Essay Questions

What are the effects of war from Beasts of No Nation?

The novel is set in a time of civil war in an unnamed African country. The following effects of war which include death and injuries, separation from family and friends, fear, destruction of property and psychological trauma emerge. These effects are brought about by the events in the story hence mimicking real life war situation effects.

War leads to death of people including soldiers and innocent civilians. In the novel, the Commander ordered for the execution of enemy soldiers who were defenseless. The army also killed civilians when they raided a village or a town. When Agu first met the soldiers, he observed how injured that they were such that some did not have knees.

Psychological trauma especially for the soldiers is another effect of the war. In the novel, a soldier once jumped from a tall rock because he wanted to see heaven. This shows how disturbed the soldier was by the war that he was having delusions. Agu who is a child soldier is also traumatized especially after the first time he killed someone. He keeps criticizing and reassuring himself that he is not a bad boy.

What are the effects of war on child soldiers?

The novel Beasts of No Nation is characterized by child soldiers who had been coerced to join the Commander’s army. These children include Agu and Strika who were barely in their teens. The novel seeks to shed light on the plight of child soldiers by using these two characters. Their plight includes psychological trauma, stoppage of schooling, separation from family and loved ones and rape from other older soldiers.

Strika was always quiet and he hardly spoke a word. He was always drawing his family as they were being beheaded. He was in emotional pain and he often masked it when they were in the battlefield. Agu always remembered his home and school where he had been happiest before the war started. He was very disturbed after he killed someone, for he often convinced himself that he was a good boy.

The commander was a sexual predator who often raped his younger officers. These were children who he had recruited into his army. Agu and Strika suffered immensely as a result, for they were almost always his target.