CHAPTER 17

`I was very suspicious of people’s intentions. I had come to believe that people befriended only to exploit one another.’

1. The issue of trust:

i) the guarded life of a soldier.

ii) Esther’s skills in gaining Beah’s trust:

• • • Whether she can trust him.
    • He has to ask her to be his friend.
    • His weakness for music.
    • Offers Ishmael a sense of a normal life: surrounded by love, affection and forgiveness.

2. The bullet story:

i) The flashback shows Beah’s vivid recollections.

ii) Beah’s hatred and revenge.

iii) This juxtaposes his rehabilitation.

3. The rehabilitation process:

i) He dreams of his family.

ii) He begins connecting with them spiritually.

iii) He reconnects with nature and with his past.

`That night I wanted the sky to talk to me.’

Learner Preparation for LESSON 41:

1. Learners to read CHAPTER 18.

2. Learners to consider the following for discussion:

i) Beah regaining his identity and becoming human again through:

• • • his meetings with his uncle
    • meeting his uncle’s family