Week 4 Post B

"The five men were lined up in front of us on the training ground with their hands tied. We were supposed to slice their throats on the corporal's command. The person whose prisoner died quickest would win the contest... [After the contest] We celebrated that day's achievement with more drugs and more war movies."

It's quotes like these that make me question Ishmael Beah's sanity, therefore I definitely wouldn't want to meet him in person! The quote goes on for another page or so describing how he felt numb to all of the killing and how fiercely loyal he is to his commander. Over the course of three chapters, we see Beah being brainwashed to become a non-sleeping, drug-fueled, killing machine. The story makes it clear how the effects of a war can drastically change one's perception of what is right and what is wrong. One example is the change between Beah's first battle and his later ones. During his first fight, Beah can't bring himself to do anything but curl up into a ball, hide, and cry. But a month later, he finds himself slicing people's throats and laughing at how quickly they fall to the ground.

Many people I know and live with share the same idea about killing. It's wrong and we would never bring ourselves to do it. On the contrary, I believe that Beah's ruthless actions aren’t as far-fetched and unbelievable as we would like to think they are. I feel that most people put in the same situation as Beah, would do the exact same thing.