Week 2 Post A

Maiming- To disable or disfigure, usually by depriving of the use of a limb or other part of the body.

Okra soup- a shrub bearing beaked pods that is often used for soups.

Appeals
Beah talks about the basic needs of a human to survive on page 29. Much like Black Boy, he becomes weak from starvation and has to resort to stealing little kid's food. "We had yet to learn these things and implement survival tactics, which was what it came down to. That night we were so hungry that we stole people's food while they slept. It was the only way to get through the night." This is a logical appeal because it deals with basic human needs to survive. In Beah's case, it was about his hunger and having the energy to run from the R.U.F.

"That night's journey was very quit... When we got to the village, we sat around the fire until dawn. Not a word was said. Everyone seemed to be in a different world or seemed to be pondering something."(p,36) This is an emotional appeal because it evokes unfamiliar thoughts in the reader. Many people would find it extremely awkward not to talk to people they live around for almost a whole day. Beah writes this to show the reader just how traumatic the killings were.

"One of them caught the fragments of the RPG. He cried out loudly and screamed that he was blind. No one dared to go out and help him."(p.25) This quote is both a logical and emotional appeal. It is logical because no one in their right mind would risk their own life to save one of their townsmen. Secondly it is emotional because the reader feels helpless and wishes that all of the violence could stop.

Quote
"People were terrified of boys our age. Some had heard rumors about young boys being forced by rebels to kill their families and burn their villages. These children now patrolled in special units, Killing and maiming civilians."(p.37)

Most people in the United States today don't even want to hear about the cruelness and heartlessness that is happening all around the world. Beah wants people to be aware of what is really happening rather than being ignorant. This quote goes way beyond kids killing people. It is about what people can be driven to do in desperate times. This quote gives a brief insight to what would happen if our world had no order. Let's just say that people would fear for their life everyday if there was no order!

Theme
The most pressing theme is that chaos and being desperate can push man to do very terrible things only for personal gain.