Thursday, December 5, 2013

Fishbowl #6: A Long Way Gone, Chapters 18 and 19

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!

114 comments:

  1. How do you think Tommy affected his life?

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    1. I think that even though Ishmael had to get use to living with them, it kind of gave him hope because it is the first family member to gain trust with him and to actually be a family.

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    2. Tommy has provided a father role for Ishmael that he was ready to assume, based on his words on page 172, "You are my son." Tommy provided an aspect of Ishmael's childhood that could bring back some normalcy to his life.

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    3. I believe the Tommy affected Ishmael's life in a very healing manner. Because Ishmael did just come out of the war and could only trust some of his friends and Esther, Tommy was a safe haven in a sense of allowing Ishmael to feel loved unconditionally even after what he did and that not everyone who was not a part of the war was so judgmental of what he had done, just like on page 172 where Tommy said "...You are my son. I don't have much, but I well give you a place to sleep, food , and my love."

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  2. What do you think Ishmael was thinking when Leslie said," This is your uncle."? Do you think it was hard for him to believe or was it a surprise?

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    1. I think it gave him more hope. He has someone to be there for him. But i also think that he was surprised and felt as if he didn't know him.

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    2. I think he was exited. To find family after he had lost so many people and his family previously. I think he was surprised but I don't think it was hard for him to believe.

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    3. I believe that it was a surprise to Ishmael because it was so hard for him to believe. Yet Ishmael really knew that the man was his uncle when he started to cry as said in this quote. "He was crying, which is when I began to believe that he was really my family," Pg. 172

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    4. I think it was hard for him to believe because on page 171 Ishmael states " I didn't count on him being able to find my uncle in such a big city, especially with the little information I had provided." So I think that the hope was out there that he would be able to find his uncle but was not counting on it because after his father and mother a brothers were killed he lost all hope of having a family again so I do it was hard for him to believe that he still had a family member out there.

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    5. I think it was hard for him to believe but it gave him some comfort because he found on of his family members. he was definitely surprised but i think in a good way.

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  3. How do you think he will recover over the next three months in his life. Do you think that he will ever recover completely or do you think there will be somethings that will always affect him?

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    1. I believe it's most definitely going to be more than three months and it really just depends on his attitude towards recovering.

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    2. Right now I think that he will recover a lot, but never fully recovered. It seems that it is never possible to recover. A person can never just forget their past. Even though as much as they want to they can't. There will always be something affecting how Ishmael lives.

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    3. I think that these next months of his life will help him recover a lot. I also think that Ishmael won't recover fully. Something this major sticks into your memory and you won't ever forget. Some part of his soldier life will stick with him for the rest of his life. Something like that doesn't just go away.

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    4. I believe that there will always be some things that affect him. You ca suppress a memory, but you will always have flashbacks and dreams.

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    5. I think that he shows a good attitude towards recovery. I don't think its possible to completely recover from the kinds of thing Ishmael has seen, but he can recover to a healthy point. The main variable in his recovery process is his will to get over his past and move on, I think that in Ishmael's case, he has a lot to look forward to, and is a gifted person who can easily overcome his past.

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    6. I think that this will always effect him but it won't be something that pains him everyday and it won't be something that is always on his mind. I am sure it will always be in the back of his mind and it will never leave him because it was such a dramatic thing that happened in his life and it's not something you can forget.

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  4. Why do you think that there is so little information about the war and what is going on in the war within Freetown?

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    1. I feel like there isn't much information on the war because when he was that young that really scared him. I also believe that at the time he was too young to really understand what was going on I feel as if all he knew in the time period was running, fighting, and shooting. Trust was totally out of the equation unit Tommy comes.

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    2. Perhaps they are similar to the other villages so far unaffected by the war. They are ignorant of the war as long as it does not reach them. Or maybe the rehabilitation centers have not allowed information of the war to reach the boys.

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    3. I think in Freetown it is isolated from the war, and they don't have that constant worry of being attacked. I also think the media is sheltering the citizens. On page 187 Ishmael says "They don't know anything about the war except the news of it." In this part he was talking about the city boys and how they don't know much about the war.

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  5. Based on the book I don't know that he trust himself. But based on the clips we saw I think he does trust himself now because he said that he had to trust himself in order to heal and that was one of the challenges.

