2. His Traits:
When we first start reading you can see that
Jal is:
Naïve
Rebellious
Compassionate
3. Naïve
“Babba sent me
away, Nyagai, my brothers, and “Many of you were
my sisters must have forgotten disappointed to find there were
me, but the SPLA were still no school when you came here,
looking after me and would but if we haden’t told you about
one day win back my country. the schools then you would not
(Jal, 68)” have wanted to make the
journey here. Now you are
starting to learn at school and
must do the best (Jal, 68)”
“You have left your families far
behind and now is your
chance to have a new one with
the SPLA (Jal, 74)”
4. Jal believes anything that leaders, or adults in
his life have told him
This is not his fault, and in a regular, safe
environment he would have no reason not to
believe elders
He however is in a war situation and when it
comes to war many people will do anything to
win
5. Rebellious
“We decided to steal into the
Jal is being rebellious for
one place we knew was full of
biscuits the hospital and soon survival and because he
we were visiting the sick does not like the way his life
sometimes twice a week (Jal, is controlled
71)”
Jal is just trying to survive
“Shut up he boomed. We did and if it means stealing a
not bring you here to fight
each other. You must save few biscuits he will do it
your energy to fight the Arabs.
But! - Jal tried to reply (Jal, This proves to be a bad trait
83)” when Jal is forced to
become a soldier
6. Compassionate
You see that even
though war has
given many bad “I didn’t care if the talemgi was
traits to Jal he is clever enough to see what I
couldn’t hurt a fly! was doing, I could hurt
Mualual (Jal, 84)”
7. WAR GETS TO JAL
He turns his back on everything he once
learned
8. His traits change
He looses his conscience
Becomes determined and violent
9. Loss of Compassion
“My arm was numb when “I was a soilder now. I could
Malual finally stood up and I sleep with one eye open and
could see he was crying stop myself from cyring out
even when I was beaten until
without tears. The worst kind
piss and shit ran out of me. I
of pain. I was glad. (Jal, 90)” knew there were elven ways to
attack a town; how to
open, fuse and throw a
grenade; how to load and fire
an AK-47; how to raise a
“Lie down or ill cut your head machete and hack at an
off! (Jal, 102)” enemy or use stones as a
weapon when my bullets ran
out. There was nothing to be
afraid of. (Jal, 95)”
10. Jal forgot who he used to be
He was no longer a sweet little boy, he was a
monster
War and bad leaders turned him into that
monster
11. Violent and Determined
“This man might be laughing
“The bruises on my mothers at me today but when
after she was beaten by tomorrow came I would show
government soldiers the tears him and the others like him
on Nyagai’s face as I was who I was. (Jal,105)”
taken to join the SPLA. Now
I’d have revenge .(Jal,96)”
“I was a man, not a coward.
(Jal, 100)”
12. Summary
This book is not just making up a character
This book is cold hard facts
No padding, No make believe
This shows us that
It is gut wrenching, body shaking, cold, hard
truth
war can turn people
against their
This book is giving us the inside look of a child
soldier’s life morals, conscience,
We get to be there when he is scared, when he families and
turns violent and when he is rebellious personality traits
These are true stories, these are Jal’s stories.
