Journal 6- Emaleigh Haimerl

     A character that has meant the most to me in this book besides Ismael was Esther. she meant the most to me because she helped rehabilitate Ismael and never gave up on him no matter what. A specific example of her impact was when she got Ismael the cassette and he was happy but then covered it up really fast so he didn’t show emotion.

     I feel like Beah’s rehabilitation was good for him because it helped him kinda transition back to how he used to be and he was showing his feelings again and eventually actually dreamt of his parents for the first time since the war started. I think it is possible for rehabilitation to work for everyone as long as they want it to work. I would accept Ismael to live in my neighborhood and I would just watch and make sure that he didn’t try to kill me. I would accept him because he is just a child and didn’t really have a choice about going into the war, he did what he had to to survive.
     In the book, a technique that I liked is how Beah gave so much detail that you could picture it in your mind. When he talked about Saidu’s death and when they were on the porch I could picture what was happening.
     A quote that impacted me the most was when Saidu said “Every time people come at us with the intention of killing us, I close my eyes and wait for death. Even though I am still alive, I feel like each time I accept death, part of me dies. Very soon I will completely die and all that will be left is my empty body walking with you” (Beah, 70). This impacted me the most because it really shows how hard running from the war was on them.