The character that meant the most to me in this book was definitely Esther. Her patience with not only Ishmael, but all the boys that caused trouble at the facility was something very special. It takes a tough person to do what she does with such grace and the way she impacted Ishmael was incredible. He started off there with absolutely no trust and did not want to talk or get help from anyone. He simply did not want to be there. He slowly turned into someone who always wanted to go see Ester and started letting her in. He became a regular. One specific moment I think he opened up the most was when they stared at the stars together. It was such a short memory, but it was one of the deepest. It was very important for Ishmael to have someone like Ester in his life.
I do believe that Ishmael can be rehabilitated but this kind of stuff just doesn't go away. He will carry these memories for the rest of his life and that is something that he will always struggle with. I do believe that he can be a good person, I don't think he ever truly lost that quality. Moving on with his life will not be easy, but it is definitely doable.
I want to point out the use of scene Ishmael used throughout the book. At times it was very hard to read but I think that proves how well Ishmael made the readers feel like we were there or we watched specific scenes and events happen. Every thing that he described, I could see in my head.
"I began that day to believe it. It was the genuine tone in Esther's voice that made the phrase finally begin to sink into my mind and heart. That didn't make me immune from the guilt that I felt for what I had done." This was one of my favorite passages in this book. This is when he finally started to believe that what he did was wrong and unforgivable. What makes this passage even more important was that Esther was the one who got through to him. This proves the powerful impact she had on him.
I agree that Beah used scene very well throughout the whole book. Beah is great at making the reader feel like they’re in his shoes. I really liked the use of scene because it also helped me understand the book better.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Beah will not fully recover from PTSD. I do not agree that I will be scared of him living in my neighborhood because one of my neighbors have PTSD. My neighbor has not done anything that will put me in harms away. He is very friendly, and likes to talk a lot. There was some incidents that set him off like fireworks, but he does not harm anyone. He just gets panic attacks, but other than that he is a friendly guy.
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