How does music help the boys cope?

Beah's use of flashbacks to give necessary background to an impending scene (and also to heighten tension). In the section he begins with “The first time that I was touched by war I was twelve” (p. 6), he immediately launches into a flashback detailing the origin of his rap group conceived by himself and his friends Talloi and Mohamed and his older brother Junior. This gives the reader important information regarding Beah’s motive for walking to neighboring Mattru Jong on the day his own village is attacked by rebels. The boys are immersed in the western culture of rap music and oblivious to the dangers of violence posed by the rebel factions in Sierra Leone. In this way, Beah is able to connect his experience more universally to others whose childhood experiences consist of acts of leisure, such as learning the lyrics to pop music and imitating their favorite entertainers.