Beasts of no Nation by Uzodinma Iweala: Post #3

"All the dancer is removing mask.
All of the spirit are dying and now all the boy is becoming men.

I am opening my eye and seeing that I am still in the war, and now I am thinking, if war is not coming, then I would be man by now (Iweala, 56)."

At this point, Agu has two choices. He can either die refusing to kill an other person, or he can hide his fear and youth and kill whoever he needs to. Agu is being told by the other soldiers that he is a man, yet Agu knows he has not taken part in the ritual of becoming a man.

Agu's mother and sister left with the other women and children from the village, but agu and his father remained to defend their home. Since Agu is not safe at home or in the company of his father i assume dad is dead and their home is destroyed.

Around this part of the book (halfway) i started to sense Agu's comprehension of what is going on is growing. He has the dreams of a small and innocent child, yet fights like a heartless man. Except now, Agu is beginning to accept his plight. He understands that he MUST fight and he MUST carry on. Right now my only question is what is still motivating him to carry on?

He has no family. His best friend, Dike, is most likely lost forever. His home and village were probably ruined. His only new companion is a child so frightened he can't even talk. Besides that, he is basically a kidnapped child brainwashed into thinking fighting the war is HIS duty.

Right now their are many questions floating around in my head about morals, but nothing worth posting.

Beasts of no Nation ( By Uzodinma Iweala) - post #2

"So I am singing to myself,

Soldier Soldier
Kill Kill Kill.
That is how you live.
That is how you die.

And I am remembering to myself that I am doing all of this
before I am soldier and it is making me feel better. If I am doing all
of this good and now only doing what soldier is suppose to be
doing, then how can I be bad boy (Iweala, 31)?"


This chapter was VERY graphic. Agu is forced to kill a soldier of the opposing side. Afterward, he has to comfort himself. Agu is going through complete shock. I think he really knows that something is wrong with this band of rebels. Yet, even though he is scared, he is full of pride because he sees himself as a soldier. Whether he can handle the pressure or not, he seems to have a distinct form of accomplishment in killing. After this chapter, I also began to believe that Agu doesn't listen to his conscience, instead he focuses on growing up to soon. He sees himself as ahead of the game for killing another man at his age. Even so, he must keep telling himself that God will not punish soldiers for killing because that is what soldiers are suppose to do. I feel very bad for Agu because he is exposed to everything that a person, especially a young child like Agu, should never have to see. Also at his age he is so susceptible to adult figures that he can get almost brain washed into a killer, by nature.

For The Record:
By this point of the story, one discovers that Agu's parents may or may not be alive, they ran away from the village with everyone else.

So... Questions?

1) How far will Agu go? Will his character change entirely?

2) How did Agu get separated from his family?

3) If Agu had the chance, would he leave the rebel army? Would he force himself to stay?

(at this point i think the only thing that would make Agu leave would be finding his mother and sister)

Beasts of no Nation: post #1

"Commandant is saying it is like falling in love. You cannot be thinking about it. You are just having to do it, he is saying.
And I am believing him. What else can i be doing?
They are all saying, stop worrying. Stop worrying. Soon it will be your own turn and then you will know what it is feeling like to be killing somebody. Then they are laughing at me and spitting on the ground near my feets."

This passage represents the fear and confusion going on with Agu. Confusion is the biggest theme in this book, so far. Agu is god fearing. He believes that if he is forced to kill, he will go to hell. Eventually, he will have to kill someone. I think Agu likes the idea of being a soldier, but is desperately trying to figure out if he belongs here. From what I have read so far, Agu is forced into everything. All he can do is ask himself what his other options are, sadly he has no way out. He is surrounded by dangerous men who seem to be father figures at points, but they are really only harsh, cold, and insensitive men.

Predictions:
K-dub told me it was depressing, so, I bet Agu's situation is about to get a lot worse. I have no guesses in particular though.

Questions:
I want to know where his parents are, or what happened to them.

How did he end up in the stables?

Will Agu turn into a killing machine? Or, will good nature prevail against the rebel soldiers? (unlikely)

Will Agu escape? And if so, at what cost?