Moon River

It is surprising to see, so early in the book, Beah as a solider.  Our first images of him are that of a child, and a scared one at that.  But now, we have a whole new side--warrior.  At this point, I have a hard time seeing Beah as the same person who used to look up into the moon and remember the parable his grandmother told him.  He just seems too far away from that sense of innocence.  However, Chapter 2 also gives us the chance to see Beah as an adult struggling to make sense of his former life.  It is in this moment that readers are assured that Beah is the same person we saw in Chapter 1 because we can see that sensitive, fearful side again.  All of this is to say that Beah does not always act like the moon.  There are times where his life and the situations just don't allow for it, but in the end, I trust that Beah will always go back to his roots and follow his grandmother's advice.