chapter names

Chapter 2 - a night haunting
In this chapter Ishmael is woken up by a nightmare reflecting on his past life as a boy soldier. This is the first gruesome glimpse the reader gets of his chilling past and how it still disturbs Ishmael.

Chapter 6 - Farewell my Friend
In this chapter Ishmael is separated from his brother Junior. This is the last time he ever sees his brother and is a heart wrenching point in the book were Ishmael begins to feel alone. He never had the chance to say goodbye to Junior and I think that is a great injustice.

Chapter 8 - Forest Friends
Ishmael finds himself wandering alone in the forest for the majority of this chapter. He begins to get increasingly lonely and wishes to be with other people. After he gets attacked by a hog he runs into some old friends from school and decides to travel with them. He finds friends in a forest.

Chapter 9 - Dance or Die
In this chapter Ishmael saves his new friends from being killed by dancing to hip hop music for the tribe leader to prove who they are. Dance or Die is also a song by Family Force Five which is a hip hop band.

Chapter 10 - Carselio
Carselio is a word meaning spider. In this chapter Musa tells his last story about a spider and then dies. the boys are devastated by the loss of their friend and his stories that would distract them from the troubled lives they lived. The chapter should name should be dedicated to his last story.

Chapter 11 - Hope is dead
Through out the book Ishmael has survived on the hope of seeing his family again. In chapter 11 however that dream is crushed when his family is killed by the rebels. Ishmael is left in despair and more alone then he has ever felt before.

Chapter 12 - Trapped
In chapter 12 Ishmael decides to join the army and fight against the rebels. However i would argue that he was trapped in a situation and being apart of the army was the only way out. if he did not join the army he would be killed by the rebels surrounding the village that he was staying in.

Chapter 15 - Gangs of Sierra Leone
Ishmael and a few of his friends are taken out of the army and placed into a compound with other boy soldiers. Upon finding out that the other boys fought for the rebels Ishmael and his friends attack. This scene reminded me of Gangs of New York. i thought the gang wars were irrational and unnecessary because both sides just wanted the same thing - survival and revenge.

Chapter 16 - Rambo: the side effects
While Ishmael in the the hospital he has a flash back of being a Jr. lieutenant of the army. In the flash back his friend Alhaji goes and slits the guards throats of the village they are attacking. Alhaji calls this his "Rambo moves". I think this chapter shows just how impressionable the boys were and how the proper propaganda can really change a person from being sick at the sight of blood to egging on your friend to brutally murder people and join in.

Chapter 21 - A New Hope
In this chapter Ishmael goes back to New York to live with Laura. I see this chapter and a new beginning in his life which is filled with hope for the future and a positive out look on life which we have never seen before in Ishmael