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    1. I agree, I believe right now in the book he is going through a very rough period of time. Once he can rebuild his trust, and get over all the drugs and everything horrible he has been through he will be able to trust himself and others around him.

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    2. I agree because I think during the book he was just so lost and just going with the motions but not being able to trust your choices and have faith in yourself is something you can't lack when you are being put through what he had to do. I do think that he trusts himself now because he is okay now and he knows that everything he did got him to where he is today.

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  6. Do you think that Ishmael speaking at the UN conference will make his healing process harder or easier?

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    1. I think speaking at the UN conference will be good for him because it will let him talk with others and let thing out and normal that helps people. I think it will not make it super easy put it will not be to hard. Healing is going to take him time.

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    2. I think speaking at the conference will help him recover more quickly. It's always nice just to have someone to talk to, and talking will help him recover.

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    3. I agree with Foster in the sense that speaking at the UN conference will be a good experience because Ishmael has witnessed a lot of horrors throughout his young life and it would be dangerous for him to keep all of his emotions all bottled up.

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    4. I think that it would be very good for his healing process. He might think that his past is useless and so many people died for seemingly no reason. If this is true, then by sharing and spreading his inside story of this experience can help decrease the violence in Sierra Leone and other places, which helps justify the experience in his head.

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    5. I think Ishmael speaking at the conference helped him recover. I think that when he talks about his past with someone else that just telling his story and getting it out there would give him some closure.

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  7. Is the trip to America an important part of his healing process?

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    1. I think that it was crucial because it represented change and the trip to America might have been a hard thing to grow accustom to but helped in the long run.

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    2. I agree with Cassie. I also think that Ishmael getting away from all of the fighting will accelerate his healing process. He doesn't have to think about all the fighting anymore and he is getting away from what reminds him of his soldier life.

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    3. I think that the trip to America will help Ishmael heal very much as it is not only a chance at change but he is able to think of ways in which he can redeem himself like he did with the speeches would do in Freetown.

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  8. On page 167 Ishmael said, "I feel as if there is nothing left for me to be alive for," I said slowly. "I have no family, it is just me. No one will be able to tell stories about my childhood." How do you think he has changed through the next chapters? What does this quote mean to how Ishmael felt?

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    1. Ishmael felt alone in the world. Later on this changes. First in Esther becoming a sister and then in Tommy and his family. Ishmael is no longer alone, which has given him hope for the future.

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    2. This quote seems to show that Ishmael feels very lonely and that trust is not an easy thing to obtain. The part that speaks of there is no one to tell him stories of his past also kind of shows that he does not wish to let go of what is no longer there and because of that he feels like there is nothing that can fill a void that takes up most of his childhood. I feel like this will change in the book because we know that he rights this book and based on the interviews today, he really seems to articulate on the matter and realize that even though he is alone, he does not need to stay alone nor afraid.

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  9. On page 165 Ishmael has a dream which he says, "It was the first time I had a dream of my family since I start running away from the war." What does this symbolize?

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    1. The fact that he is allowing himself to think about the emotional pain is probably a really important step of the healing process. It shows that he is allowing himself to be hurt and be like a little child again.

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    2. This symbolizes how he can finally think about things other than the war. Since he is starting to get over his drug use and going through rehab, he is free of the war and all the horror. He can now remember what it is like to be a child.

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    3. I feel as if he is starting to be able to think again and this symbolizes him "getting his mind back" from all the drugs and all the pain that he had been suffering throughout the war, I feel like he finally has enough time to think about these things and try and figure out what happened in that stupid war.

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    4. The dream in which he had about his family was a harsh one and I believe the dream itself represents that he knows he has lost his family and wishes he hasn't. Although I believe the fact that he had the dream himself I feel shows that he is no longer living within the war and that his innocence is slowly returning to him even if he needs to be rehabilitated.

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  10. Do you think Ishmael looks at his uncle as a father figure?

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    1. I think that Ishmael is starting to look up to him as a father, and starting to trust him. But I also think that Ishmael still misses his father and isn't ready for his uncle to replace him.

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    2. I think that he sees his uncle as a role model and not so much of a father. I also think that his uncle will help him heal knowing that he has someone to relate to. I think it will also help having someone from the family there so he can look at him and remember him brothers and parents

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    3. I don't think his uncle will ever be a fatherly figure to Ishmael because his father is irreplaceable and his uncle will never live up to that of his father.

