Journal 7. Kayla Frea.

Journal 7

                My favorite character would be Ishmael’s grandmother, Mamie Kpana. She was my favorite character because through Ishmael’s writing I could tell how much she meant to him. Ishmael would always put a story about her in his writing. She was the only family member he keep mentioning until the end of the story, “When I was a child, my grandmother told me that the sky speaks to those who look and listen to it. She said, “In the sky there are always answers and explanations for everything: every pain, every suffering, joy, and confusion.” That night I wanted the sky to talk to me.” (Beah 166). She was always mentioned with advice or a flashback about her. My favorite thing about her character was that all her advice or story she told to Ishmael stayed with him forever and through the hard times he had time to reflect on her memory. I think this is what helped Ishmael through the book.

                Ishmael’s rehabilitation worked for him, but I think the adults that were trying to rehabilitate them could have done a better job of working with them. I think they could have done more to help them but in the end it worked out for the boys so it works. I think it is possible but I think that some of the techniques they used on Ishmael would not work on others the same way. I would not mind him moving into my neighborhood, he has the same rights as me to live there. If he has gone through the rehabilitation and he is psychologically better then he can come back into society.

                I think Beah uses sense details really well, “I listened to the sound of our footsteps on the dusty road. I could hear the rattling of lizards crossing the road to climb the nearby mango tree. I could feel my uncle’s eyes on me.” (Beah 174). I think Beah can create a scene or the feeling of the scene through his words very well. He knows when it is a good time to slow the story down and spend time to put the reader in the story with him. He does a good job using the words and senses details to create a feeling around the story he tells.

                The best line I found in chapter 18 was, “I was just happy to have had the chance to perform again, in peace.” (Beah 169). This stuck out to me because the last time he got to perform and no one was trying to decide if he was a rebel or not. The other times he used music were to save his life when they got to villages and had to prove that they were not going to hurt anyone. This moment I wrote down was a key moment for him because he was doing what he loved to do and did not have to worry if the audience was going to kill him right there or let him go.