Ishmael Character Analysis Essay

One of the most prominent boundaries found in the book happened in the mind of the main character Ishmael. His division of nightmares and war memories were kept separate from his memories of his childhood. When analyzed in further detail, we can begin to understand the turmoil that children involved in the war endured.
For long periods of time Ishmael fought against sleep out of fear of what his unconscious mind would force him to endure. There was even a time where he was all alone, and he would only focus on the sounds around him to provide a distraction from his thoughts. Since nightmares are a way to process fears and concerns readers understand why Ishmael decided to elude sleep and all recollections of what he endured. In his sleep Ishmael became pummeled with painful visions of death; and sometimes he was the person that was killing himself that alone can slowly drive a person to the point of insanity. There is a moment where Saidu states, “Even though I am alive, each time I accept death, part of me dies….and all the will be left is me empty body walking with you (pg.70 parg. 2).” This on sentence allowed Ishmael to resist the idea that he is also dying but on that night he was able …show more content…
There was also the time when he remembered being with his grandmother and how she told him stories about his naming ceremony. These pleasant memories started to become more prominent when he was finally separated by everyone in his immediate family. Ishmael was also flooded with pleasantly hopeful thoughts while he and his friends started their journey to the village where he was told that his family had taken refuge. Then once he met his uncle Ishmael was able to remember tales of his brothers and parents so that he could vocally talk about them to his uncle who wasn’t present in their