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.