Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Reflection on a long way home by Miguel

     I think the lieutenant is one of the more important influences in the book. He recruits these children he trains them to survive. While to most people may assume he is a bad character for even recruiting cold soldiers, I think he is a necessary flawed character. I wanted to write evil but I know he really isn't evil. He meant the most to me because he was a good leader the boys knew they could sort of trust him. It's shown in the book by how much they initially try to fight UN trying to take then back to civilization. Yet when the lieutenant tells them to stand down their fight is over and thank you for your service, they listen.
     I personally don't think you can actually rehabilitate someone one hundred percent. You can try by all means maybe brain wash someone's into thinking they're rehabilitated but you never know what will trigger something within this young man and cause him to relive a moment from his past. He gets flashbacks at a dance of all places you just can't know if he'll get one while driving in traffic, or in a meeting at work. I don't think it's possible. I wouldn't see any harm in letting the man move into my neighborhood. There are plenty of people that are worse than a partially rehabilitated child soldier. There are drug dealers and producers making meth labs poisoning neighborhoods destroying lives of people with fewer inhibitions than some of us. I worry more about those types of people than I ever would a damaged man who might never try to harm me.
     My best take away from the book is that no matter that there will always be good people willing to give you a chance. "The chief explained to everyone that there had been a misunderstanding and that we were only children looking for safety. (68)" while they did have to have a performance of dance to convince him. The back ground story with the young man treating the boys injured feet trying to help them knowing if they were caught in his hut he would surely be in trouble. I thought it was a good thing to show kindness when you normally would be to scared to.

The information I found interesting was that when the UK intervened to push back they accomplished their goal with only 200 troops.

6 comments:

  1. I never would have looked at the lieutenant the way you pointed him out. If it wasn't for him releasing Ishmael, then we could have never known about Ishmael period. Good point! (:

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  2. Thats a really good choice for important character. He is very important, because he changed Ishmael life in this book, for better or worse.

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  3. i was gonna write about the lieutenant too because he cares about these children and he wants them to survive the war

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  4. I agree on not being 100% rehabilitated, but I think that even if some of the rehabilitation treatment works that it is better than nothing or it is at least worth it to try!

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  5. The thing i took away most was good people giving chances to others. I admire people with a big heart.

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  6. I agree with you when you said that there are good people everywhere. You can't go through life thinking that everyone is a bad person. That no matter the situation there are good people out there.

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