Morning!
Please see my comments from last time about earning credit for your work. Some of you did poorly last time because your participation was insufficient, either because it took you more than 10 minutes to get involved in the discussion or because your posts were too few. As I've mentioned before, my suggestion is that you use the blog for your outer circle responses, but if you can't handle the multi-tasking nature of this work, please write a 1-page response that captures your thinking and supports it with textual evidence.
Also, continue to work on contextualizing and supporting your points with specific quotes and plot points from the text. Many of you didn't earn full credit for the last discussion because you may have had many posts, but your posts were un-substantive. I'd rather you write 5 really quality responses that use a quote from the text than 7 or 8 posts that are perfunctory.
Happy posting!
How would you react if you were in battle and lost two close comrades like Ishmael did in the battle that took place?
ReplyDeleteI would feel like I'm losing everyone and everything I ever knew because little by little Ishmael loses the people he is close to in the book
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ReplyDeleteI think that this is the same thing that happens to most people that suffer a loss. Their first instinct is to get back at the person who hurt them even though they might know that they can't do anything to help.
DeleteIshmael is not only killing for his family. He is also trying to stay alive and fend for himself because he doesn't have his family to take care of him anymore.
DeleteHis family is dead by the way. He is killing the rebels because they killed his family. So he is doing it for the revenge.
DeleteI think he is "killing for his family" because he has no other way to pay them back for what he has done, and what they have done for him. Even though him fighting won't help him find them I think it will help him get through the war.
DeleteI believe that killing for Ishmael is helping him just survive. He knew that if he didn't become a soldier that it would really just be like dying instantly. Pg 122 "the idea of death didn't cross my mind at all and killing had become as easy as drinking water" I believe that he has accepeted the fact that his family is gone and he is just doing what he's told because that's all he can do.
DeleteI think it has taken part in the brainwashing of the young boys in justifying why they should kill them. "The prisoner was simply another rebel who was responsible for the death of my family, as I came to truly believe."
DeleteHe adds this justification from just killing the rebels that killed his family and justifies it into killing all the rebels.
I think that Ishmael has gotten to the point where he believes he can not find his family. So all he can do to get revenge is fight the rebels. And the soldiers take this and use it toward their benefit. On page 112 the soldier says "visualize the enemy, the rebels who killed your parents, your family, and those who are responsible for everything that has happened to you." The loss of the parents seem to be the source of anger.
DeleteI think that Ishmael still cares about his family because he goes out to kill rebels to get revenge for their deaths.
ReplyDeleteI think that Ishmael cares about his family very much because when they are walking Ishmael gets a feeling of being nerves and I think that shows that he wants to see is family.
DeleteDo you think he'll ever feel remorse for what violence he has done? What role does the drugs they take play?
ReplyDeleteThe drugs just keep them settled so that they're easy to control. He takes them sort of to forget about the things he's done and just move on to the next.
DeleteI feel like drugs are what they take to numb them from what he is actually doing. Without the drugs I do not think he could be doing what he is doing because the drugs make him numb, the soldiers brainwash him to make it seem okay, and he wants his family back and all of these variables result in violence.
DeleteI think the drugs have to do with him not caring as much about killing other people. He can't control himself as much when he is on drugs. I think eventually he will feel really bad for his actions because killing someone isn't something to take lightly but he doesn't really have a choice or complete control with himself.
DeleteThe drugs is a strategy they use to get the kids to fight and mess with their minds to convince them they are doing the right thing. They loose all their morals they had when they go on drugs and kill without thinking twice.
DeleteI think that he will always remember the acts of violence he has participated in but i do not think the drugs are much influence.
DeleteI think drugs have a big roll in how Ishmael acts because drugs make you act different and be a total different person and I think that drugs have a very big roll in the way he acts.
DeleteI think the drugs were used to help the army brainwash the kids. Once someone has done drugs their perspective of things change greatly. I don't think any of the kids would've killed anyone if they weren't drugged in the first place.
DeleteI would believe that now Ishmael feels remorse. He had a tough childhood and growing up and becoming an adult he would feel all the guilt that happened when he was younger. You can not feel pain and responsible of people's death after killing so young. Drugs probably do play a big part in his actions and behavior because that's what they're designed to do. He says he had become addicted on page 121, it's taken a tole on his energy on his body temperture and makes him think and see differently.
DeleteI feel that in the future Ishmael with have remorse and regret, but in these chapters he is so messed up with drugs and the excitement of war that he does not feel this yet. He has also been brainwashed to believe that violence is fierceness. "We cheered in admiration of the corporal's fierceness." (Page-123) Later on I think that Ishmael will realize that this was not right.
