The effects of War on Children in iweala's Beasts of No Nation
... what was happening as the men proceeded to break down the door of his house and begin to beat him. The thoughts that crossed his mind as the men beat him exhibits Agu’s fear: Again and again he is hitting me and each blow from his hand is feeling on my skin like the flat side of machete. I am trying to scream, but he is knocking the air away from my chest and then slapping my mouth. I am tasting blood. I am feeling like vomiting. (3) Agu is so confused and scared that, as soon as the beating has ended, he thinks that he should thank the soldier, who is a boy not much older than Agu, for bringing him “home to the land of spirits” (3). Agu is then confronted by the leader of the rebel troops and offered a simple decision: join his troop as a soldier or be killed. “So what am I supposed to be doing? So I am joining. Just like that. I am soldier” (11). Thus begins the corruption of a vulnerable, defenseless Agu. The disintegration of Agu’s young mind begins very soon after he joins Commandant and his counterpart, Luftenant. Commandant describes killing in ways that would make it seem like no big deal to Agu, such as “falling in love” and “killing goat” (12, 21). “And I am believing him. What else can I be doing?” (12). It is evident that Commandant and his smooth, well-thought explanation of Agu’s new role has a demoralizing effect on Agu’s moral philosophy after he kills his first person: I am not a bad boy. I am not a bad boy. I am soldier and soldier is not bad if he is killing. I am telling this to myself because soldier is supposed to be killing, killing, killing. So if I am killing, then I am only doing what is right. (23) He does, however, acknowledge the fact that what he is doing is not right, claiming that he wants “to be a Doctor because then [he] will be able to be helping people instead of killing them and then maybe [he] will be forgiven for all [his] sin” (76). Iweala does not intend for Agu to come across as just a victim, though. He is sure to point out that Agu is also a perpetuator. It is very true that what Commandant is doing to Agu and the other children is wrong, even though he claims that he is “not a bad man” (89). He is robbing them of all the innocence they have by making them kill mercilessly and “touch his soldier” (84). Agu, however, is not only being victimized; he is also victimizing others, and, in a way, enjoying it. The girl is having no more hand ... I am jumping on her chest ... I am jumping on her head ... I am liking the sound of knife chopping KPWUDA KPWUDA on her head and how the blood is just splashing on my hand and my face and my feets ... Another night. (50-51) Agu wanted to stop fighting shortly after he began, but the high he experiences while killing, as well as the fear of being killed, keeps him from saying anything to Commandant. “I want to be telling him that I cannot be fighting anymore, that my mind is becoming rotten like the inside of fruit ... I am wanting to leave,” to which Commandant would reply “ANYBODY WHO IS TRYING TO RUN AWAY WILL NOT BE HAVING LEG TO RUN WITH” (89, 19). Over time, the children grow more and more physically, emotionally, and spiritually drained by Commandant and his abusive authority, so some of the kids plot to kill him. As they began to go through with the p...