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    4. I think Ishmael looks at his uncle like how he looked at the general of the army. A replacement for his father, he will never add up to his birth father just because he always grew up with him before the war before all the pain and suffering he went through. I am not saying that Ishmael will never be close to Tommy but he just won't be as close to him as his father.

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  11. After what he's been through, of course being able to trust people is hard, but I think that he's beginning to see that not everyone is like that. Yes, it will take some time for him to actually be able to trust a person, but at least now he won't hate every single adult he meets or even sees. Also, with Esther, I think she's helping him be able to trust again and heal much faster than if he were to just try doing it on his own

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  12. Which do you think is helping him heal more? Tommy's house or rehab?

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    1. Both places have helped in their own way. While the rehab center helped Ishmael get over the memories of the war, Tommy and his family have provided an aspect of life before the war. It has provided Ishmael with a new family and new life. However, Tommy's house does not address the war, and does not help Ishmael work through his memories.

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    2. I think Tommy's house will help him heal more because as he said rehab was considered a punishment to him. He probably feels more at home at Tommy's house.

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    3. I think Tommy's house is helping him heal more,Because it is a place where he feels safe and at home some what. I think it would help me more then dealing with the rehab.

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  13. "Standing next to a tree with red frozen sap on its bark would bring flashbacks of the many times we executed prisoners by tying them to trees and shooting them." (p 190) If you were put in Ishmael's shoes, do you think you could recover from what he has been through? Why?

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  14. On page 179 it says “I lay in my bed night after night staring at the ceiling and thinking, Why have I survived the war? Why was I the last in my immediate family to be alive? I didn't know.” do you think that by saying/thinking this Ishmael is blaming himself for what happened to his family Explain.

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    1. Ishmael is feeling a common emotion, called 'survivor's guilt'. He feels guilty that he survived while his family did not.

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    2. I don't think he thinks it is his fault, but he is just wondering why it is him who has gone through all of this without dying. He is wondering, out of all of his family members, he is alive.

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    3. I don't think he is blaming himself I just think he is just trying to figure out how he is the only last one of his direct family. Figure out how it is possible.

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  15. On page 173 Ishmael says,"I didn't know what to do in my happy state. I was still hesitant to let myself go, because I still believed in the fragility of happiness." The war caused Ishmael to not believe in happiness, do you think he will ever be able to truly happy again? Or will he always doubt the happiness?

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    1. I think that he will find happiness again but it will take a while.

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    2. I feel that happiness is going to be a feeling he will feel as he does in the moment mentioned in the quote above but I believe that his doubt of happiness all relies on trust and the fear of more change. As he gains trust in people he does seem to enjoy the time around them but he will need to gain more trust in a community of people to be happy around them. After a while it is also fair to say that the life in America will easily allow him to feel safe and happy.

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  16. "I think my troublesome days are long gone,' I said sadly."-page 175 Why does Beah say this sadly? Shouldn't he be happy that times are changing?

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    1. I think he means to say that his days of just being a child are over. Even though he's out of the war now it still took away valuable years from his childhood, to just be a kid. He's matured now, and wouldn't do the things that normal children do.

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    2. I think that a troublesome days being gone makes him sad because it makes him have the ability to think again. Thinking about his family and what happened to him and also his mind trying to wrap around what had happened in the war and I think that he is not ready to accept happiness in his life.

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    3. Ishmael is sad, because he feels he is no longer a child. His troublesome days were not the war, but rather his childhood. Ishmael feels sorrow for his loss of innocence.

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    4. In this passage I think he is talking about messing around and being silly as a child. In this case it's using the word troublesome like trouble maker and not referring to his child soldier life. He feels like he can't be a care free child anymore and that immaturity and fun is gone.

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    5. I agree with Maggie! From this situation, he had to grow up very quickly and being an innocent kid was over.

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    6. I feel like Ishmael was sad because he didn't want his childhood to be over. I think that he wanted to become that innocent child he was before the war reached his village. Like today many adults feel like they want to be a kid again, I think that he felt that kind of sadness.

