Journal 7 by Tristen Stover.

The character that has meant the most to me in chapters 18 and 19 is Uncle Tommy. When Uncle Tommy learns about Ishmael's fate in the rehabilitation center, he went to see him right away. He offered Ishmael a home and also stuck by his side giving him love and support no matter what. He continued to visit Ishmael every weekend, taking him for walks and telling him stories of his own childhood with Ishmael's father. When Ishmael was ready to leave the center, Uncle Tommy took him in and treated him like and called him his son. Uncle Tommy was very important in Ishmael's life because his love provided Ishmael a home for his future. An example of how strong Uncle Tommy and Ishmaels relationship from the book is when Uncle Tommy meet's Ishmael for the first time and says "I am sorry I never came to see you all those years. I wish I had met you before today. But we can't go back now. We just have to start from here. I am sorry for your losses. Leslie told me everything."(Beah, 172). That quote is proving how Uncle Tommy and Ishmael were just meant to be and that it is a blessing that they actually got to meet and become so close with one another. I feel that Ishmael's rehabilitation went pretty good even though it didn't start out to well.  As we know, Ishmael wasn't able to get his family back, but Leslie was able to find Uncle Tommy which was who Ishmael was closet to. In the end, thing's worked out and ended up being a lot better then what they started out as. I wouldn't care if Ishmael Beah moved into my neighborhood or not. In life, everyone makes mistakes. Ishmael did however make a mistake by becoming a killing machine during the war, but through the love and compassion of his nurse and extended family, Ishmael learned how to manage his anger and to forgive himself for the war that wasn't his fault. He learned to accept the help of others and to use his story to educate the world about how war affects children. I would like to share a sense detail from my active reading that really stuck out to me in chapter 18 on page 177. "When we walked onto the verandah, my uncle's wife came out, her face glowing as if she had polished it all her life. She stood at the doorway and tied her wrapper before proceeding to embrace me so tightly that I felt my nose and lips being squashed against her arms. She released me, stood back, and pinched my cheeks." (Beah, 177). I picked this quote as a sense detail because I thought that this writing really brought the sense of sight and touch to life. On the other hand, a favorite passage I highlighted in my active reading was from chapter 19 on page 182. "I sighed, sitting alone on the verandah. I was no longer nervous, but I missed Benin Home. Later that night, when my uncle and aunt returned from prayers, all my new family gathered around a cassette player to listen to stories." (Beah, 182). That passage really impacted me because it showed me how much Ishmael has changed. Adjusting to family life was a struggle for him because he was not used to stability and happiness.