10 chaoters

Chapter one- Running Wild
I titled this chapter "Running Wild" because Beah and his friends are walking to a town that's pretty far from there home. I think it's a little strange because Beah is only 12 and none of them even told their parents they were leaving. It shows that their culture is a lot different from ours.
Chapter two- Time Warp
The reason I choose "Time Warp" for the title is because at the begging of the chapter Beah is having a dream that brings him back into the war. He does mention that he is living in his "new life", but the memories of his childhood still come back to haunt him, and he knows he will never be able to forget them.
Chapter four- Back to the Darnger Zone
I titled chapter four "Back to the Danger Zone" because in the previous chapter the rebels had attacked the village of Mattru Jong where the boys were staying. In the chapter the boys had been sleeping in abandoned villages and walking around to avoid danger, but they realize that they will need money to buy food to survive. The boys decide to take the risk of going back to Mattru Jong to get their money so they can find food.
Chapter eight- Lost and Found
I thought it would be cool the use the term "Lost and Found" for chapter eight because it is the chapter after Beah gets completly cut off from the friends he was traveling with. Beah finds himself lost and alone in the forest and starts really thinking about what was really happening. He knows that it is safer for him to be alone because one person is less noticeable then a group of boys. As he starts to walk around the trails in the forest he ran into a group of six other boys. He joins their group even though it's more dangerous then staying alone.
Chapter twelve- A New Chance?
The reason I titled this chapter "A New Chance" is because the boys run into a group of soldiers that tell them to follow them to the river. I think once the boys knew that the soldiers werent going to hurt them and that they were actually leading them out of danger eased their worries a little bit. The village they were broughten to seemed like like a safe haven away from the fighting. They had food, shelter, and were helping with chores. One day the lieutenant had called all of the boys for a meeting. He asked them to join their army, and if they did they would be able to get reenge on the people that killed their families. Beah had a tough decision to make he thought he might have finally found a new family.
Chapter thirteen- Surprise!
The reason I named chapter 13 "Surprise!" is because it is the first time Beah is actually fighting in the war. All of the boys wwoke up that morning being told that they had the day off training and to enjoy it. Little did they know the Lieutenant had planned for them to have a fun day before putting the in the front lines for the first time.
Chapter fifteen- Wake up call
I titled chapter 15 "Wake Up Call" because Beah realizes that the army really isnt his true family. People from the U.N came to the base and made the Lieutenant pick some boys to send back into normal society. Beah felt betrayed by what he thought was is "family". What he found worse was having to listen to the civillians and having to deal with the drug withdrawralls.
Chapter eight teen- Hope
In Chapter 18 Beah learns that he does have living relatives nearby that he can live with. He has an Uncle from his fathers side of the family.
Chapter twenty- WOW
I called chapter 20 "WOW" because it was Beah's first time ever going to the states. He explained that he was a little nervous to go to New York beacause the only things he as ever heard about New York were from rap. It was also winter and the first time he had ever been in the cold. I think if hadnt done the conention he would have been stuck in the war all over again, he is extremely lucky!
Chapter twenty one- The Great Escape
In chapter 21 Beah thought that his chance of a new life was going to be ruined. The war had moved into the city. On the first night of all the gun fire there had been an announcment on the radio saying Johney Paul Koroma had proclaimed himself as the new president of Sierra Leone. Beah's uncle had also become ill and they were not able to find him any medical care, and as a result he passed away. Beah decided that he needed to escape, the thought of being killed, or having to fight for the army again wasnt what he wanted to deal with. Beah called the woman he had met in New York and asked if he could live with her if he could get there, she said "yes". He finally would have an official home with her in the states.

Change

I think that Ishmael has changed a lot through out his journey. Before the war he was very close to his older brother and his group of friends, but once he lost all of the people he cared about he was forced to rely on only himself. During a visit with the nurse Ishmael thinks to himself “I didn’t know what to say and also didn’t trust anyone at this point in my life. I had learned to survive and take care of myself” (pg. 153 ALWG). This is one of the reasons why Ishmael and all of the other boys had such a hard time having to follow all of the rules during their rehabilitation at the center. When all of the boys got there they were all rebellious towards the staff for being “civilians”, and they all felt that they shouldn’t have to do anything the staff would ask of them, except eat. Ishmael explains that “ A few days earlier, we could have decided whether they would live or die” (pg. 138 ALWG). Because of the way he felt about the staff Ishmael became cold and more angry then when he was in the front lines. He felt betrayed by the comander for sending him away. I think that, that had a lot to do with why he was so angry because he felt close to his squad, and without them he lost another family.
I think another one of the reasons Ishmael’s attitude changed so much is because he thinks a lot more then the other boys do. He knows that he has killed people, but if he was to feel bad about it he would be showing weakness. Ishmael doesn’t really show much emotion when he finds out that they had found his Uncle in the city “I was happy, but I had become accustomed to not showing it” (pg. 178 ALWG). Once he actually gets to meet his “new” family the old Ishmael starts to come back out. I think after staying at the center everyone there made him realize that everything he had done was not his fault, and it was going to take a while for him to get used to his new life.

I think that a community is a sense of needing to belong. People inside a community can relate to one another and it’s a win win situation. You help that person they help you. Certain people are good at certain things and everyone has their roles inside the community. I think that communities are often times afraid to embrace other people as they come, and in ALWG they should be on edge in order to protect their community.Every time when Beah and his friends get to a different village the villagers always bust out in defense mode and assume they are there to cause harm, and they never give the boys a chance to talk. I think that the villagers are doing whats in the best interest for their community and that is being fearful of all outsiders.
There is a time in the book when Beah becomes separated from his brother and friends. At thins time he is pressured into staying on his own, or possibly finding another group of boys to join. He thought that it would be safer to stay on his own, he knew that if he were to join a group there would be a greater chance of getting caught. Beah became lost in the forest by himself as a result. Once he sat down down and had time to think about his situation, and I think that's when everything had the chance to hit him. He spends quiet some time in the forest alone with nothing to distract him from what was going on. As he was walking down the trails one day a he noticed a group of boys and had realized he had enough of being alone and joined them, even if it was more dangerous. I think he forgot about how dangerous being in a group could be because now he had other people to take his mind off of all that had been going on.
I think that once Beah joined the group of boys one thing that made him feel better about the situation was being able to have a connection with people that were going through the same things as him. They would share stories with each other and mess around, trying to tale their minds off of things. I think that sharing stories with other people at that time made his story telling in the book better, because he makes all of his stories so personal. Now that he was able to write ALWG he is able to have a connection with lots of people.

The Moon 2

I think that Ishmael is striving to be like the moon. It seems like he took what his grandmother said and took it literaly. When IB asked his grandma why being like the moon is good and she explained "people complain when there is to much sun and it gets unbaribly hot, and also when it rains too much or when it is cold. But no one complains when the moon shines". He explains that every chance he gets he still likes to observe the moon, and see all the same images he did when he was six. It seems no matter how hard he tries all of the memories from the war kind of hold him back in his new life. His grandmother makes it seem like no matter who you are you can be inspired by the moon. She says, "everyone becomes happy and appreciates the moon in their own special way". I think because the moon makes people feel this way it gives them a good reason to kind of have bigger dreams, and discover new ways to help their families, and themselves. Now that the war is over I think it`s a good thing he remembers what his grandma said, it gives him somthing good out of his hard past.

The Moon

I think that Ishmael is striving to be like the moon. It seems like he took what his grandmother said and took it literaly. He explains that every chance he gets he still likes to observe the moon. and see all the same images he did when he was six. It seems no matter how hard he tries all of the memories from the war kind of hold him back in his new life.