Just a brief answer would be fine
It's difficult to put this into a brief answer. I'm really not sure where to begin. West African countries have always been filled with strife. The pull of foreign interests as well as tribal loyalties make various struggles inevitable. By the end of the novel Ishmael has internalized those struggles and carries them to America. The struggles manifest themselves in different ways in the mind of a boy and former child soldier. Rejection, isolation, dislocation and violence are still a part of him.
Consider that as a child Ishmael had no clue about colonial influences and nationalism. He simply lost everything he ever knew. His family friends all dead or gone. He fights because it keeps him fed and protected against the rebel soldiers. He still feels displaced and scared. The same thing can be said when he moves to America. Again he feels no nationalism or sense of colonialism. He is again displaced and scared.
