AP+Group+13

Chapter 14: Level 3: Level 2: Chapter 15: Level 3: Level 2: Chapter 16: Level 3: Level 2: Chapter 17: Level 3: Level 2: As leadership is named and taken again and again, their authority is never really questioned. If people are desperate for a leader, will they accept the first person to take the position?
 * The military leadership shows the boy soldiers the way the army worked. Was it choice for the boys to follow their example to save themselves, or did human instinct force them?
 * By following strict discipline and order, Beah becomes a leader himself. Do you think this was for the best, or did it make everything much worse?
 * Ishmael often found a sort of solace and encouragement in the lieutenant’s speeches. Is anything possible under the right leadership?
 * The boys find themselves constantly practicing to be like the corporals and lieutenants. What drives this blind following?
 * Once in his new leadership position, Ishmael finds himself making riskier decisions. Does a leadership position feed an individual a higher sense of power?
 * In chapter 15, Ishmael is given away by the lieutenant and follows orders, despite it meaning leaving with strange men and a feeling of great anger. Is following a choice, or an assumed obligation?
 * Under the new leadership of the RUF soldiers, the boy’s behavior doesn’t change. Is it possible for leadership to truly change who an individual is?
 * When fighting the RUF boy soldiers, Mambu immediately takes a leader position with ease while the other boys fall right into line to follow him. Both seem to be taken easily. Is it easier to lead or to follow?
 * Although taught by different leadership, both the RUF boys and the boys who accompany Ishmael are very much alike. Is what a person follows truly what defines them?
 * After the fight, the boys exalt Mambu as a hero and their leader, even though he never really chose it. Are leadership and following simply assumed positions?
 * As the boys continually defy the RUF volunteers’ efforts, the volunteers tell them it’s okay and continue to try. Can leadership be forced upon people?
 * Several times, the boys cause harm or destruction to the RUF rehabilitation site, just because some other boy was as well. Is it easier to follow someone else’s lead or do nothing at all?
 * Despite his hatred for the RUF volunteers, Ishmael finally opens up to one of the nurses. Can strong-willed spirits be changed with enough leadership or is it only a choice of the individual?
 * As the boys continually escape the rehabilitation site in order to go to Freetown, the RUF volunteers use this to their advantage and offer a trip there if the boys attend the school. Can followers also set an example to follow?
 * Ishmael remembers a time where he leads a group on an invasion of a village. His new leadership position makes him feel powerful. Is leading something everyone secretly, or not so secretly, searches for?
 * The nurse, Esther, slowly gets Ishmael to open up more to her by creating a comfortable environment. Is leading by subtle encouragement always the best idea?
 * Because of Ishmael’s past, he finds it difficult to open up to Esther. Are trust issues always harmful to one’s ability to follow someone else’s lead?
 * Despite several of the boy’s influence on the others, they also follow the lead of the leadership. Are there different levels of leadership, or essentially just one, overarching leadership position?
 * Why does Ishmael feel the need to find something to follow?

Chapter 18: Level 3: 1.) With the help of Esther Ishmael recovers from his experiences as a boy soldier, while many others do not. Is positive leadership more influential compared to negative leadership? 2.) Are children more susceptible to follow the influence of any given individual? 3.) In context of the book, it is always difficult to trust new leadership? Level 2: 1.) How does Ishmael’s willingness to follow leadership differ from the beginning of the book? How is it the same? 2.) Ishmael finds himself in a type of leadership position for the second time. Are leadership skills something inherited or discovered?

Chapter 19: Level 3: 1.) Does the presence of leadership always entail a “following”? 2.) Can true leadership only be voluntary or is it possible for it to be forced? 3.) Ishmael sustains some sort of leadership throughout the book, such as moving from Esther to his uncle. Is leadership something essential to correctly function? Level 2: 1.) What does leadership provide for Ishmael? 2.) Is leadership needed in order to unify people?

Chapter 20: Level 3: 1.) Is it possible for an individual to simply “lead” themselves? 2.) Ishmael sees many people who try to lead them in the right direction. Is providing multiple leadership positions in order to lead someone better than a singular one? 3.) How do Ishmael’s thoughts and emotions differ in between his leadership and follower positions? Level 2: 1.) Why does Ishmael feel a need to follow leadership after what he has been through? 2.) Evaluate what characteristics Ishmael possesses that allow him to fill a leadership position, or if he even has them?

Chapter 21: Level 3: 1.) With the loss of leadership, Ishmael finds himself continuing on with his life. Is present leadership always necessary? 2.) Decipher how leadership helps Ishmael in his healing process? 3.) Do you believe that Ishmael finds more comfort in following or leading people? Level 2: 1.) Is leadership just as susceptible to influence as followers? 2.) How might the recover process have been different had Ishmael simply led himself through post-war?