Conflict Discussion

1. What is the major/most prominent conflict in the book in your opinion?
Vanessa and Jasmine: Man vs. Self. Ishmael needs to learn to accept himself and forgive himself for what he has done (during the war).

2. How does Ishmael overcome the conflict in question 1?
Vanessa and Jasmine: Ishmael is put in rehab (at first by force, but then comes to accept it). After talking to Esther and spending a lot of time with her, he learns to accept and forgive himself with her help.

3. List another type of conflict in the book.
Vanessa and Jasmine: Man vs. Man. The rebels (RUF) are fighting against the government army. It is the civil war.
Vanessa: Man vs. Environment. When Ishmael is on the run he is forced to deal with different weather conditions. When he is alone in a forest for about a month, he has to drink water from a stream and is faced with the challenge of finding food and a safe place to sleep, where wild animals cannot get to him.

4. How would you handle being on the run from the war?
Vanessa: I would keep running, store/save food and water whenever possible, sleep in a tree where no one can see me and not trust anyone. I would also do what it takes to survive, but I would never kill someone. Flight not fight.
Jasmine: I would just try to survive, not be picky about food, drink water, sleep in a tree, just try to survive and not kill anyone.

5. How did the conflicts Ishmael was faced with impact him? Did they make him stronger?
Vanessa and Jasmine: They made him stronger. There were some negative effects, but he was able to use his experiences to help others like whe he went to the UN conference.