AP+Group+16

= **Nature, Mother Nature, and the natural world** =

Gareth Farrell and Chris LaRose

**Chapters 18-21 Discussion Questions**
 * Chapter || Level 2 (2) || Level 3 (3) ||
 * 18 || * Does the loss of the soldier boy’s respect for nature, page 112, also translate as a loss of innocence?
 * Does Ishmael’s performance of his rap songs represent a return to his natural self? || * Could the narcotics that the boys take be considered part of nature?
 * When Ishmael is reunited with his uncle does it in a sense restore the natural balance of his world?
 * **In the beginning of the book we were told that Ishmael was told many stories, with lots of them revolving around nature. On page 175 does the reversion to telling stories mean that Ishmael has recovered from his time spent as a child soldier?** ||
 * 19 || * **After Ishmael’s uncle comes back from work, they often go on walks. How can nature be comforting?**
 * What was the significance of the family preparing chicken for Ishmael’s arrival? Do we have similar traditions here in the U.S.? || * **On page 190, Ishmael has a violent flashback. “Standing next to a tree with red frozen sap on its bark would bring flashbacks of the many times we executed prisoners by tying them to trees and shooting them.” Why is it that the ubiquity of nature can sometimes bring back awful memories?**
 * “I dated her for three weeks, but then she began to ask too many questions. Where was I from? What was it like growing up upline? Upline is a Krio word mostly used in Freetown to refer to the backwardness of the inner country, its inhabitants, and their mannerisms” (Beah 184). Why are people raised in urban backgrounds sometimes incompatible with those from rural backgrounds? Is it different here in the United States?
 * When Ishmael an his new brother go to the club to dance, Ishmael becomes disinterested when he is reminded of a time when the soldiers swept threw a village during a school dance. Is Ishmael permanently damaged from the war? ||
 * 20 || * **How does the role of nature differ for people living in Freetown than the people living in Mattru Jong?**
 * When Ishmael arrives in New York, he’s confused to find that it’s winter. How do different seasonal changes affect cultures? || * When Ishmael arrives in New York, he is confused about how it is so cold outside. How can the unfamiliarity of even natural surroundings affect people?
 * On page 197, Ishmael puts the phone to the window so that his uncle could hear New York. Even compared to another city, New York is very disconnected to its natural surroundings, with its skyscrapers, intricate subway system, and thousands of cars. What effect do these differences have on the people?
 * On page 198, Ishmael and his friends are mesmerized by the flashing displays in Times Square, so much so that they return there every evening. In what ways have modern means of communication changed our society? ||
 * 21 || * Do you think the people of Sierra Leone see nature as a place of refuge? Think of when Ishmael waits for the bus.
 * **In the book while Ishmael is a child soldier he makes no references to his past, however after his trip to the U.N. he talks a lot about his childhood. Does the meeting in New York help him to recover?** || * **What does the Cotton Tree in the center of Freetown represent?**
 * Is Ishmael’s response to run after his Uncle dies natural?
 * Do the rebel forces attacking Freetown represent something unnatural? Is that why the people in the town flee from them ? ||

Chapters 14-17 Discussion Questions
2. Why do the soldiers and rebels not seem to obey the "law of the jungle?" || 1. **Do you think nature has an adverse affect on people?** 2. Do you think the boys would have behaved the same if they were not constantly under the influence? 3. Why does Ishmael think that he hears the trees whisper the songs the lieutenant sang? || 2. Is the boy soldiers’ initial hatred towards the city soldiers based of a fear of civilization? || 1. "My childhood had gone by without my knowing," (Beah 126). Has the modern world increased the length of childhood? 2. The MPs “had no idea, I though, what was really happening in the bushes in the entire country” (Beah 128). In what ways has nature shielded the country of its violence? 3. **“It hadn’t crossed their minds that a change of environment wouldn’t immediately make us normal boys; we were dangerous, and brainwashed to kill” (Beah 129). When the boys meet up at the center, they are violent toward each other. Is brainwashing the reason these boys have lost some of their natural human qualities?** || 2. Why do you think “Green Snake” an appropriate nickname for Ishmael? Why did he carry the title so proudly? || 1. Do you think nature, Mother Nature, or the natural world gives one a sense of independence? 2. **Are we naturally inclined to dislike what we identify as the opposite of us?** 3. “It was a beautiful day, as summer was giving us its last sunshine” (Beah 132). Can nature distract people away from harsh realities of their lives? || 2. Did Ishmael’s unnatural physical state induced by drug use, help or hurt him during the war? || 1. How do the lives of the people in the Freetown differ from those of the people in the small villages in Sierra Leone in terms of their interaction with their surroundings and their proximity to the war? 2. As Ishmael tells Esther about his experiences during his war years, he begins to cringe at some of the gruesome details. Is this an indication of his recovery? 3. **Has Ishmael been too mentally damaged by the war to be completely recovered? Recall his various nightmares and his migraines.** ||
 * ~ Chapter ||~ Level 2 (2) ||~ Level 3 (3) ||
 * 14 || 1. Why does the jungle always seem to bring out the carnal mindedness of people?
 * 15 || 1. "The forests that we slept in became my home," (Beah 126). Is the forest a place to escape from reality for the boy soldiers?
 * 16 || 1. Why do you think the boy soldiers reject the directions of the civilians even though the lieutenant handed them over voluntarily?
 * 17 || 1. Now that Ishmael has stayed so long at the center, do you think he has regained some of his natural human qualities?