Paraphrase: 1-2 ishmael describes the 1st time he witnesses violence because of the war and he doesnt know how to react and process it.

Analysis: 3-4 this violent and disturbing imagery including ishmael's reaction to it, illustrates how suddenly violence and war can happen, which makes it diffucult to react in the moment. Ishmael is instantly tramatized and his reaction reflects how vulerable and innocent when he 1st experienced war. the sudden violence shocks the reader as well ishmael forcing the reader to visualize what ishmael saw and empezize with his stressful experience

Paraphrase: Ishmael is struggling to think normally during his time in the war; it seems to be later into the war.

Analysis: Ishmael seems like he's been brainwashed or manipulated into behaving and thinking this way. He seems like he's separated himself from the reality of his situation; he's also struggling to tell the difference between what's real and what's not. This foreshadows what Ishmael will be like in the army and how violent he will have to become.

Paraphrase: Although everyone in the village was safe for now, everyone knew the rebels were coming.

Analysis: Ishmael personifies nature as being afraid in order to emphasize how much fear war causes and how it ruins everything it touches. He also describes Personification on how the birds and crickets sang in the evening before the sun went down but that particular night they didn't make a peep. He personifies this by saying not only the town was quiet, but nature itself was too.

Paraphrase: Ishmael was never a climber until now even though he is tired, hungry and dehydrated; he didn't even realize what he was doing until after.

Analysis: This demonstrates the Character vs Nature conflict by showing how hunger, exhaustion, and dehydration caused Ishmael to be able to climb a coconut tree even though it should've been the opposite. Ishmael could not climb the coconut tree again even though it should've been easier after resting and eating. This shows the obvious towards the reader that he is struggling and is in survival mode, and is also saying he has more problems than to worry about the rebels. He has to find a way to survive while ducking and dogging the rebels. 

Paraphrase: Ishmael explains how, before the war started ruining everything, people in Sierra Leone were raised to respect their elders.

Analysis: This demonstrates the central character v.s. society conflict by emphasizing how the war has caused people who were raised to respect their elders to completely switch, becoming so cruel that they will make fun of and even torture an old man they don't even know.

Paraphrase: In this village, Ishmael and his friends were lookouts at first, but then people assumed the rebels weren't coming so they started doing farm work, which was very difficult and painful. None of their hard work mattered at all; it was ruined as soon as the rebels eventually attacked the village.

Analysis: This part is ironic, specifically situational irony, because they hoped that working hard to grow food would help them survive but the farm is ruined before they get to benefit from their work at all; they probably wouldn't have worked that hard or maybe wouldn't even have worked in the fields at all if they knew what would happen.

Paraphrase: In this quote, Ishmael is explaining how it is to live in the jungle by himself with wild animals and how it feels to be dirty. He tells details like how slimy his skin was when he could finally get clean, how he had to brush his teeth with sticks.

Analysis: Ishmael describes his time being lost in the jungle, which demonstrates the character v.s. nature conflict that Ishmael has to struggle with on to or the water. Ishmael is lonely in a thick jungle, which the reader can infer because he only took a bath after hours of nothing happening. He explains how hard it is to live in the jungle with literally nothing he needs to take care of himself except some fruit to eat, but the part he struggles with the most isn't hunger, it's his loneliness and not knowing what's happened to his family. 

Paraphrase: His performance gets him out of death situations. He dances to rap, and hip hop music.

Analysis: Rap music symbolizes his innocence within his childhood. When he said he doesn't feel it anymore he is referring that he didn't feel his innocence anymore. However, he can't appreciate or enjoy his happier memories now because it just reminds him that he has no idea where his family is, if they're alive, or if his life will ever be okay again; he can't escape even when nothing bad is happening at that moment.

Paraphrase: Ishmael thinks about his family a lot as he's wandering around trying to survive on his own. Although Ishmael is not yet to reunite with his family, memories of his family bring him strength.

Analysis: His being reunited with them is his biggest hope, it keeps him going and surviving for them. Once something comes in the way, it's tough for Ishmael to start hoping about anything else again to remember his purpose to keep going. His flashbacks cause pain and peace depending on what memory it is, but he keeps a high head and keeps moving for them; his new and painful memories are ruining his peaceful childhood memories, so his emotions keep going up and down. 

Paraphrase: The moon appeared but then it disappeared, meaning there was no hope in what he was doing. When they said the moon was weeping, they meant it wasn't there but it was still crying.

Analysis: The moon means hope. Whenever the moon is out Ishmael still has hope mostly into finding his family. When it disappears there is no hope in finding what he is looking for. The particular day the moon disappeared when Gasemu was falling towards his death, so that meant he was no longer going to live to help them find their families. 

Paraphrase: Corporal Gadafi repeated this quote to make the boys more aggressive and to never think twice about killing.

Analysis: The boys were still new to training they weren't able to get used to it because they were still innocent. Corporal needed a way to make them man up and get the job done so he used the best way which was to use something they cared about the most. He had no choice but to use their family and those who were responsible for the war. After this the boys became aggressive and their innocence slowly was fading away.