DeleteI think that he will feel sorry later on for all of this killing he has done, but not so soon because he's still addicted to the drugs. These drugs that he's taking do have a huge impact on the way he acts in the war. I don't think that he would have done all of this killing without taking so much of them. It's also a part of the brainwashing; he doesn't feel sad for his actions, he only feels anger. Maybe when he grows up he will finally look back and feel all of the emotion.
DeleteI believe he cares about still finding his family because family can mean anything for a young child. Obviously he still cares about his family because once he arrived at the village and he arrived at the house they were at he started screaming and crying because he thought that they were dead. Also during training with the soldiers, he shows that he still cares about his family because when the soldier says stab the banana like your killing the rebels. As the soldiers tell the children that the rebels killed their families so stab the tree like its a rebel, Ishmael starts to take his anger out on the tree and started stabbing it intensely.
ReplyDeleteWould being on drugs like Ishmael was make killing people easier in the end or somehow more painful?
ReplyDeleteIt would definetly make it easier because all the drugs that he is taking make him not think or feel anything at all. Also the way the soldiers were brainwashing him. Both of those things combined, they make a lethal combination for Ishmael and it shows his ruthlessness in the book.
DeleteI think it will make it easier sometimes and painful other times. Painful because he will eventually realize how awful it is to kill someone. Easier because the drugs kind of make him more calm and take the pain temporarily. Either way he will eventually realize exactly what happened and have to figure out a way to deal with it.
DeleteIt would make it easier, because after each shot, he doesn't feel anything, but only anger towards the people that killed his whole family. The drugs are a huge impact on people in the war and can change how a soldier feels. In this case, Ishmael only thinks once about his actions and isn't scared as he used to be with his brothers because he knows he has a gun.
DeleteIt is a very big possibility that his family is alive because when he went inside the burnt house he couldn't find them. But also I think that he will never see his brother again because on the bottom of page 43 it says, "It was the last time I saw junior, my older brother."
ReplyDeleteI agree with Triston about his brother when he stated that that was the last time he saw him. On the other hand he stated "It was the last time I saw junior, my older brother" but never stated in the book "It was the last time I saw my parents" which brings about the possibility of him reuniting with his parents.
DeleteWhat he said can be interpreted that he never sees Junior alive again, but he could find his lifeless body. His brother is no longer there. Or could find his brother in a different state. Like he's insane or traumatized.
DeleteDrugs could make him feel its okay to kill people but I believe the main reason he thinks its okay to kill people is because of his family and friends. The opposing force has killed almost everyone he loves so I think that all that stress put on him just made him crack.
ReplyDeleteDo you think that Ismael really still cares about his family anymore at this point? Because he hasn't mentioned them in a long time, all he talks about is drugs and war and how great they are
ReplyDeleteI think he has lost his morals and forgot about the true reason he is here. He was brainwashed and just turned into a killer it seems like.
DeleteEven though in the first place Ishmael cared about finding his family in good health, now all that he cares about is the amount of drugs he takes and the people he kills. He has forgotten about what his objective was, and has his focus on the war.
DeleteOn page 120, Ishmael has this moment where he expresses not feeling pain. By not feeling pain does that make him desensitized?
ReplyDeleteI think it's really more of an after affect of the drugs hes been taking than him being desensitized to everything, but I also think that after being in a war for a couple of years you get used to seeing people die and having every day possibly be your last, you start to become numb to the things happening around you
DeleteIshmael doesn't feel pain because he's been induced with drugs and no sleep. He's also been brainwashed with violence from the lieutenant and older soldiers who glorify war. I feel like Ishmael just wants revenge for the death of his family, which has already made him feel lost because he has no body now.
DeleteThat is a very good question, but I would have to say that Ishmael is desensitized at this point. Because feeling no pain or emotion when ever you kill someone is not in human nature. Earlier in the book, Ishmael said that he couldn't cry when he witnessed people dying or when ever he was think of his family.
DeleteI think it does make him desensitized because taking the drugs makes him not feel everything and easier for the soldiers to control him. When the soldiers control him they brainwash him so he doesn't realize exactly how awful it is.
DeleteI really like this question! I think that yes at this time he is desensitized. But he also has nothing to feel for except himself, which he doesn't give much credit to by taking drugs and numbing himself. Also on this page at the bottom of the page he said he had no problem shooting his gun. When earlier he couldn't shoot a gun at all not even to protect himself because he was afraid of death, but now I think that he has accepted and faced death and is more willing to cause death.
