Review Response - Liam

I think William Boyd was spot on with his thoughts on the book. It is so true that eastern area's of the world have worse conflicts. Where in the West (Canada, USA etc...) would you ever find a situation like that of Sierra Leone's? He also mentions how Ishmael was and is extremely intelligent, and how usually child soldiers don't get the opportunity to express their opinions on conflicts such as Ishmael's. I couldn't agree more. Here is a 12 year old kid who has been handed an automatic rifle and has been drugged out of his mind. It's truly remarkable. A 12 year old kid, not even a teenager, makes his way through a conflict we can't even wrap our minds around the thought of. It's sad though, because had Ishmael not gone through what he did, then we wouldn't have his book. And without books such as his, we wouldn't be as aware of worldly conflicts as we are today. Sure we'd have CNN and other news, but we never would have the personal accounts of what happened.

William raises a good point however. The book was so detailed when it came to non-violent memories, but when it came to the bloodshed and death, it was graphic, but didn't seem like it was as clear of a memory to Ishmael. This says something to me about Ishmael, is that the killing became such a way of life for him, he didn't pay much attention to it. He became so desensitized to all of the gore, merciless killing and hatred that he brushed it off. When he saw the first blood, of the people exiting the truck in the first couple chapters, he doubled over, vomiting and nearly fainting. At the end however, the war has become a way of life for him, because of the influence, power, safety, and not to mention the large amount of drugs he had consumed.

Journal #4 - Liam

Wow. The final chapters of the book. I think I speak for most readers when I say that the book has taken us through a ton of different thoughts and emotions. I find it sad, how he reaches safety but he still struggles for survival. He's addicted to many drugs, he can't process thoughts, and he hates the people trying to help him, because he sees it as he's being given orders. His experiences turned him into someone completely different from the start of the book. He hurts the innocent, steals, does everything that he would never do before the war. This is what's sort of sad. He has finally made it to the final checkpoint, but it is the hardest of all to overcome. He is addicted to drugs, and kills without second though. He has been brainwashed into a war-machine, and listens to no reason. It isn't his fault, he had no control. It was this, or be killed. What would you have chosen?

Ishmael has gotten to the point where he literally feels no pain. He breaks a window with his bare hand, and moves it back and forth so he can be taken back to the hospital, where he is safe and given shelter. After everything he has done, he's still forced to use power and wit just to survive.

When Ishmael is asked to perform for the EC, UN and UNICEF at the center, it showed how he may appear to be lost, but deep down there is still a little of himself left. Esther asks him to sing his reggae songs, but he asks to recite Shakespeare instead. This shows how intelligent he remains to be. He was always fascinated by such things, and this event shows how not all is lost. Towards the end of the book, he is more or less appearing normal, however the horrors he experienced and took part in, will never leave his mind. Amazing book, incredible story.

Crowded

A large group of Sierra Leonians gathering for the election of a new president.

Journal #3 - Liam

        This section of the book focuses on the really violent and cruel aspects of the conflict in Sierra Leone. On the very first page of chapter 12, there is a graphic explanation of what's happening. People lie with body parts missing, and act as if they don't realize. There are children, around 12 and 13 that lie lifeless on the banks of the river. This section of the book, and much like the previous parts have used words to create such a vivid image in your head, that you feel like you're watching the conflict unfold.

I find this somewhat sad. When you read of the young boys and their emotionless reactions to their surroundings, it's so sad. If you put a regular kid in our society in that situation, they couldn't deal with it, but the young boys in Sierra Leone are so desensitized to their brutal surroundings that they're used to the horrors. I couldn't imagine it.

This section of the book also gives the reader a sense of hope. When Ishmael finally reaches Yele, the reader gets a sense that everything will be okay. However that isn't the case. I think that this gives the book more depth, it isn't always happy and it isn't always depressing, it keeps the mood in balance.

As we get closer and closer to the end of the book, the suspense keeps rising. Ishmael seems to be in safety, but if he were to pass the outskirts of Yele, he'd probably be killed. So it's almost like all of the civilians in Yele are trapped inside the village. This creates a lot of suspense because the reader is concerned on what might happen.

I still find it difficult to wrap my mind around everything that Ishmael, and other people of Sierra Leone and surrounding countries had to go through. It's unbearable, and we can't even begin to imagine what it might have been like, you'd only be able to find out first hand.

