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Quote 1
"We must strive to be like the moon." An old man in Kabati repeated this sentence often to people who walked past his house on their way to the river to fetch water, to hunt, to tap palm wine; and to their farms.
This quotation about the symbol of the moon—which appears in Chapter 1 after Ishmael has gotten his first glimpse of the horrors of war—is recalled as an adage that Ishmael learns as a child. Ishmael’s grandmother explains to him that the meaning of the adage is that everyone should be on their best behavior and be good to others, which is a classic message of children’s folktales. Ishmael’s grandmother says that everyone appreciates the moon and that a lot of happy things happen when the moon shines. The moon appears throughout the book as a reflection of Ishmael’s circumstances. It is bright and shining when good things are happening for Ishmael, such as when he walks with Esther during his rehabilitation. In the darkest parts of the book when Ishmael is alone, feeling hopeless, or in danger, the moon is either not visible or it is covered by dark clouds. An important symbol throughout the book, the moon is inserted into various scenes to reflect Ishmael’s mood or situation.
Quote 2
These days I live in three worlds: my dreams, and the experiences of my new life, which trigger memories from the past.
This quotation, which appears in Chapter 2 after Ishmael has a bad dream while living in New York City, speaks to the life of a rehabilitated child solder. It is also significant as an explanation of life after any kind of trauma. It is not mentioned explicitly in the book, but it seems to show that Ishmael is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. This means that although the present may be free from immediate danger, the trauma from the past is still very present in Ishmael’s mind. It may appear in dreams, or it may be triggered by current experiences at any time. It shows that people who have experienced trauma, such as war, don’t have the luxury of living in the current moment. The constant threat will likely be part of Ishmael’s reality for the rest of his life. The trauma of Ishmael’s experiences also triggers happy memories, which are tainted by the trauma of his life as a child soldier. Through this lens, the happiness of his childhood is only another form of torment, since it is gone forever, like so much else from Ishmael’s life as a child.
Quote 3
When I was very little, my father used to say, “If you are alive, there is hope for a better day and something good to happen. If there is nothing good left in the destiny of a person, he or she will die."
This quotation, which appears in Chapter 8 as Ishmael is wandering the forest alone, speaks to the theme of hope in the book. Although Ishmael is not emotionally close to his father when war breaks out, he still remembers his father as a good person and this advice helps him to keep pushing forward when the situation seems hopeless. Ishmael has seen and experienced terrible things because of the war, and later he participates in terrible things as a child soldier. But the fact that he can stay alive means that there is still some hope for his destiny. This hope is apparent later in the book when Ishmael escapes the war and become an advocate for other child soldiers. Ishmael holds onto this both in his narrative and in his life, since without that hope, his future is bleak. This hope against the hopelessness is a key to Ishmael finding a new path after his life as a child soldier.
Quote 4
Our innocence had been replaced by fear and we had become monsters. There was nothing we could do about it. Sometimes we ran after people shouting that we were not what they thought, but this made them more scared. We hoped to ask people for directions. It was impossible.
This quotation, which appears in Chapter 8 after Ishmael joins a group of six boys that are traveling from village to village looking for food and safety, demonstrates the theme of loss of innocence. The children find that people are afraid of them even though they are only children, which is both disheartening and understandable in the context of war. This quotation explains that even before the boys became child soldiers and committed terrible acts of war, the people they encountered had already decided they were monsters. This also foreshadows that the boys will become “monsters” later in the book when they are forced into becoming child soldiers. This quote shows that the boys didn’t have control over any part of their lives, and they were only focused on survival; there was nothing they could do about how they were perceived by others.
