Journal six- Corinna Hardin

Another character that was important to be besides Ismael, was Esther. She is a very important character. She was the nurse that helped Beah get better. So he can go into rehabilitation. She was very good at her job, she was very caring. She treated him like he was her only patient. My favorite thing Esther said to Beah was, “Think of me as your family, your sister.” (Beah 167) I really liked this quote because it showed that she really cared a lot for him.

     I was amazed and proud about Beah’s rehabilitation. Yes, I believe it is possible. Beah is one of many people to prove so. He may have been a chiller soldier, yes he killed people. He also lost his friends and family in this chaos as well. This made him mentally unstable. That’s what war does to a person. I think if people get the right help from someone, they can truly get better. Esther did just that. She was a hero. Would I accept him to move into my neighborhood? Sure, I would. You can't control these things. You never know who someone truly is or what they’re capable of. If they had a bad past you shouldn’t judge them. Beah got help and he is better. He should be able to live in a safe environment like we are. He deserves to live a healthy, safe, and happy life. After all he’s been through. 

     Beah was a very good writer. He had some great writing techniques. I would have to say he was best at imagery. He was very specific about his war scenes. He explained how gruesome it was, and it really made you feel like you experienced it with him. That’s what he wants you to feel. He described how his family and friends passed away. It was heartbreaking. You can feel his pain through the pages. In the end it wasn’t all that sad, he found a new family & home. He described how he loved Esther, after everything she has done for him. His adoptive mother shared the love for reading and writing as well. He shared connections with others. His writing describing all these scenes, makes you feel his emotions while living that moment. He evokes his emotions to tell the story. “I had passed through burnt villages where dead bodies of men, women, and children of all ages were scattered like leaves on the ground after a storm.” (Beah 49) This passage was very descriptive and made you feel the pain he experienced when he witnesses this. It saddens you, you imagine this terrible scene in your head just to try to visualize the pain he went through. That’s good writing.

     My favorite passage from this book was, “I told him that I was sorry that we couldn’t find him any help, that I hoped he knew that I really loved him and wished he could have been alive to see me as an adult.” (Beah 208) This is my favorite passage because I relate to it. I’ve lost a few family members. I was young also. I wish I could have cured them back to health, or saved them from unexpected situations. The world doesn’t work that way though. I wish I would've gotten to spend more time with them, so they could have watched me grow as well. I didn’t really get to say goodbye and tell them I loved them. I know they knew though. When your family dies, it’s very upseting. When it’s an unexpected death, you really don’t know how to feel. You have many questions and just wonder why. Why my family? It really is the worst kind of sadness you can feel. Beah wasn’t expecting the war to happen. He didn’t know what was going to happen next. I feel like we share similar feelings toward situations like these.