DeleteI feel like Ishmael will later regret his actions. As of right now, he is mindlessly killing people. Earlier in the book, he states that he's not very in touch with his reality. Being on the drugs he's on now is causing him to not be himself. On page 125, Ishmael says "... which I never slept in because sleep never came to me." I think that his inability to sleep also contributes to not thinking clearly at all. Once Ishmael escapes this war, he will have remorse for all the violence he has done.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you and this book wouldn't have been written if he didn't regret his actions and forgive himself for what he had done.
DeleteI agree with you and I also think the drugs have messed up his mind so much he can't feel regret or sadness. "...and of course taking more of the white capsules, as I has become addicted to them." (Page-121)
DeleteI agree with you both. I think he wrote the book to get his story out but also because he regrets what has happened and he wants to be able to forgive himself.
DeleteI think that the reason Ishmael has become so violent in this chapter started with his family. He has so much hatred towards the rebels for what they did to his family that he doesn't mind killing them. "The rebels are responsible for everything that has happened to you." (113) This quote shows how Ishmael blames the rebels for everything.
ReplyDeleteDoes Ishmael still want to get revenge for his family's deaths or does he kill just because he can?
ReplyDeleteI think Ishmael is killing the rebels for revenge. I do not think he is going around killing them for fun. I think he just wants justice for his family
DeleteI think at this point he kills to make it back to the safety of his family. Almost as if his motivation to kill was to survive
DeleteI feel like the reason he got in and killed people at first was because the rebels killed the people he loved. But now that he is older, exposed to violence at a young age, the movies, and the drugs make it that now he just kills because he can.
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ReplyDeleteIf I didn't know how Ishmael's life would actually turn out, I would think that he would probably be killed fighting or from drug problems.
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ReplyDeleteI think he has become completely changed by the war and all he knows anymore is violence so it makes sense that he would find comfort in a weapon just to be safe.
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DeleteIn what ways is Ishmael coping with the war better than the other children that have experienced it? What is he doing differently?
ReplyDeleteHe talks a lot about doing drugs so he is probably using them frequently during this war and all he really talks about is killing rebels and talks about it very passionately.
DeleteI think that in Ishmael's mind while he wrote this book he was way more calm in the war than what he might have looked like to the people around him
DeleteI think everyone is different in the sense that we all grieve differently. For example when Saidu died Ishmael didn't cry at first and same goes for other deaths that took place. The way Ishmael is reacting and feeling towards these events that have transpired makes me believe that he is just confused and just simply going through the motions. I don't really think he is really doing anything differently, I just think he is being himself and is troubled under the influences that he's under.
DeleteHe at one point was very emotional and sensitive, so he used that anger for hurting his friends and family to hurt and take it out on others. He also has taken drugs and become addicted to it sparking more reckless decisons which makes him look good to the other soldiers.
DeleteSince Ishmael started to take all of those drugs, he now has no emotion towards the people he kills, and is getting more and more used to it. I think it's the amount of drugs he's taking and how long each child has been fighting. Ishmael has experienced more of what the older soldiers do, so he becomes one of them, fighting and killing people without caring. He is using the tips that were given to him when he was training; to think of his family when he is killing the rebels so he could feel anger and be more violent.
DeleteI think that since, Ishmael is growing up and after losing his family and his friends, he has turned into a killer who wants to avenge his family and friends.
ReplyDeleteOn their "day off" or "holiday" their commander gave them permission to do as they please, and especially to pray because they won't be able to worship for a long time. Ishmael never talked about him praying so do you think that he has blown off his religion and this is another reason for his violence?
ReplyDeleteI think the reason that he has blown off his religion is because it isn't necessary to him. Religion means nothing to him right now and Ishmael probably wants to avoid it because deep down, behind all the drugs he's taken in, he knows what he's doing is wrong. He doesn't care about anything but war and trying to receive revenge on the rebels for the killing of his family.
DeleteI think we all go through times when we disconnect from our faith and that can disconnect us from our morals. In this time that Ishmael is going through he doesn't really have good influence and direction from the adults that re around him. They are influencing new, bad things that are affecting Ishmael in a negative way.
DeleteI believe that he has been away for so long and he's experienced violence so much that he has been brainwashed with violence.
ReplyDeleteIshmael seems like a smart person, so how does he not see that they are being used by the lieutenant, especially when they are offered drugs for the first time and the lieutenant doesn't object at all?
ReplyDeleteIshmael constanly sees rebels and soldiers doing marijuana and other drugs so it seems like the "norm". I also thought the same thing when reading, if I were to be in that environment where every one was doing drugs it wouldn't be weird or considered bad if I did them too.
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ReplyDeleteIs finding his family Ishmael's biggest motivation. Or is the brainwashing and drugs that are turning him into this killing machine?
ReplyDeleteI don't think he is a "killing machine". He is still a human he has just been forced to fight in a war. He takes the drugs which make he brainwashed. He can't control himself very well.
