorest third world countries.

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  44. There's hope for everything, even if no one has any left, there is always a possibility for a better day. With the boys, sure it may take a while for them to get better, but they might get better now that they are in a better situation. They even seem to be getting much better since it sounds like there is much less fighting going on, so that's already progress.

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  45. I do not think any of the boy are beyond helping or rehabilitation. I just think it will take some longer than others and that the boys have maybe been through worst and just are trying to figure out how to deal with it.

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  46. When walking around town, "Mambu and Alhaji walked behind me the whole time and consulted with me about which way to proceed, when to stop...It seemed as if we were still in the front line and I was their squad leader." Do you think Ishmael misses the war?

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