In
this section of the book Ishmael starts his journey as a boy soldier.
His lieutenant, Jacobi, gives them their orders but also decides to
give them drugs and convince them that killing is alright or normal.
Marijuana, cocaine and brown brown are just some of the drugs that
Ishmael and the others boys became addicted to over the time. They
caused the boys to not be able to sleep properly and to think
differently. It disgusts me that grown adults would give kids so
young drugs, not to mentions most kids at that age should even know
what drugs are or be any where near drugs. The lieutenants have
convinced Ishmael and the other soldiers that the rebels are
responsible for killing their family so that they feel the need to
retaliate and punish the rebels by killing them. In chapter fourteen,
Ishmael kills a rebel prisoner by slitting his throat. He felt no
remorse in committing this act of pure violence which shows how his
character has changed and how he had lost his morals.
Later
in the book the boys get taken by some in-city soldiers who bring
them to a compound which turns out to be a UNICEF rehabilitation
centre called The Benin Home. As the workers try to help the boys by
feeding them, they start to rage because they're going through
withdrawal. After fighting against the nurses and doctors, Ishmael
finally gets injected with a sedative to calm him down and so he can
get some sleep. I congratulate the nurses and doctors who risked
their lives to help the boy soldiers recover. I wouldn't be able to
stay as patient as the workers at the rehabilitation centre.
This portion of the book is just the beginning of Ishmael's recovery and I'm happy that he is given a second chance in life.
This portion of the book is just the beginning of Ishmael's recovery and I'm happy that he is given a second chance in life.
I find in most circumstances of the book, I kept forgetting how old Ishmael was. Then, I would picture a little 14 or 15 year old boy with a gun sniffing drugs and it doesn't even seem possible. Imagine if that was you and I?! Not to mention how unhealthy whatever brown brown was and sniffing gun powder is!
ReplyDeleteMikayla
Yeah, I also kept forgetting how old he was. But as young as he was he obviously had to mature a lot faster. In age he was a child, but in reality his childhood was taken away from him and he was already living like an adult, but in a dangerous situation. I would never be able to imagine us in his position, it just doesn't seem like a reality.
DeleteNatasha, what you said about the drugs, in those circumstances the adults don't care. The only thing they cared was to make the boys kill the rebels. If they had to make them do drugs or if they had to make a brainwash on the boys, for them that was no problem! It is what Machiavelli said: "The ends justify the means."
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