Chapter 12-
1- (p101) “Apart from this, there were no indications that our childhood was threatened, much less that we would be robbed of it.” How will they be robbed of their childhood? ______
2- (p102) “Life was not lived in fear during the day in this village.” Explain your interpretation of this quote. ______
3- Is there a difference between the rebels recruiting the young boys and the soldiers getting the boys to fight with them? Explain.
______
4- The lieutenant says “They (rebels) have lost everything that makes them human. They do not deserve to live. That is why we must kill every single one of them. Think of it as destroying a great evil. It is the highest service you can perform for your country.” (p108) Do you agree or disagree? Why? Should Ishmael and his friends join the army?
______
5- Do you believe the rebels really killed the man and the boy or were the soldiers trying to make a point? Explain.
______
6- What do the cassettes being thrown into the fire and melting symbolize?
They symbolize the end of what Ishmael knew of himself and the beginning of a new him. This is where Ishmael will become a dynamic character.
7- The lieutenant tells the boys to “Visualize the banana tree as the enemy, the rebels who killed your parents, your family, and those who are responsible for everything that has happened to you.” How did this make his training effective?
This made them angry and want to become better soldiers to kill rebels.
8- How has Ishmael changed in this chapter? Give evidence of your answer.
He is becoming angry instead of sad. Brave instead of fearful. His empathy and compassion are fading away. “I imagined capturing several rebels at once, locking them inside a house, sprinkling gasoline on it, and tossing a match. We watch it burn and I laugh.”
Chapter 13-
1- (p115) “The daily birdsongs were gone, replaced now by the raising of firing levers as the older soldiers readied themselves.” What is the purpose of this line?
The happiness in that village is now gone. There’s no more gaiety but instead preparation for war. Reality has started to hit. 2- (p119) “I raised my gun and pulled the trigger, and I killed a man.” Why was this a turning point in Ishmael’s life? Give examples of how he started to change after this event.
Killing this man has made Ishmael feel better about what has happened. He is starting to get revenge for all of the death that has been around him. He is no longer a naïve boy, but a soldier in war.
“Every time I stopped shooting to change magazines and saw my two young lifeless friends, I angrily pointed my gun into the swamp and killed more people.” (p119)
“I was not afraid of these lifeless bodies.” (p119)
“Nothing happened in my head. It was void…” (p120)
“We went out two more times that week and I had no problem shooting my gun.” (p120)
Chapter 14-
1- What is the purpose of having the boys using so many drugs? It helps to control them. They will become dependent on the drugs, plus it changes their moods. It helps get them ready to kill.
2- “When we ran out of food, drugs, ammunition, and gasoline to watch war films, we raided rebel camps, in towns, villages, and forests. We also attacked civilian villages to capture recruits and whatever else we could find.” (p 122) Are the soldiers any different than the rebels? Explain.
______3- As you read, record quotes as evidence of Ishmael’s change. Example answers..
Page# Quote Quickwrite 122 “The idea of death didn’t ______cross my mind at all and ______killing had become as easy as ______drinking water. My mind ______had not only snapped during ______the first killing, it had also ______stopped making remorseful records, or so it seemed.” 122 “Whenever I looked at ______rebels during raids, I got ______angrier, because they looked ______like the rebels who played ______cards in the ruins of the ______village where I had lost my ______family. So when the ______lieutenant gave orders, I shot as many as I could, but I ______didn’t feel better. 123 “We are not like the rebels, ______those riffraffs who kill ______people for no reason. We ______kill them for the good and ______betterment of this country. ______So respect all these men.” 124 “This gun is your source of ______power in these times. It will ______protect you and provide you ______all you need, if you know ______how to use it well.” 124 “Sometimes we were asked ______to leave for war in the ______middle of a movie. We ______would come back hours later ______after killing many people and ______continue the movie as if we ______had just returned from intermission. “ 124 “We were supposed to ______slice their throats on the ______corporal’s command. The ______person whose prisoner died ______quickest would win the ______contest.” 124 “I didn’t feel a thing for ______him, didn’t think that much ______about what I was doing. I ______just waited for the corporal’s ______order. The prisoner was ______simply another rebel who ______was responsible for the ______death of my family, as I had come to truly believe. ______125 “I was given the rank of ______junior lieutenant and ______Kanei was given junior ______sergeant. We celebrated ______that day’s achievement ______with more drugs and more ______war movies.” ______
124 I stood there holding my ______gun and felt special ______because I was part of ______something that took me ______seriously and I was not ______running from anyone ______anymore. ______
4- Has your opinion of Ishmael changed? Why or why not? Is it wrong to judge him based on his situation? Why or why not?
______
Chapter 15-
1- Ishmael says “I feel no pity for anyone.” How is this different from the way he felt before? ______
2- Compare and contrast the rebels and soldiers to gangs in America.
1- Compare and contrast your life from Ishmael’s.
2- How does it make you feel to know there are hundreds of children YOUR AGE living Ishmael’s life every day? ______
3- (p126) “We wanted to hear his war stories, hear how many people he had killed.” What did the boys used to talk about compared to now? They would tell fables and stories from their home villages. Now they only think to talk about killing and war. 4- (p132) Why were the boys able to eat all of the food before the foreigner was able to turn around? They were trained to eat in under a minute.
5- Why did the fight occur? The army boys came across rebel boys. Both sides are trained to automatically kill the other side no matter what.
6- What didn’t the UNICEF people think about before bringing the boy soldiers together? What consequence did this mistake have? Why?
The boys are brainwashed to kill and bringing both groups of boys together could only result in fighting and death. Because of them not thinking about this, boys from both sides ended up injured and killed.
7- Why do you think the Lieutenant gave up the boys to UNICEF? Answers will vary
Factual reason… (In 2002 the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child made it illegal for children under the age of 15 to be enlisted into the army) The Lieutenant was forced to remove all children under the age of 15.
8- Why do you think the rebels and army recruited the young boys instead of grown men?
They are easier to mold and brainwash. At that point they will become and do whatever they are told.