Quote: “They cocked their guns, and one of them placed the muzzle of his gun under Gibrilla’s

chin. ‘He is scared like a soaked monkey’ the rebel laughingly told his companions.” (Beah 31)

I feel that the memoir is exaggerated in some places. Many studies have shown that being in

war enhances the emotions you feel and the very likely chance of getting PTSD. His experiences

are likely to be exaggerated due to his time as a child war soldier. Some examples of this can be

seen in chapter 5, where he describes his friend Gibrilla as ‘scared like a soaked monkey’ (Beah

31), where his fear is described to be immense. As a result of wartime trauma, the passing of

time since the events, and other factors, Beah’s descriptions are exaggerated in some parts of

the story. Even so, his point of view is sometimes better when exaggerated, since it gives the

perspective that Beah was in during the events.