This seemed to me to be a weird way to end a good book. My doubts about Ishmael's foster family was confirmed in this part. The government takeover destroyed such a happy family. Ishmael's uncle was such a great person who really reached out to Ishmael. I can't imagine losing one family, and Ishmael has lost two.
As Ishmael says, the government takeover seemed too much like deja vu. He was going through those child soldier experiences all over again. But luckily, Ishmael did escape afterall, though I wonder why he didn't take anyone else with him. Maybe he thought that the only way he would be able to get away from Sierra Leone is to go by himself. I'm not sure; maybe Mohammed could've gone with him.
It was so weird that Ishmael ended the story without a definitive, resounding ending. He ended with a story he remembered. I bet there is a lot of symbolism in the short story he tells, but I can't entirely grasp it. He might be saying that if he were in charge of the situation in Sierra Leone, he would eliminate the root of it if he got the chance. I'm not sure. But if it's along the lines of what I'm saying, meaning that it has to do what the political situation in Sierra Leone, that kind of breaks away from what the story has been overall. It has been a personal story about Ishmael's experiences in the war, not a book dealing with what should be done in the war. I think Ishmael is trying to make a point with the anecdote, but I can't quite grasp it.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
I agree, I'm not sure exactly why Ishmael went alone. I would assume that it was because he would think that it would remind him of his times sneaking around in the jungle as a boy soldier but I'm not sure.
I agree that it was a really bad way to end the book. I was kind of disappointed with the way it ended.
I agree with what you said about Ismael's Uncle.
Post a Comment