DeleteIf any thing I think Ishmael would be more war torn than anything. Because at the beginning of the book he has nightmares about the war and all of the blood and violence that happens in the war. So I think that he is more war torn than anything.
ReplyDeleteBut prior to the war he did not fear of losing his family so I believe that now that his family is dead, he is family torn and numb to how violent he is being because of it.
DeleteI agree with Tyler. Ishmael was so fearful of war, but now since his family could have possibly died from it, war is now his new resolution. Its almost like he believes that killing the most rebels that he can will bring him to peace with his family.
DeleteBecause Ishmael has turned into this violent kid that just wants to kill anyone that looks like a rebel and has started to revolve around drugs that are making his thoughts unclear, what would he do if he finds out his family wasn't killed but forced to be rebels? Would his thoughts get distorted and attempt to kill them or would he try to reunite with them even though they are rebels?
ReplyDeleteI believe that his conscience would finally kick in at this point. He would realize that his killings were unjust and that he was basically brainwashed to do it. I believe he would try to reunite with his family because even if they were rebels, they are his family, and family to most kids always comes first.
DeleteOn page 116 Beah says "I gripped my gun for comfort." Does this mean he now thinks war is the right thing? Or is he simply brainwashed from drugs?
ReplyDeleteI think this quote isn't exactly motivated by just drugs and revenge on the rebels for the death of his family; but more about the loss he's going through, All he knows of now is war and to fight violence with violence. Ishmael has nothing left in his life but what he's doing now. The gun is his only form of safety now; Ishmael states this fact in the book because he sleeps with his gun.
Delete"I stood there holding my gun and felt special because I was a part of something that took me seriously and I was not running from anyone anymore." I think he only feels that fighting is the only place he can really belong anymore and the only place he feels like he can survive.
DeleteI think that since he's joined the army, Beah has had the most safety he's had in a while, so when he is threatened or scared he starts to rely on his army training as a clutch. So I don't think that this particular moment was influenced by his brainwashing or drugs but really just the fact that this is the first time he's had "safety" in a while
DeleteI don't think he will ever fully think war is right. I think he has been so brainwashed by the soldiers and taking so many drugs that this has become the new normal and he doesn't realize how awful his actions are.
DeleteI think that he is not only brainwashed from the drugs, but also to the violence that he had to deal with ever since the war started. He is slowly losing himself because of the war, he didn't cry when Saidu died or he didn't show any emotion when Gasemu helped them escape from the village where their families were.
DeleteI think when Ishmael says this he now thinks of his gun as a comforting object and now that he is in the war it's the only thing that he thinks will keep him safe from enemies. He might be brainwashed from the drugs and everything that's going on around him because he doesn't feel anything after that from all of the drugs he's been taking.
DeleteI believe the good side in the war is the side of the soldiers. Even though they are outnumbered they try and protect their people from the rebels who are massacring innocent people daily. Even though the rebels believe that they have a good cause, they don't because their only resolution is violence towards other people who haven't done anything wrong towards the rebels.
ReplyDeleteEven though the soldiers might be the good guys, they still are pretty brutal. They still have teenage soldiers who they supply with drugs and only use them to kill rebels.
DeleteThis war seems like nobody is advancing they are just killing as many people as possible so it's like throwing salt on the wound. What is the point anymore? It seems like they lost the objectives of this war.
DeleteBecause Ishmael talks about the drugs and war mostly, do you think that he is addicted to the drugs that they are given?
ReplyDeleteRead the beginning of page 121 it states that he is addicted to them
DeleteI think there is a high possibility that his is addicted to the drugs and it became a way for him to escape his emotions and he became dependent on them.
Delete"both sides think they are the good guys" I don't think the rebels think they are the good guys, I think they know they are doing bad and they enjoy the adrenaline rush they get from killing people and enjoy the feeling of having power and having people be scared of them.
ReplyDeleteI think Ishmael is on the good side because he is fighting for his people and the other side is fighting against his people so Ishmael is on the good side because he is fighting the rebels and rebels are taking over his town. Also we kinda see it for the view of only one side which is Ishmael but i guess we could see it for the other view of the rebels and would could be on their side if we saw it from their point of view.
ReplyDeleteHow do you think that Beah will "get out" of the war? Because right now he's all for the cause and loves fighting so what do you think may happen to change his view?
ReplyDeleteIn that dream he had early on, he saw that he was burying himself and he was just doing it because he was supposed to. How much farther would Ishmael have to go to get to that state? Or is he already there?
ReplyDeleteI think that it will take a long time for Ishmael to recover from his experiences in the war but no matter how he might get over it emotionally, it will always be part of him no matter what.
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