The character that has meant the most to me so far has been Esther. Esther has meant so much to me because she has played such a huge role in helping the boys especially Ishmael with their rehabilitation. Esther really got Ishmael to open up when he started to talk to her about his past because she would just let him talk and get everything out in the open without anybody judging him for what he had done. An example from the book is when Esther says "None of these things our your fault" even though Ishmael had heard that line from everyone in the center Esther made him believe it.
I feel that Ishmael's rehabilitation went very well even though it didn't start off that great. Even though he wasn't able to get his family back Leslie was able to find his uncle which is the closest thing that he has to family anymore. I don't know if I would want Ishmael to move into my neighborhood just because I don't believe that he will ever forget those war-like tendencies and that could result in something terrible if his PTSD was triggered in someway that made him go back to those ways of war.
Something that I would like to share from my active reading is a flashback from chapter 19. "Standing next to a tree with red frozen sap on its bark would bring back flashbacks of the many times we executed prisoners by tying them to the trees and shooting them. Their blood stained the trees and never washed off, even during the rainy season.". I decided to share this flashback because I thought that Ishmael did very well by putting the gruesome details of killing into enough words but not to many to drag it out.
My favorite passage from the reading that I had highlighted was also from chapter 19 and it is where Ishmael is answering the question about why he should go to New York for the conference. "Well, I am from the part of the country where I have not only suffered because of the war but I have also participated in it and undergone rehabilitation. So I have a better understanding, based on my experience of the situation, than any of these city boys who are here for the interview.". This passage really impacted me because it made me realize how much Ishmael has changed. Ishmael went from being a cold blooded killer with no emotions to a some what normal boy who is going to try and help other children by telling the United Nations what is really happening in Sierra Leone rather than just what the news is telling them.
Good job picking up on that passage in your active reading! That is a part that also really stuck with me where the image in our minds really comes to life and we can get that chill it so graphic.
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