Journal six- abby archer

The character that means the most to me in this book is, Esther. Esther is not like the other nurses and that’s what I liked most about her. She is unique because she cares so much about her patients in which the children are able to trust her. It’s a slow process but children like Ishmael end up loving her. At first, Esther would always say “it’s not you fault”. This would frustrate Ishmael and it took awhile for Ishmael to actually believe it and to actually trust someone again. Esther helped  Ishmael with his PTSD, depression and anxiety and got him to where he is now. She was genuine and she meant every word she had ever said to Ishmael.

Ishmael’s rehabilitation was a long process but he was able to work on his mental health and was able to become the person he is today. He will never forget what happened or what he felt during those dark times being a soldier, but he can now accept what happened and he has moved on to better things in his life. I would accept Ishmael to move into my neighborhood due to the fact that he has traveled to different places to talk to children about how you can rehabilitate and how you can become better mentally and physically after being a soldier. He is not a dangerous person anymore. He has been helped and he is able to live in a normal society, in fact that what he needs.

“I concluded to myself that if I were the hunter, I would shoot the monkey so that it would no longer have the chance to put other hunters in the same predicament.” (Beah, 218)
I highlight this quote because it made the ending of the book unique. The monkey seems to represent the war in Sierra Leone (the government) and that Ishmael is willing to do anything to stop the violence to save his country and especially his loved ones.