The Rescue
What is the acronym of the international group that removes Ishmael and several others from the front lines of the war?
UNICEF
Freetown
What was the "rank" Ishmael held in the army before being rescued?
Junior Lieutenant
What was the phrase the staff would repeat to the boys in attempt to lessen guilt?
How many meals a day were provided at the Benin home?
3 full meals were provided.
How were the boys selected for rescue?
Does Ishmael experience any symptoms (physical, or mental) from not having access to drugs, if so, what?
Ishmael describes facing severe migraines from withdrawal and his body reacts with pain and discomfort
Why are the boys more loyal to their army units than to their own safety?
Thei units are the only sense of family and belonging they had in the war, they has some sense of security in their units.
What was the tactic the staff used when the boys would be violent or destructive?
The staff refused to use violence and did not retaliate or hit the boys back, leading to more confusion with the boys.
Why does Ishmael feel more "threatened " by the nurse's kindness than a rebels gun?
The nurse's unconditional kindness challenges his identity as a soldier, forcing him to feel unfamiliar feelings he had surpressed.
why was Ishmael confused and angry during his hand off to the UNICEF?
Ishmael believed he was defending or protecting Sierra Leone and that as a soldier he was a hero for his country, so being handed off so easily frustrated him
Why is the silence of the city described as painful to Ishmael and the other boys?
Why does Ishmael display a sense of pride in his hidden weapons?
The bayonet gives him a sense of security. In Ishmaels mind he is not a child in recovery, but a soldier behind the enemy lines. His bayonet serves as the last bit of control he feels he has.
Why does Ishmael view the nurses care as a form of intrusion or attack?
The nurses are trying to care for Ishmael, but to him as a soldier being cared for is a vulnerability. He sees their help as a way to disarm him, and to make him weak.
What does the presence of MPs at the "rehab center" say about the staff's true view of the boys?
Despite the smiling and kindness, the staff know they are not just children, they have all committed heinous crimes, though the staff are aware of this they still keep in mind that the boys had "no choice"
Why does Ishmael feel a sense of betrayal towards lieutenant for handing him over to the UNICEF?
Ishmael often described sense of belonging, being in the army, and being sent with the UNICEF made him feel like he was being sent away.
Analyze the significance of the boy's decision to sleep on the floor rather than the beds provided
The boys have spent majority of their childhood in the war, and have grown a distrust towards comfort. Sleeping on a bed left them in a vulnerable state
Analyze why Ishmael considers the "civilians" at rehab inferior to him or weak.
Ishmael has grown to believe that anyone who hasn't seen or experienced war or combat are weak and do not understand the truth of their war.
Explain why the staffs patience with the boys seemed to be more infuriating than the physical punishments they faced in the past.
The boys are used to action-reaction violence. the staffs unconditional kindness is something the boys are not used to and do not know how to handle.
Analyze the significance of the staff forgiving the boys for every violent act they commit, how does this affect Ishmael?
It confuses him, he expects the "rules of the bush", so when he isn't punished it fuels the start of him realizing that these civilians operate on a moral level that he no longer understands, making him feel isolated.
Analyze how this chapter marks the start of Ishmael's end to his identity as a soldier
Ishmael along with the other boys is put into rehabilitation, stripped of all his weapons and drugs, most importantly encouraged not to be violent.
Evaluate how Rehabilitation represents a state of uncertainty between Ishmaels life as a soldier, and his life as a boy.
Ishmael displays the need and want for violence, as he is uncomfortable being in a place without it for so long. Rehabilitation feels liminal to Ishmael, he has to reason to kill, but doesn't know how to be a kid.
Evaluate the significance of Ishmael hiding a bayonet and a grenade in his clothes while leaving camp
Ishmaels inability to feel safe is displayed when he sneaks weapons into rehab. Ishmael has grown dependent on them for a sense of safety and was not willing to let it go.
Analyze how the staffs refusal to fight back challenged the boys views.
The staffs refusal to use violence invalidates the rank they used to have in the war and breaks the cycle of violence that the boys have seen in the war, leading the boys to eventually have to face the fact that they were victims, not heroes.
Why was the staffs most consistent rule, the most psychologically aggressive challenge for Ishmael, force a crisis in his identity as a soldier?
In the front lines of the war, Ishmaels reality was if you are attacked, you strike back, and if you show weakness, you die. With the staff refusing to use violence, it dismantles Ishmaels "logic" of a soldier.