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  17. On page 165 Ishmael says, ""None of these things are your fault," she would always say sternly at the end of every conversation. Even though I had heard that phrase from every staff member- and frankly I had always hated it- I began to believe it that day." What does this show about Ishmael and the road he is on to recovery?

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    1. I think that this is a definite sign of recovery for Ishmael because at first he kept refusing and alienating Esther, but now he really knows that she cares. He can now further discover that many adults are truly good and trustworthy.

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    2. I think this shows signs of recovery because it demonstrates how far he has come and he realizes what he has been through. The reassurance of so many people saying this to him has also instilled it into him that it really isn't his fault and he must accept his past and begin moving on.

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    3. I think that this is a sign that he is starting to take in these words and actually believe them. When he actually lets these words settle in he is moving faster on his road to recovery and has realized, none of these things was his fault.

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  18. Will Ishmael be able to have a girlfriend, or wife? As he said on page 184, "They wanted to know about me, and I wasn't ready to tell them." As he was talking about his relationships in Freetown, so does that mean that know since he can open up to the world about his experience, he will be able to handle a family of his own?

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    1. I think that Ishmael eventually will be able to find a close relationship with a significant other because he is still early in the rehabilitation process. He needs to recover more in order to develop a relationship such as this.

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  19. Pg 189 "After I left the center, Mambu went back to the front lines, because his family refused to take him in." would you want to go back t the war instead of staying safe in Freetown?

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    1. When there is nothing left for you, except for the war, you go back to the war to have something to live for.

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    2. I think it is very hard to imagine what I would do without experiencing what those boys have gone through, and I understand that Mambu feels a sense of identity in the front lines. However, I don't think I would go back to the war because I think, with my personality, I would try to make a life for myself outside of the war, and on my own terms.

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  20. On page 172. when first meeting his uncle, Ishmael thinks, "What if he is just some man pretending to be my uncle." What does this show about the trust issues Ishmael has, that may never heal?

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    1. This shows that Ishmael can not believe that he actually has an uncle because I guess he couldn't think it was possible to still have a living family member so I think it more of uncertainty rather than trust.

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  21. In the interview with John Stewart Ishmael said that it is easy to regain faith in humanity...why is that?

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  22. It's a fiesty fishbowl today, no?

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    1. I agree with Ms. Leclaire. For example during this fishbowl about five minuets in Clay started counting Olivia's many likes during her response which angered Olivia and then Olivia started shouting, "Stop counting off my likes Clay!"

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  23. On page 176 Ishmael's uncle tells him that his new siblings don't know about his war past. Ishmael is so relieved when he hears that. Why do you think that is? Do you think they would be afraid of him if they knew his past?

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    1. Ishmael, at this time, is afraid of rejection by his family. He does not wish for them to know of the war, because it could hurt his chances of having a new life.

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    2. I think that his new siblings wouldn't understand what he has gone through. Depending on how much they know it could make them scared of Ishmael. I think Ishmael felt more comfortable with them not knowing because it would be easier for them to welcome him into the family. At this point in the book he was probably not ready to talk to people about his experiences and his siblings might ask him many questions.

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    3. I think that Ishmael does want to be known for being a boy soldier. And he doesn't want to be treated differently by the family. All he wants is to be accepted by the family and regain the trust he lost throughout this event.

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    4. I think that a major part of Ishmael's rehabilitation is being amalgamated back into society. He wants to become normal again and if everybody treats him differently because he was in the war, he can never get over it. I think that it also makes having a real relationship easier, because it is more real and there is not as much sympathy and guilt involved.

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  24. Why did Mambu have to go back to the front lines? Would no foster family take him in? Just because his actual family wouldn't take him in doesn't mean no one would. Also, do the other boys feel jealous of Ishmael for having some family left that would take him in?

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  25. When Ishmael calls Esther a "temporary sister" on page 167, what is the significance of this? Why does Ishmael only want a temporary family? Explain.

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    1. I think that he calls her a "temporary sister" because he loves her like a sister, but he doesn't want his real family replaced. He doesn't want a different, new family, he wants his old family back.

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    2. Ishmael is very skeptical with relationships now because of his experiences. Keeping a temporary family will aid him to quickly escape his relationship with them so that he won't be as hurt.

