Questions - Theme - Mikayla

1. Aside from survival, what are the main themes? Explain.

Memory. Ishmael Beah is able to remember very important details from his life. It is important because without his memory from his childhood, he would have never been able to rehabilitate. For example; his music played a big role before he was a soldier so when nurse Esther gave him the Walkman and cassettes.

2.  Why does Ishmael recall a happier memory as things start to get depressing?

He would recall happier memories of when he was younger, to keep his hopes up and motivate him to get through his day.

3. How did Ishmael's personality change throughout the story?

At the beginning he was happy and fun. He enjoyed music, soccer and hanging out with his friends. When he became a soldier he completely changed in to a drug addict and murder who had no mercy. He went from being a harmless troublemaker to a killer. After rehabilitation he was happy again, but was never the same as before. That could also be because of maturity over time.

4.Why was it so important to talk about his life before became a soldier, during his rehabilitation process?

When he became a soldier, he changed for the worse and by recalling his childhood memories, Ishmael would be able to bring back his sanity and loving personality. Because of all the drugs, Ishmael lost control of his mind and his values.

5. When Ishmael stopped talking about his childhood when he becomes a soldier what does this signify?

Ishmael thought he would be a soldier for the rest of his life and it was his only purpose of life. He gave up and thought he would never get his childhood back.

6. How did nature life help Ishmael through his journey?

Nature life helped his journey because Ishmael appreciated and admired the beauty of nature. It made him seem innocent.

7. What impact did the wisdom of his family have on Beah?

His grandparents seemed very wise and spiritual. Ishmael mentioned many quotes he remembers from either his grandmother or grandfather and they seemed to lift his spirits and help him get through the terrors because he could related to the quotes.

8. Why is it important for Ishmael to share his story with the world?

It raises awareness to people are aren't affected by was. It allows us to see the reality of some countries less fortunate. For him, raising awareness to end child soldiers is very important for obvious personal reasons.

9. Why is Ishmael so successful today and play a big role in society?

Starting with representing child soldiers in the conference in New York, I think that really opened doors to being a spokesperson and making a difference in the world by working for the United Nations.

10. As Ishmael mentioned, he didn't understand why he was still alive of all his family members and friends, why him?

We would say it is mostly out of luck, because of certain series of events, he was able to escape. Needless to say, that would have never happened without his intelligence and will to survive.