Journal #2 - Liam

This section of the book really made my thoughts go crazy. It almost seems that when the boys are on the coast, in the tiny hut with the man who's name is unknown, that they are untouched by the war. It seems like they're getting better, they're not depressed anymore, they aren't lost. It seems almost slowly they're recovering. I think this, but then I remember the title, and how it says Memoirs of a Boy Soldier. I think to myself that things will get better, but then I realize how things are about to get much worse in the book. 

I cannot believe how physically and mentally tough these young boys are. Their feet are shredded, they outrun death on almost a daily basis, and yet they're still going strong. I honestly have no idea how they do it. Is it just their will to live? To find their families? Looking back on the first part of the book, when Ishmael was alone in the forest, I have no idea how I'd keep myself safe from my own thoughts. The horrors he'd witnessed, and then being all alone, with no companions and hardly any food, I'd over-think everything and drive myself insane. It truly amazes me how strong these boys are individually, and how much stronger they are as a team.

I'm also surprised at the generosity of the man who's name is unknown. When the boys usually encounter other people, the people run away in terror, fearing their lives. The man who owns the hut however, greets them with much generosity and hospitality. He feeds them, gives them shelter, and even heals their wounds. This actions stick out. The boys are so used to being on the bottom, and so used to having a survival of the fittest situation, in which case they never win. When the man opens up to them, it shows almost a contrast in what the boys are used to, and to myself as the reader, it gave a little light to a fairly dark topic.

Questions & Answers - Liam

1) Who is the main character in the novel?
2) In what country does this book take place?
3) What village does the main character come from?
4) What is different about the main characters family, when compared to many families in that culture?
5) What are the names of the main characters companions?
6) What plant do the boys dig from the ground and eat raw?
7) What does RUF stand for?
8) Before the fighting began, what did the boys love to do together?
9) How do the boys avoid passing through villages?
10) In your opinion, why do you think the RUF uses young boys as soldiers?

ANSWERS:
1) Ishmael Beah.
2) Sierra Leone.
3) Mogbwembo.
4) Ishmael and Junior's parents are divorced.
5) Junior, Talloi, Gabrilla, Kaloko and Khalilou.
6) They dig up cassava plants and eat them raw.
7) RUF stands for the Revolutionary United Front.
8) The boys would rap and dance to hip hop.\
9) The boys would detour around the villages to avoid being seen.
10) YOUR OPINION.

In my opinion however:
I believe that the RUF uses boy soldiers because of a few reasons. First off, the boys are young, they are frightened and they are easily influenced. The soldiers can use this, and recruit these boys to do terrible things. Second of all, these boys are "expendable", meaning that they are worthless to the RUF, and are only good for killing and dying. And lastly, there are so many children, that the RUF could have vast fighting capabilities with using young boys alone.

Journal #1 - Liam

         This book is about survival. Not survival against the elements, but survival against other humans. That's the biggest thing that strikes me. After the first 8 or 9 chapters, the clear depictions of what his life was like is so clear, that you can almost feel it. Ishmael talks about how he ran for days without stopping, and how all of the skin on the bottom of his feet would peel off, and how he had nothing to eat but bitter orange-like fruits that he carried with him.
       
        When I first began to read the book, I was surprised at how ruthless and cruel the rebels in the story were. It hit home. This book has a very good way of capturing its reader. When I read it, I don't exactly feel like I'm in it, like other books do. No, because who could feel that way if you hadn't already experienced that sort of pain. But although I don't feel like I'm in it, I feel like I'm watching it. In the first 8 chapters, you begin to see how Ishmael quickly changes from childhood to manhood, in a matter of months.
       
        At first, he is terrified by what's happening, he cannot wrap his mind around it. He is in denial, and he has no idea what to do. With time however, he becomes desensitized to all of it. Fear remains, but he is used to the pain, and the death around him. He begins his journey, accompanied by 4 other boys his age, but they are all separated. For months now, he's been alone, and he is beginning to have mental conflicts with himself.
     
       Luckily for him, he meets up with more boys that he remembered from his home village, and they begin to travel together. They are captured, their shoes are taken, and they escape. They run for what seems like forever, on the hot dirt, while their feet peel nearly to the bone. These chapters only begin the pain that I unfortunately predict Ishmael will yet go through.

-Liam