How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
That night, as I sat on the verandah listening to some of the boys discuss the volleyball game I had missed, I tried to think about my childhood days, but it was impossible, as I began getting flashbacks of the first time I slit a man's throat. (17.40)
This is a very powerful passage—notice how it jumps from a vision of innocence to "slit a man's throat." Here at Shmoop, we call that the literary technique of juxtaposition. (Impress your teachers.) It heightens the contrast between the two phases of his life.
Quote #8
We sat together on the stoop and briefly talked about our childhood pranks. "Sometimes I think about those great times we had dancing at talent shows, practicing new dances, playing soccer until we couldn't see the ball… It seems like all those things happened a very long time ago. It is really strange, you know," he said, looking away for a bit.
"I know, I know…" I said.
"You were a troublesome boy," he reminded me.
"I know, I know…"
(18.22-25)
It would be strange, wouldn't it, if you grew up with someone and then were separated for years by war? Mohamed and Ishmael reminisce about childhood, but have to acknowledge that something has changed. They're not the kids they once were. Even though it wasn't that long ago that they were dancing and playing soccer, it seems like another lifetime.
Quote #9
Some of the children had risked their life to attend the conference. Others had walked hundreds of miles to neighboring countries to be able to get on a plane. Within minutes of talking to each other, we knew that the room was filled with young people who had had a very difficult childhood, and some were going to return to these lives at the end of the conference. After the introductions, we sat in a circle so that the different facilitators could tell us about themselves. (20.13)
For the first time, Ishmael realizes that he and his friends are not the only children in the world suffering. War has stolen the innocence of so many children. That's the whole point of the U.N. conference.