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Ishmael finds out that school has been canceled due to his village getting targeted by the military, forcing him and his friends to leave Mattru Jong.

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Ishmael finds out that school has been canceled due to his village getting targeted by the military, forcing him and his friends to leave Mattru Jong.

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In this moment, the reality sunk in that his life would change forever. He had lost his innocence, and had left his childhood behind him. This sets his journey into motion, as he and his friends had nobody to rely on but themselves. Furthermore, this was also the moment where Ishmael fully realized the threat that the military faced towards him and those that he loved.

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Ishmael's Dream about himself and when he looks at himself he sees himself dead and his Adams apple crushed 

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Ishmael's Dream about himself and when he looks at himself he sees himself dead and his Adams apple crushed 

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Ishmael has a dream after his village gets raided and destroyed his dream consists of a gruesome imagery about himself and when he looks at himself he sees himself dead with multiple bullet holes and his Adam's apple crushed which could symbolize his voice being taken (figuratively)

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Ishmael and his friends witness the brutal death of someone their age from an RPG while on the run from the military.

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Ishmael and his friends witness the brutal death of someone their age from an RPG while on the run from the military.

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Ishmael and his friends Gibrilla, Khalilou, Kaloko and Talloi run bush to bush as they are being trailed by Military and weaponry galore. As they dash bush to bush a kid stumbles into the middle path when an explosion is heard only to be trailed by screams, "I'm Blind! I'm blind!" before a final explosion of a grenade seals the young boys faith and he splatters everywhere covering the trees the bushes and the boys.

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The Boys get captured by a Tribe and the Cheif believes they are rebels or spies and is planning to kill them. However the boys get recognized for their dancing and they are saved.

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The Boys get captured by a Tribe and the Cheif believes they are rebels or spies and is planning to kill them. However the boys get recognized for their dancing and they are saved.

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After the boys get captured they are beaten and the Chief plans to kill them as he believes them to be either spies or rebels. However, one of the members of the tribe recognizes them for the dancing they would do with rap music at performances. This gives the Cheif enough information to know they are just boys and he lets them go and shares food and resources with them, this moment gives insight to the fact that humanity still exists in their country.

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Ishmael gets separated from his friends, and he finds himself lost in the forest. After wandering for over a month, he stumbles upon a group of boys that he recognizes from school (who he then follows).

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Ishmael gets separated from his friends, and he finds himself lost in the forest. After wandering for over a month, he stumbles upon a group of boys that he recognizes from school (who he then follows).

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Although he had been without parental guidance for quite some time, Ishmael's isolation in the forest represents the first time that he has been completely alone. It also helps him realize how much he needs human interactions, which is why he was so lucky to stumble upon his schoolmates. Although he didn't know them that well, his desperate desire to join them in fleeing from the war represents his need for some form of companionship.

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One morning, as Ishmael and the rest of his group are getting up, they realize that Saidu has died in his sleep. Distraught, they decide to perform a military service for their friend. Directly after this, they continue on their journey.

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One morning, as Ishmael and the rest of his group are getting up, they realize that Saidu has died in his sleep. Distraught, they decide to perform a military service for their friend. Directly after this, they continue on their journey.

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Although Ishmael didn't know him that well, the death of Saidu serves as a reminder for how unpredictable death can be. However, despite the danger they were in, they still took the time to honor him and his life. Saidu had no living family, but his brief time with this group of boys helped create a bond that would motivate these boys for the rest of their lives.

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After wandering for many days, Ishmael and his companions are caught by the military. They are forced to follow them to Yele, a village that has become a military base.

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After wandering for many days, Ishmael and his companions are caught by the military. They are forced to follow them to Yele, a village that has become a military base.

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This is the moment where the conflict truly moves forward. Ishmael had failed in his attempts to escape, and he had no hope in seeing his family again. Getting taken by the military would change Ishmael's life forever, as he knew that he had no choice but to perform the violence required of him. This would also serve as the beginning of Ishmael's transformation, as his childhood innocence was behind him.

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Terrified, Ishmael and his friends enter a desolate forest to begin their first battle with the rebels. After a few of his friends get killed (such as Josiah), Ishmael shoots many people out of anger.

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Terrified, Ishmael and his friends enter a desolate forest to begin their first battle with the rebels. After a few of his friends get killed (such as Josiah), Ishmael shoots many people out of anger.

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Ishmael entered this battle as a scared kid, and he left it as a bloodthirsty assassin. In this moment, he no longer cared for human emotion or suffering. He let the rage of war take over him, for he would stop at nothing to see his enemies suffer. This is a turning point in Ishmael's character arc, as these emotions would linger within his state of being for many years to come.

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Ishmael's intense addiction to drugs gives him a false sense of relief and peace while in reality it transforms him further into what he once hated deeply, a soldier with no sense of care for life.

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Ishmael's intense addiction to drugs gives him a false sense of relief and peace while in reality it transforms him further into what he once hated deeply, a soldier with no sense of care for life.

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Ishmael regularly took drugs through the day as when he wouldn't use them he would have sharp migraines. These drugs included "Brown Brown" which was cocaine mixed with gunpowder, smoking marijuana, and the white pills which he claims he is addicted to but in reality he is addicted to all of the drugs. These drugs further drive his already far gone mental state as he feels no problem with killing people. This quality of lack of care was one he had deeply hated only months before this. He doesn't go a day without consuming a major amount of drugs that keep him "at peace" but in reality kill his humanity.

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After two years of serving in the military, a lieutenant arrives at Ishmael's camp and releases the boys from their service. Distraught, Ishmael is forced to hand over his gun and hop on a truck to leave his camp.

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After two years of serving in the military, a lieutenant arrives at Ishmael's camp and releases the boys from their service. Distraught, Ishmael is forced to hand over his gun and hop on a truck to leave his camp.

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Despite his feelings of anger, this is the first event that leads to Ishmael's recovery. The anger that he feels towards leaving the camp reaffirms the changes that he has undergone, as his addiction to drugs and violence has led to him becoming attached to his service in the military. Furthermore, the ease at which he was released lets the reader know that, in reality, Ishmael's service was unnecessary.

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Ishmael is reunited with his uncle and cousins and feels at peace, he thinks back and reflects how he never really valued family and has a life lesson to never take anything for granted.  

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Ishmael is reunited with his uncle and cousins and feels at peace, he thinks back and reflects how he never really valued family and has a life lesson to never take anything for granted.  

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When Ishmael is reunited with his family he finally realizes how important family is and how is has been longing for family love throughout the novel. When Ishmael reflects on who he was before he was captured by the military he has an epiphany on how neglectful he had been on the value of family and their love.

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Ismael recalls an analogy from when he was younger of a story about a monkey that explains what he's been through in the war and helps the reader visualize why Ishmael made the decisions  he made 

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Ismael recalls an analogy from when he was younger of a story about a monkey that explains what he's been through in the war and helps the reader visualize why Ishmael made the decisions  he made 

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At the end of the novel Ishmael remembers the story of a monkey, if you shoot the monkey your mother will die if you don't your father will die. This represented that every decision that Ishmael made, no matter which decision he made someone will always die. This goes back to when Ismael killed someone for the first time if he didn't kill him then he or his friends could've died in the end someone always died. This novel illustrated the violence and the inhumane ways of war that affect individuals for a lifetime.