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    3. I don't think that it is his temporary family I think he feels as if it is his family but they will never add up to what his real family was. He didn't grow up with these people but they still mean a lot to him and he cares about them almost as much as he did his real family.

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    4. I think that this gave Ishmael stability because now he had someone to like to be there for him. And I think this gives him a sense of hope. I think Ishmael only wants a temporary family because he does not want to get attached or comfortable with having a "family" and I guess he is worried of it being taken away form him.

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    5. I think he is thrilled to have found family. However I think he fears that Esther may not always be around. He hasn't had consistency in his life and he is still just getting to trust himself let alone put so much trust in another person that he could loose. I think he is just trying to give himself enough space between Esther so that if one day Esther isn't there he will not be in such a dark place as he has been.

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  26. "I didn't know what to do in my happy state. I was still hesitant to let myself let go, because I still believed in the fragility of happiness." Do you think Ishmael will always think this from now on, because of the last time he got happy to see his family it got taken away from him?

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  27. On pg. 167 it Esther says to Ishmael, “Think of me as your family, your sister” Do you think that Ishmael views her as a part of his family, why or why not?

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    1. I think that he does think of her as a sister because she listens to what he says and she consoles him when he shares a story. Also she does nice things for him like getting him a Walkman. This all has quickly developed a strong relationship with Ishmael and he recognizes that.

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  28. Why didn't Ishmael want to tell Allie about his past?

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    1. I think he didn't want to tell him because he's afraid that Allie will judge him, or be afraid of him or something. He doesn't know how he'll react and he doesn't want anything to jeopardize his relationship with his new family.

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    2. I think that he doesn't tell Allie about his past because it is too soon after the war and all those things that happened are still traumatizing him and he doesn't really want to be reliving all of his pain. I think he just wants to move forward and not dwell on the past.

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    3. I think that Ishmael was nervous to tell Allie about his past because he didn't want to bring up the memories and have flashbacks and Allie might not understand Ishmael's thoughts and feelings toward it.

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    4. I think he was nervous of Allie not accepting him because of his past. I also think he may have been trying to protect Allie from the cold hard truth about his past. At this time he so vulnerable and may not be ready to talk about the details of his past.

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  29. "People are always lying to others with such promises. Don't let them get your hopes up, my son" Ishmael's uncle says on 189, why does he refuse to believe that Ishmael will actually go to America? How does he feel now that Ishmael is actually there?

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    1. Tommy does not want Ishmael to hope for something good to happen and then get his hopes taken away. He does not want to see his son hurt again.

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    2. I think that Ishmael's uncle is worried that Ishmael will be let down. I also think his uncle doesn't want to let him go. They just met and their connection was just becoming stronger.

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  30. We need some more men in the fishbowl.

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  31. The hotseats are calling your name...

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  32. Do you think Ishmael, today in the present, is happy that he has experienced what he has experienced? On one hand, no child should ever go through what he went through, but on the other hand, he has grown a lot because of it, and it shapes who he is today.

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    1. I agree, I think in a way it was good that he went through all the pain and suffering he went through because now he is a very strong man who is able to share his horrific story. But in a way it is also a bad thing because of all the traumatizing experiences he went through, as well as all the friends and family he lost during the war.

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    2. I think he is not happy about what has happened but is not upset and he sees how it has changed his life. I think It teaches him to be a strong man and how to overcome hard things.

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    3. I do not believe that Ishmael will be glad that he lived through those moments more than he will be glad that he has recovered from those experiences because that is where growth happens.

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  33. What exactly was Ishmael feeling when Mr. Kamara asked Ishmael to be spokesperson for the center, how exactly do you think Ishmael feel? I think he felt nervous, yet also important! Does he end up enjoying talking to people about Sierra Leone's problem and his experience?

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    1. Ishmael feels that the situation in Sierra Leone needs to be made known to the world, and will do whatever he can to spread the word.

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  34. On page 181 Ishmael wonders why the people at the rehabilitation center do what they do, "It must be tough living with so many war stories. I was just living with one, mine, and it was difficult, as the nightmares about what happened continue to torment me. Why does she do it? Why do they all do it?" Why do you think they do it? Do you think you could ever be able to do that?

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  35. If you were in Ishmael's shoes, do you think you would have a hard time adjusting to the new life in America he is going to have?

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