Psychological Response To Loss

Beah came so close to reuniting with his family, but time was not in his favor. Beah is traveling on the outskirts of villages where he meets a man named Ngot Gasemu who explains that his family is in the village down the hill. Ismael is overwhelmed with joy and starts going towards the village but then gunshots are followed by screams and cries. Once the gunshots ended, Beah went to the village to see that is was on fire and he could not find his family. He became overwhelmed with anger hit Gasemu right on his nose (94-96). Beah now has a cold heart towards the rest of the world. “Overt expressions of anger... should be recognized as an understandable response to a traumatic situation and not necessarily as a personal attack “ (Psychological Responses To Loss). Beah’s reaction to punching Gasemu is from frustration, therefore, Beah projected his anger upon him. Death takes a huge toll on Beah and …show more content…
“We would come back hours later after killing many people and continue the movie...” (124). Now that he is forced to fight as a child soldier, he has no choice or else death will come upon him quicker than lightning. Refusing to fight with the Sierra Leone military will result in the rebels capturing him and performing a painful death, and trying to escape will lead to more stress and fear. He becomes immune and acts as if killing is a “normal” task that needs to be done for revenge. Beah’s leader, Corporal Gadafi stated, “ Visualize the enemy, the rebels who killed your parents, your family, and those who are responsible for everything that has happened to you” (112). Gadafi is training their minds to hate and seek revenge. Beah now has so much anger in his heart, that he does not fear killing the rebels who ruined his entire life. Beah has no shame in killing, his new family now consists of AK-47’s, knives, and bombs. Beah is now brainwashed into thinking every person is out to kill or unleash